Greetings Fellow Culinarians,
During one of our recent monthly general meetings, as I sat listening to one of our presenters, a song popped into my head, and it would not go away. I know I'm aging myself, I am after all a student of the 60's, but the song I kept hearing, was "Where have all the flowers gone", for the life of me could not figure out, why that song? Then it hit me, while looking around the room, I thought, "where have all the active members gone?"
We are a chapter of over 500 members; 60% of whom are juniors. Most of these students are spending a lot of money to get a good culinary education. Without a doubt we have an excellent mix of quality culinary schools in our general area. What we don't seem to have anymore is a good mix of Active members who are willing to take the time to give something back to those who will carry on the traditions of our industry. On any given night, you can count the number of active members at a general meeting on two hands. These are members who have the opportunity to exchange ideas not only with students, but with each other. Don't let those chances slip away.
We have worked hard over the last couple of years to bring educational components to our general meetings. We like to think that our members have taken something from those meetings that they can use in their careers. These components however are not just for juniors. We are in an ever changing industry. Have we become so jaded that we feel it is not necessary to learn anymore, or to mix with those hungry for knowledge?
One of the last conversations I had with Chef Amendola was on this very subject. Joe said to me, "Roger, I just don't understand why our active members don't come to the meetings anymore. Don't they realize how much it would mean to some of these students for one of them to show an interest in their future, or ask how their studies are going"? I had no answer for Mr. A.
I realize that the business world is crazy and sometimes Monday may be your only day with the family. For many years I only had one day off a week, and the last place I wanted to go was to a meeting. Sometimes however you have to step back and think about the impression you can make on young Culinarians. You can give back more than you think just by talking to someone. I have the feeling that your spouses will be more tolerant of your donation of time than you may think, I know mine has. There is a tremendous amount of talent in this chapter, with career experience more diverse than you can imagine. I have seen some of you in action at meetings, doing demos, and talking to students, and you can feel them soaking up every word.
A suggestion was made at a recent board meeting that we as a chapter should have some type of mentoring program. This is not a new idea; just one that I think would be great for the active members of this chapter to get involved in. We are going to pursue setting up an informal network for just this purpose, and your board members will be pursuing you to volunteer. Let's give something back while we have time. Sometimes it only takes a phone call, sometimes a little more. We all have business cards. Next time you are at a meeting, which by the way will be March 10th @ OCA, give a student your card and invite them to call. We have all had bad days, or struggled with learning a new task, and maybe a word of encouragement from you will help someone get through the issue, and move on with a new attitude.
So, Chefs, bakers, vendors, allied members, stop in. We still meet the first Monday of every month, and our calendar is on the website, www.acfcfc.org. We miss your presence, we miss your talent, but most of all we miss your friendship.
We'll be looking for you…!
Chef Roger
