KNOXVILLE — Esco Brackett of Athens, Tenn., is the winner of the third-annual 2010 Amway Endowed Scholarship in Sales Forecasting in the College of Business Administration at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Brackett’s scholarship is $2,000.
In 2008, the college received a $50,000 endowment from Amway to support students who either study demand sales forecasting or who have a specific interest in a sales forecasting career. One student received the inaugural scholarship that year, and two students shared the scholarships last year.
Brackett will graduate in December 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He is majoring in logistics with a collateral in marketing. Brackett is a first-generation college student who has financed 70 percent of his education through employment and student loans. He also is a Hope Scholarship recipient.
“I am honored to be selected as this year’s recipient,” said Brackett. “Amway is helping my dreams come true.”
Brackett will receive special recognition for his award at the 10th annual Forecasting and Demand Management Forum Conference being held May 11-13 at UT. Amway is an annual sponsor of the event, which draws demand forecast management practitioners from companies and organizations worldwide.
“We are thrilled to honor Esco with this award,” said Dave Pocklington, director of sales forecasting and analysis at Amway. “The endowment illustrates our strong commitment to helping talented students gain the financial resources that will help them achieve academic success and a potentially bright future in demand sales forecasting or a related business career.”
Amway and the College of Business Administration have a long-standing relationship. Most of Amway’s forecast analysts have achieved Sales Forecasting Management certification at UT and the company has provided a summer internship for a UT Knoxville student.
“The relationship is extremely valuable, both to UT Knoxville and to Amway,” Pocklington said. “UT Knoxville is the only university we’re aware of that specifically includes forecasting in its business curriculum. We’ve been able to gain access to sales forecasting articles and research published by UT Knoxville professors and graduate students. Our demand sales forecasting unit provides strategic insight and analysis that supports the company’s bottom line.”
“Over the past 25 years, our research with companies has shown that companies with sophisticated, highly developed sales forecasting processes document returns on investment exceeding 200 percent,” said Mark Moon, forum director. “We are thrilled to have Amway as a partner in a program and a curriculum that provides a win-win for the demand sales forecast profession.”
For information on the Forecasting and Demand Management Forum, contact Forum Managing Director J. Paul Dittmann at 865-974-9413 or jdittman@utk.edu; or Dianne Marshall, manager, at 865-974-0569 or dkmarsh@utk.edu. Information is also available at http://Forums.utk.edu.
The Amway endowment was established as part of UT’s Campaign for Tennessee. The campaign, which began in 2005, launched publicly in April 2007 and will run through 2011, places UT among the ranks of the nation’s largest public and private institutions that have sought this degree of private support.
Amway is one of the world’s largest direct-selling businesses. Founded in 1959 and headquartered in Ada, Mich., Amway offers consumer products and business opportunities in more than 80 countries and territories worldwide.
For more information about the UT Knoxville College of Business Administration, visit http://bus.utk.edu.
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C O N T A C T :
Cindy Raines (865-974-4359, craines1@utk.edu)