This scholarship was established by Helen Dehner in 2014 to support LGBTQ graduating high school seniors from Oregon.
Words from the Creator:
Kevin J. Mossier was many things; entrepreneur, renaissance man, mentor, generous, creative and driven. In retrospect, he might have sensed his time was limited, packing as much into forty-seven years as he possibly could. Before his passing, he established the Kevin J. Mossier Foundation to further advance the rights and opportunities of the LGBTQ community.
In 1970 Kevin founded The Travel Company of Minnesota, Inc., the first Twin Cities agency to install an automated reservation system and the only agency compensating employees based on a unique profit- sharing plan he created. Kevin realized sharing travel perks and profits with staff would garner a far greater return: dedicated, happy, loyal employees. He fostered an environment of inclusiveness, way ahead of the curve. Gay or straight, employees were free to be exactly who they were. Not a popular stance in the 70s and 80s.
In 1985 Kevin launched RSVP Travel Productions, the first openly gay and lesbian leisure travel company. Recognizing the need for a safe, tailor-made vacation experience, Kevin found a gay and lesbian friendly cruise line, chartered a ship and sailed out of New Orleans in February 1986 with 750 passengers on board. Since then, RSVP has offered vacations in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas to over 100,000 enthusiastic guests.
Kevin led the way in gay business philanthropy. From the beginning, he believed in giving back to the community that supported him, contributing a percentage of profits to LGBTQ organizations locally and nationally. But in the end, Kevin’s story is about a boy from Grand Rapids who worked his heart out to achieve his dreams, enriched the lives of tens of thousands, and helped create a community that LGBTQ people still enjoy today.
This fund was created to honor the memory of Kevin J. Mossier. He would be very proud to know he played a role in helping students from the Great Northwest achieve their academic goals.
Kevin Mossier