The American Marketing Association & F.X. Dale Tran Memorial Scholarship

The American Marketing Association & F.X. Dale Tran Memorial Scholarship

provides student aid to graduate students enrolled at the University of Alaska Anchorage who are in a master’s degree program in the College of Business and Public Policy.

Francis Xavier “Dale” Tran was born Jan. 25, 1974, in Vietnam. In 1975, Tran and his family fled the country during the fall of Saigon. They eventually settled in Seattle and were among the first refugees from the Vietnam War in the area.

Growing up, Tran’s parents instilled in him a deep foundation of faith, a tireless work ethic and an unwavering patriotism for his new homeland. At 17, in gratitude to those who helped his family, he enlisted in the Washington Army National Guard. As an immigrant, he said, “I’ve always felt it was my duty and obligation for the debt that I owed to the country for our freedom.”

Tran moved to Anchorage in 1996 and worked for both the Sagaya Corporation and Kaladi Brothers Coffee. His volunteer service included the UAA Chancellor’s Advisory Board, University of Alaska Strategic Pathways Review Team, 49th State Angel Fund Board, Anchorage Chamber of Commerce Board, Anchorage School Business Partnership Board, Tanaina Child Development Task Force and the Holy Family Cathedral finance committee.

Tran’s most well-known example of community giving is the Kaladi Brothers Coffee annual New Year’s Day giving event. Tran helped drive and focus the coffee company’s “Catalyst for Community” brand. The result was an estimated $1 mil-lion for various nonprofits in Anchorage.

The Alaska Journal of Commerce named him among the “Top Forty Under 40” leaders in Alaska. The Anchor-age Downtown Partnership awarded Tran the George M. Sullivan Award for his demonstration of strong leadership qualities and teamwork.

Tran died of a heart attack in Jan. 2017, at age 42. Since then, Tran posthumously received numerous honors and awards including citations from the Anchorage Assembly and the Alaska State Legislature.

In June 2017, the Children’s Lunchbox named its new kitchen after Tran. The Bean’s Café program provides more than 300,000 meals a year to children in Anchorage.

In Sept. 2017, the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce posthumously awarded Tran the Gene Guess Humanitarian Award, the highest honor given by the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce. Individuals receive the award based on the sheer magnitude of good they have done for the Anchorage community. The award was last given out in 2006.

On Jan. 1, 2018, Kaladi Brothers Coffee renamed its New Year’s Day giving event to Dale Tran’s New Year’s Day Giving.

On Jan. 23, 2018, the Anchorage Municipal Assembly voted for a resolution recognizing “Dale Street” in honor of Tran.

Tran received a B.B.A. degree in marketing from UAA and was posthumously awarded his M.B.A. in May 2017.

Tran was a dedicated husband and father, a generous friend, an advocate of UAA and a true community catalyst

Dale was the CFO of Kaladi Brother’s Coffee but he was also a dear member of the Kaladi family.

To help celebrate Dale, Kaladi President Tim Gravel joined AMA to create this schol-arship. Tim has generously offered to match your giving 3:1 to a $25,000 total. Kaladi wants to help honor Dale by endowing this scholarship so that future generations will remember their generous friend as they work to finish their degree.

A giving tribute is most fitting for Dale. In almost 10 years with the company, Dale was instrumental in developing the company’s “Catalyst For Community” brand, expand-ing Kaladi’s popular New Year’s Day annual giving pro-gram – a program which has now been named after Dale – as well as other philanthropic events.

AMA is Alaska’s premier marketing association, connecting innovative minds and providing professional development opportunities for anyone whose job description includes business development or customer retention.

Dale Tran embodied that spirit of connection, and AMA wants to honor his legacy as a leader and a true catalyst for community through the American Marketing Association & F. X. Dale Tran Memorial Scholarship.

Once endowed, this scholarship will create an enduring tribute to a beloved philanthropist and member of the Anchorage community. It will also help ensure that talented students have access to quality marketing education that will support our community for years to come.

AMA is committed to providing educational resources for marketers at every stage of their career, and to fostering thought leadership among like-minded professionals. We thank Kaladi for its generous partnership and encourage you to participate.