The Joe Perdue Memorial Award

Joe Perdue held positions as a faculty member at UNLV, University of Tennessee, Auburn University and Georgia State University. He was also very involved with Club Managers Association of America (CMAA) and held positions such as Director of Education and Vice President.

In addition to all of this, Joe served as a Commissioner for the Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration. Joe is remembered by his fellow commissioners as being a tireless advocate for the accreditation process. He was instrumental in promoting the value of accreditation to schools. Joe was the “behind the scenes” person, not looking for personal recognition, but rather continually worked to improve hospitality education. When Joe passed away in 2015, the ACPHA Commission decided to develop an award to honor Joe’s memory and his work with accreditation.

2022 Awardee- Dr. Beverly Bryant

Dr. Bryant served as an ACPHA Commissioner from 2014-2020 and has been actively involved with ACPHA for many additional years. She served as a valued trainer during multiple annual training events and was a true leader willing to teach and support new team members in their development. Dr. Bryant continues with her efforts on behalf of ACPHA by serving as a Chair/Team Member for programs seeking accreditation.

This award serves as a formal acknowledgment of her many, many years of service to ACPHA.

2021 Awardee-Dr. Jeff Lolli

Dr. Lolli served as both a Commissioner and Chair of the Commission (ACPHA) from 2011-2022. After his initial 6-years of services as a Commissioner he remained on to serve as the Chair of the “CHEA Recognition Committee” for an additional 4 years. As a result of his work ACPHA achieved the coveted “CHEA Recognition” award which was granted in 2022.

In additional he was always willing to serve on numerous site visits as both Chair and Team Member, he also serves as the designated international liaison for programs seeking ACPHA Accreditation.

This award serves as a visible acknowledgment of his many, many years of service to ACPHA.

2020 Awardee-Dr. Rick Donnelly

Dr. Donnelly served as a Commissioner for six years, in addition he served on numerous site visits as both chair and team member. He was a leading presence in the training for new team members through the years as well as for Programs/Schools planning accreditation applications and for programs needing assistance to meet commission requirements.

This award serves as an acknowledgement of his years of service and was awarded posthumously for his long time association and hard work on behalf of ACPHA. 

2019 Awardee-Dr. Margaret “Mokie” Steiskal

Dr. Margaret “Mokie” Steiskal, Chairperson Emeritus at Columbus State Community College, was presented the award during the 2019 ICHRIE Conference in New Orleans, LA.

Dr. Steiskal served as the first Chair of the Commission on Accreditation of Hospitality Management Programs (CAHM), which later merged with ACPHA. From that point forward she served on numerous site visits as both chair and team member. She also found time to serve as President of ICHRIE for two separate terms of office in addition to serving as the one time Chair of the ACF Commission.

This award serves as an acknowledgment of her years of service to both CAHM and ACPHA.

2018 Awardee-Dr. Lynn Huffman

Actively involved in ACPHA since its inception and instrumental in helping to organize during the initial planning and development meetings. Her institution, Texas Tech University, was proud to be among one of the first to seek initial accreditation in 1993.

Over the past twenty five years she has served 12 years as a Commissioner and several terms as Vice Chair of the Commission. She has been a team member on numerable accreditation visits and has chaired over 15 site visits. In addition, she continues to serve as a valued consultant to schools planning accreditation applications and for programs needing assistance to meet commission requirements.

This award serves as a visible acknowledgement of her years of service to ACPHA.

2017 Awardee-Mr. John Drysdale

From the very beginning of ACPHA, and then CAHM, he was instrumental in shaping these organizations into the professional and fiscally responsible agency it became. Without his vision and diligence during the separation of the two Commissions from CHRIE they would not have become the viable organization we are today.

He was a true pioneer on the committee that developed the original CAHM standards and served on the first CAHM commission, he contributed to the self-study format, the team report, and many processes that were required at the inception of this accreditation body. It is often said that he kept everyone on track, recognizing the importance to the commitment of accreditation.

2016 Awardee-Dr. John Mahoney

The first recipient of the award embodied the spirit of the awards purpose. He was involved with ACPHA since its inception and had served in multiple capacities from a pre-visit consultant to site team member and chair, and ultimately chair of the Commission. In fact, he is still doing work for ACPHA even after his retirement from Widener University in June 2016.

The award was presented for his countless efforts and contributions to ACPHA and for being a tireless advocate for the value of accreditation to Hospitality and Tourism Administration Programs to every program he visited or was involved with over the course of his career.