PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
By Michael Ty, CEC, AAC
Working in Harmony with Tradition
I am humbled and honored to serve another
term in office, and I am excited about the
energy of the new administration. We have
dynamic leaders in place, and the entire
board will be key to ACF’s success in the
years to come.
I trust that you had a good summer, and
those of you who were in Dallas, thank
you for joining us. I hope you had a great
experience, with good food and education
and networking opportunities.
During my first term in office, we made
major strides to continue to improve our
organizational structure with policies and
procedures. We have developed a Strategic
Plan that will be championed by Jeff Bacon,
CEC, CCA, AAC, our Southeast Region vice
president, and supported by the entire board
of directors. This plan is a working/living
document that will change as our visionary
focus evolves. And, we have started to help
chapters be in compliance with their state
laws. We have proven that our federation can
be successful financially, and it is our goal to
have policies in place that will allow future
administrations to maintain this success.
davesmithphotographer.com
Michael Ty demonstrates healthy, nutritional
recipes during the 2nd annual Chefs
Outreach to the Community day in Dallas.
We have started the process of branding our
organization. We still have a long way to go,
but with a marketing plan and partnerships
with industry and U.S government officials, I
believe our brand will only become stronger.
We have had much success in the area of
TV networks featuring ACF chefs on their
programs, and will continue to work with
the networks to ensure that we are more
recognizable as an organization.
Military involvement has increased and
will continue to grow. Every month, the
apprenticeship program adds more
participants. And once again, ACF has
a representative of the Army’s Training
with the Industry program based at our
national headquarters.
We partnered with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services, in
the Recipes for Healthy Kids contest, and the
finals were held at the convention in Dallas.
And we see the continued success of the
Let’s Move! initiative that first lady Michelle
Obama instituted in communities across
America. We cannot forget our convention
keynote speaker, Sam Kass, who came to
address our members in Dallas.
We are furthering our branding by involvement
with other areas of the foodservice industry.
It is important to recognize such areas as the
military and healthcare, which were involved
in the ACF National Championship at the
past two national conventions. We will feature
college/university foodservice chefs in the
2012 championship.
As I look forward to the next two years and
beyond, I see improvements such as the
membership DVD that is now complete and
davesmithphotographer.com
Sam Kass, keynote speaker at the 2011 ACF
National Convention, receives a Cutting Edge
Award from Michael Ty.
on the Presidents Portal. The marketing plan
will include a salary survey by the end of the
year and a membership survey by the end
of the first quarter of 2012. We also have a
capstone project that is complete and available
for all ACFEF accredited schools. A chapter
leadership toolbox and media kit for chapters
to implement will be a living document, and
ongoing revisions will be made.
Our annual Chefs Outreach to the
Community day, held in conjunction with
the national convention for the past two
years, is a great way to get our name out to
the community where we hold our annual
convention. It is a chance to show that chefs
are caring, and willing to reach out to make a
difference by helping local residents change
their eating habits and make healthy and
nutritional food choices.
All these programs have been key to the
success of our federation, and we will strive
to improve and continue them. But I want to
share with you what is dear to my heart and is
the future of our organization.
continued on page 10
www.acfchefs.org
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