Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT:
Betsy L. Helgager
(404) 688-0415
helgager@bellsouth.net

High-Profile Industry Speakers Headline the MultiCultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance 2003 Symposium
Focus: Leading Your Business to Cultural Competence

PROVIDENCE, RI/DALLAS, TX (Aug. 6, 2003) – The MultiCultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance (MFHA) presents its inaugural Symposium on Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 14-15. This two-day experience will be the only time during the year the foodservice and hospitality industry will stop and focus on multiculturalism and its effects on the industry. The MFHA Symposium is a unique opportunity for industry professionals and leaders to network and learn from each other about key topics regarding multiculturalism.

Richard Rivera, President and COO of Darden Restaurants and former chairman of the National Restaurant Association Multicultural Outreach Task Force (luncheon keynote) and renowned motivational speaker, Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch, Lt. Colonel (Retired – U.S. Army) (opening keynote), will headline the event along with other distinguished industry leaders.
“With the growth of multicultural groups throughout the country, cultivating an inclusive environment in business today is more important than ever,” said Juanita Nañez, MFHA board member, MFHA Symposium co-chair and vice president of diversity for Carlson Restaurants Worldwide. “Diverse markets have a growing influence on business and the economy, particularly in the hospitality and foodservice industry.”

The four general sessions will address critical issues in the organization’s four key areas: 1) Workforce (Session: Best of the Best Workforce Diversity Practices), 2) Marketing, (Session: One Size Does Not Fit All – Effective Marketing Strategies that Work), 3) Minority Business Enterprises (MBE’s) (Session: Straight Talk on Supplier Diversity – Stepping Up and Speaking Out), and 4) Community-based Organizations, (Session: Driving Customer Count Through Community Involvement). Each session will be presented by company leaders who are doing it right.

Supported by industry CEOs, the Best of the Best Workforce Diversity Practices session will present insights from Fred Kleisner, Chairman and CEO of Wyndham International; Kerry Kramp, CEO of Buffets, Inc.; Doug Baker, President and COO of Ecolab Inc., and Lloyd Hill, CEO and Chairman of the Board, Applebee’s International, Inc. This session, moderated by Alice Elliot, CEO of the Elliot Group, will help attendees lead their businesses to cultural competence.

MFHA 2003 Symposium will take place at the Wyndham Anatole in Dallas, Texas. Registration information is available at www.mfha.net ($495 non-MFHA members, $450 MFHA members). For more information about the MFHA Symposium 2003, contact the MFHA office at (401) 751-8883 or visit www.mfha.net.

The MultiCultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization committed to being an educational authority on multicultural diversity issues for the restaurant, foodservice, and lodging industries. Visit www.mfha.net for more information.

KEYNOTE BIO BRIEFS

Richard E. Rivera – Rivera is president and COO of Darden Restaurants, parent company of Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze and Smokey Bones BBQ restaurant companies. Active in his support of the restaurant industry, Rivera serves as a director of the National Restaurant Association and serves on the NRA’s Educational Foundation. Rivera is also the former chairman of the NRA’s Multicultural Outreach Task Force. In 1990 Rivera was appointed to the U. S. Labor Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS), a blue-ribbon panel charged with defining basic skills needed to compete in today’s workplace and economic environment. In 2002, he was named to President Bush’s Advisory Committee on Trade and Policy Negotiations.

Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch – Breaking barriers and setting records in the military, Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Consuelo Kickbusch rose to a senior officer position and became the highest-ranking Hispanic woman in the Combat Support Field of the United States Army. Acknowledged as a charismatic, passionate and entertaining speaker, Consuelo Kickbusch, carries her powerful message of what it takes to be an effective leader in today’s global marketplace to hundreds of colleges/universities, corporations and government institutions, both here in the U.S. and abroad.

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