Bill Jennings, vice chairman of the FAMU Board of Trustees who assumed leadership of the board following the departure of Chairwoman Challis Lowe, said the university is actively working to do what is necessary to retain the room.
Jennings, the former Executive Director of the Orlando International Airport, told the Capitol Outlook that the the airport lounge was a "unique asset".
Continue reading: Trustee chair says airport room still in play
Also see: Castell rolls in airport welcome mat
Great it is about time the board did something positive. The lounge was a welcoming spot in the airport. Keep up the good strives.
ReplyDeleteThe lounge looked like a hot mess! Hopefully if the contract is renewed FAMU will do a better job at presentation.
ReplyDeleteThe lounge needs to be utilized better.
ReplyDelete11:51 AM
ReplyDeleteWHAT DID YOU DO TO INPROVE THE ROOM? DON'T JUST BE A TALKER BE A DOER, CONTRIBUTE YOUR TIME, MONEY, SUGGESTIONS TO BETTER IT, NOT JUST TRY TO TEAR IT DOWN.
Yeah that room was a hot mess it just needs to be spiced up!
ReplyDeletePlease don't post the negative comments about the room being a hot mess. As much traffic comes in and out of the airport, it should require someone to monitor the lounge. Now let's focus on that once its restored!!! You can also give your suggestions and time to the Publications Office for creative ideas of the room.
ReplyDeletewhatever the case may be, they need to just make sure the room communicates the message FAMU is trying to send.
ReplyDeleteBut whatever you do, do NOT let it look like shit, EVER! You are doing more harm than good. You are in a Capital City, you never know who is coming through that airport.
I agree. We already have enough negative energy going on within the University. We don't need to be adding to it.
ReplyDeleteWAhat's the point of this room. Have you ever seen anyone in it? Wouldn't FAMU get more out of it if we had a coordinated series of TV commercials, a free shuttle in a painted van for students at the airpoirt, or if we put signs in airports throughout the entire state???? The airport lounge strikes me as a complete and utter waste of money, that we only hold on to because we are unwilling to depart from tradition.
ReplyDeleteThe lounge is a waste. How about use the 12k a year to put 4 well deserving students through school at FAMU. Where are the priorities for the Board of Trustees and FAMU?
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, $11K would just barely cover the cost of tuition/fees/room/board for an in-state student.
ReplyDeleteThe lounge has gone down in presentation, but it is always clean and maintained as I traveled in and out of Tally. It's a great place for visitors to wait if they are being picked up by university officials, and it showcases the research of faculty, student accomplishments and so much more.
With the two previous administrations trying to get rid of it, very little time and money has been invested into it.
Look forward to Ammons' publicity folks doing a whole lot more.
4:01--what planet are you from that allows you to think that utilizing the airport funds to pay the academic finances of "four well-deserving students"? Eleven thousand dollars might pay for one semester for an out-o-town enrollee. And that, my dear, is cutting costs as close to the bone as you can imagine. Surely, you jest. And other people's comments about the FAMU Room being monitored...At what cost, the monitoring, and by whom? Do you think that having someone 'stand guard' at the entrance, smile and wave like they are in a parade, is utilizing the services of the room, which, by the way, are unclear. Monitors will expect to be paid, and therein rests more problems than solutions. What's in the room, anyway? Are there brochures, leaflets, handouts lying around on the tables, computer/Internet accessibilities? Anything digital or technological? What, specifically, is IN the room, other than furniture and tables? I've passed the room, peeked in on a couple of occasions during my travels through Tallahassee, but the room has always been empty. Oh, no, I take that back. I do remember seeing one person a year or so ago, standing at the entrance, looking puzzled, scratching his head in wonderment. Other than having a physical presence, what is the purpose of the room? I'm not being fcetious, I'm just wondering.
ReplyDeleteFAMU should reconsider all of its symbolic gestures if they cost time or money.
ReplyDeleteThe lounge costs too much for what it's worth.
Oh, how easy it is to make comments with no check in hand. We can't pay enough for that type of publicity; plus, if we don't use it, FSU will.
ReplyDeleteShut down the airport lounge. No one I know has ever stepped foot in it and in terms of appearances it is a ghost town. It sends a message to every legislator in the state that FAMU wastes money. 12k is 12k, but it leaves a negative appearance with everyone save a handful of FAMU alumni.
ReplyDeleteI hope most of the folks posting are not FAMU alums. In terms of branding, what is the real value one expects to receive from 12,000. If 10 people of influence, who come through Tallahassee, see the lounge and inquire as to what is FAMU, the lounge has served it's purpose. Airports are the domain of business travelers and decision makers. Marketers spend a great deal of money trying to reach this segment. When I was in school the lounge was always well organized with FAMU information.
ReplyDeleteOnce in town, people are inundated with FSU all over Tallahassee. The airport lounge allows FAMU to make a first impression in the mind of the traveler, that they are entering orange & green territory before being blinded by a sea of garnet & gold.
I'm wondering if these same folks are also saying give our College of Pharmacy and Allied Health programs to FSU because they have a medical school and we don't.
ReplyDeleteYou people make me sick. Why turn down and opportunity to advertise FAMU. If the room needs to be redesign be a catalyst of change and call the appropriate on ideas and where you can donate your personal checks.
If we need an airport lounge to let people know about FAMU, we are putting our money in the wrong place.
ReplyDeleteThis is another one of those misguided "bright ideas" for promoting an image instead of building a reality.
Content first; publicity second.
This is another one of those misguided "bright ideas" for promoting an image instead of building a reality.
ReplyDeleteContent first; publicity second.
5/12/2007 8:14 AM
And in the meantime, FSU or TCC takes over and FAMU is left out..again. I'll vote for the misguiding bright idea any day