Hospitality Gala to honor two Auburn University alumni

The hospitality management program at Auburn University will recognize two Auburn alumni at its annual Hospitality Gala on April 21 at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center.

Lee Sentell, director of the Alabama Tourism Department, will receive the Horst Schulze Award for Excellence in Hospitality, while Catherine Wayman, creative director for C. Wayman Floral & Events in Atlanta, will receive the Outstanding Alumni Award.

The honorees may not appear to have much in common, beyond graduating from Auburn, albeit 40 years apart. They forged different career paths, with a share of successes and challenges, but made their names synonymous with hospitality greatness in Alabama and beyond.

Promoting Alabama

Sentell didn’t find his place in the tourism and hospitality industry until he spent more than a decade in journalism following his graduation from Auburn in 1967. Sentell used his journalism degree to work as a reporter for the Shades Valley Sun in Homewood and the Decatur Daily, but an interest in community culture and historic preservation drew him to change careers.

In 1980, Sentell founded a volunteer tourism committee at the Decatur Chamber of Commerce and became the first director of the Decatur Tourism Bureau. He was then hired as the marketing director of the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, where he assisted in launching the Space Camp program.

The camp was gaining popularity with a cover story on Boys’ Life magazine and a forthcoming Hollywood movie, until the unthinkable happened in 1986. The explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger was a heartbreaking tragedy, but Sentell said people turned to Space Camp to see a positive in the space program.

After spending more than a decade as the city of Huntsville tourism director and vice president of marketing at the Space Center, the only logical next step, according to Sentell, was becoming the state tourism director. In 2003, then-Gov. Bob Riley appointed him to the office.

Sentell is only the second person in the role’s history to have a background in tourism. He said his first goal was to do “such a good job, that in years ahead, the industry would insist on a professional being in this position.”

Under Sentell, the office has enjoyed minimal staff turnover and grown its budget by more than $10 million without raising taxes. It has even garnered international attention. For its promotion of the Alabama Civil Rights Trail, Alabama became the first American state to be a finalist and eventual winner of the Best Regional Destination Campaign Award from the International Travel and Tourism Awards in 2019.

Sentell’s biggest success thus far may be the “Year Of” campaigns. He drew on what he learned from his journalism days to appeal to localities that had restaurants, outdoor recreation and other activities to offer the broader public and highlighted them in an accessible way that mirrored the sections of a newspaper. The ambitious project paid off almost immediately, with newspapers in Alabama calling attention to their own local sites and garnering the attention of major publications such as The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Sentell’s tenure hasn’t been all sunshine and roses though. Events like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the COVID-19 pandemic put Sentell and his staff to the test.

“Any time you have adversity, use it to learn how to take advantage of that challenge,” he said. “Don’t be angry at that adversity, learn from it. Because if you don’t face challenges, then how are you going to grow?”

Sentell said the hospitality industry has learned important lessons from the pandemic, including the importance of cleanliness and safety. Those measures, combined with the personal touch of local business owners, have made the Alabama shores a trusted destination.

“All but a fraction of the businesses in our two beach cities, three counting Dauphin Island, are locally owned,” he said. “When you go back to that same restaurant, you’re likely to be waited on by the owner, just like the year before. That creates a bond between the destination and the guests.”

Sentell doesn’t have the ability to predict the future, but he is confident the Tony and Libba Rane Culinary Science Center at Auburn will be a game changer for Alabama and beyond. The 142,000-square-foot facility will be open for classes in the fall.

“Alabama is so blessed to have a world-class culinary option that is going to attract some of the best and brightest students from across the country. Hopefully, some of the people who move to Alabama to study will decide to stay,” he said.

“Alabama’s hospitality industry is going to benefit in so many ways. Within a few years, the Rane Center is going to be one of the highlights of what people around the country are going to learn about our state, along with the golf trail, the civil rights trail and the beaches.”

A rose by any other name

Wayman continued a family tradition when she enrolled at Auburn, but broke out on her own by majoring in hotel and restaurant management in the College of Human Sciences.

Following graduation in 2007, Wayman got her start at the Highlands Inn in Carmel, California. She then spent time at a resort in San Antonio where, she said, she continued to learn “the art of problem solving, managing a team and navigating customer issues.”

This career path seemed ideal for Wayman. She enjoyed the challenges of providing top-notch service in a demanding environment, but she didn’t have a way to express her creativity.

Wayman considered joining her mother, Cathy, an Auburn graduate, in the floral design business. Cathy Wayman had successfully started a business in Marietta, Georgia, when her daughter was a teenager. When Cathy and Mike Wayman, also an Auburn alum, moved to Auburn in 2006, Cathy would design events at the university, often with her daughter’s help.

“That is when I first had the inkling of possibly one day joining her. However, I was determined to forge my own path first,” admitted Wayman.

That path led Wayman to Thailand, where she worked with a ministry; to Birmingham, where she served as an event manager and in-house florist for an event venue; and to Atlanta for a job as an operations manager for a sales training company.

“At this point, my mother’s business was flourishing, and I knew it was time to join forces,” she said.

C. Wayman Floral & Events operates with mother based in Auburn and daughter in Atlanta. Without a storefront in either city, the pair have been able to focus exclusively on special events not just in the Southeast, but across the country.

For Wayman, floral design has little to do with putting flowers in a vase. In fact, she said she tends to design “outside the vase.” She may have inherited her creativity from her grandfather, but her design style is a result of being surrounded by flowers for most of her life and viewing floral design as an “art.”

Wayman’s designs have garnered considerable appreciation and attention, including from Grammy Award-winning rapper Cardi B, who asked Wayman to do the flowers for her baby shower.

“For Cardi B, we were given a theme,” Wayman said. “I took that inspiration and dreamt of all the ways flowers could be used. If there was going to be a Bronx Zoo, then why not animals made of flowers?”

Wayman has since gained interest from directors and industry professionals, requesting her floral work for photo shoots.

“I learned very quickly that my skill set for events translated well in the set design world,” she said. “I’ve always focused on creating an ‘experience’ for my events, and sets are the same thing, just with a different application.

“Soon, I was designing music videos and commercials, none of which had anything to do with flowers.”

And just like that, C. Wayman Production was born.

Fortunately, the new venture has taken off as the COVID-19 pandemic slowed down the events business. With fewer events happening, Wayman said she was able to work on production design projects in Los Angeles, New York and Atlanta.

“Now that events are back, I am taking less production projects, but C. Wayman Production will continue to be a valuable division of our company,” she said.

Looking back on her time as a student at Auburn, Wayman can’t help but realize this career—floral design and production design—was meant to be.

“I imagine I have always known I would end up exactly in this field,” she said. “I created the sets for Greek Sing, built floats for parades and did the flowers for the first Hospitality Gala when I was at Auburn.

“In my classes, I learned the fundamentals of hospitality and business. I still think about things I learned in class regarding establishing credibility, valuing your customer and striving to exceed expectations. I also think about how I should have paid more attention in finance class.”

Wayman credits much to Auburn, even if the event management option didn’t exist in her day. Hospitality management students currently can pursue tracks in culinary science, event management or hotel and restaurant management.

“Auburn is more than a school, it is exactly what you need it to be: a community, a place of learning, a family,” she said.” And I’d be remiss if I didn’t encourage everyone to start their career with such a valuable foundation for success.”