UNL has been rewarded for its hospitality during the 2010 Special Olympics USA National Games.
On March 29, UNL received the 2011 Outstanding Institutional Achievement Award from the Association of Collegiate Conference and Events Directors International. Tony Rathgeber, conference services and events manager for University Housing, accepted the award during the association's national conference in Orlando, Fla.
The award recognizes an outstanding achievement in an institution's conferences and events management. UNL received the award based on effective organization of hospitality services during the Special Olympics event.
“It’s an important award because it recognizes how we all came together to make such a huge event so successful,” said Rathgeber. “It required so much collaboration between different departments.”
Rathgeber said that he couldn’t recall a time the university made a collective effort to orchestrate such a large, singular event outside the student realm.
“Since I’ve been at UNL, I can’t really think of a time the university came together in the way that we all do for students,” he said. “Once we were able to say that it was something (the university) could do, the formal bidding began.”
Involvement from Campus Recreation, Athletics, University Housing, UNLPD and many other departments enabled UNL to win the bid to host the national games last summer.
Once the games arrived in Lincoln, Rathgeber’s primary role was to manage the eating and sleeping arrangements for more than 3,800 Special Olympics athletes, coaches and family members.
“I made sure they had daily meals both in the dining halls and off-site,” Rathgeber said. “Our catering department made more than 10,000 boxed lunches throughout that week.”
The teamwork demonstrated by multiple university departments to coordinate hospitality during the games epitomized a campus-wide effort that impacted not only the Lincoln community, but the national Special Olympics community as well.
“It seemed fitting that after all the work that went into the Special Olympics, we should be nominated for this award,” Rathgeber said. “It’s truly on behalf of all the university departments.”
- Mekita Rivas, University Communications