SINGAPORE – In an attempt to rejuvenate itself and change the image that it’s a “retired men’s†club and in recognition too of the talent crunch facing the Singapore hotel industry, the Skal Club of Singapore has launched the Paul Armstrong Scholarship.
The club has raised about S$37,000 to fund three deserving students through Temasek Polytechnic’s five-year hospitality course.
Paul Armstrong was one of the early members of the Singapore Skal who rose to become world president.
“To associate such a scholarship with the name of Paul Armstrong is an inspired decision. Paul has risen through the ranks of Skal to the highest position possible internationally. To do so was not easy and often involved personal sacrifice,†said Richard Hawkins, himself a past world Skal president, at a lunch to launch the scholarship.
Hawkins, who runs Hawk Rent-A-Car, said, “The establishment of a tourism scholarship by our Singapore club is an affirmation of the fact that we are a club that moves with the times and not simply an excuse for a good lunch with friends.â€
Armstrong, who was at the lunch, said he was deeply moved and honoured by the initiative.
Patrick Fiat, who is on the club’s executive committee, said that the scholarship was only the first move towards more active involvement of the club in reaching out to the youths.
“We will look at how we can extend the scholarship to more students and more institutions. We want not only to make Skal more relevant to the young but also make tourism an attractive and rewarding career for today’s youths.â€
The three students will be chosen not just based on academic qualifications but on need, he said. They will start classes this September.
