Greetings to all! Finally, it looks like we are going to get a spring season. The winter started off slow but sure finished off a cold, windy, snow-filled several weeks in the Northeast.
With the winter behind us, I am sure we are all looking forward to a busy and prosperous, spring, summer and fall. This is my favorite time of year — the waterfront venues are all peeling off the shrink-wrap, the caterers are revving up for the spring wedding rush, the farm stands and wineries are stocking up for their weekend visitors and tours and the à la carte restaurants are looking forward to busy nights without having to plow out the parking lot before opening for the evening.
We came off a great conference in Charlotte and are already planning next year's ChefConnect in Atlantic City. The events team is working hard to bring us the best in education and excitement for our conferences and their goals are to shorten and reduce the cost of the regional ChefConnects, making them more accessible to our members. All of their team efforts are working towards the goal of making our events more educational and enjoyable for us all. So take that extra step and thank them for all their hard work when you see them.
I have traveled around the region during this competition season and have visited numerous chapters trying to meet as many members as possible on their home court. Everywhere I went, I was pleased to see the amount of charity work done by the local chapters. Giving back is the best way to promote yourselves, market our organization and contribute to your community. The national office is right behind us all, offering a free ACF one year membership for non-members registering for the convention and a discounted registration fee for members registering before May 14. In addition, any new members at the Culinarian or Professional level will receive a free logoed Chef Coat! How can you beat that for recruitment tools?
The local chapter and its membership is the strength behind our federation. And it’s the teamwork at the local level that is needed to keep building our numbers and remain the number one chefs organization in the country.
Please look at your calendars and fit our National Convention into your summer plans, July 15-18 in New Orleans. I hope to hear from many of you on our monthly Northeast Conference call, the third Wednesday of each month at 8:30 p.m.
Have a most excellent spring!
