A scholarship fund has been established in the memory of Mike Dimond, the legendary hotel marketer who died last month at age 67. The newly created Mike Dimond HSMAI Foundation Scholarship Fund will help fund the educations of deserving hospitality students who plan careers in hotel sales and marketing.

Dimond’s four-decade career in the hotel business included management and marketing positions at many of the top properties and companies, including Hyatt, Doral, Boca Raton Hotel & Club, Caesars Palace and most recently, The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.

Dimond achieved his greatest success, however, at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. As part of the great management team helmed by the legendary Jack Vaughn, Dimond was instrumental in branding and positioning the hotel as the country's premier convention property of the 1980s and '90s. He ultimately became senior vice president of marketing for Gaylord Entertainment, the Opryland's parent company.

He is a member of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International’s (HSMAI) Hall of Fame.

For more information or to make a donation to the fund, go to www.hsmaifoundation.org.