National Restaurant Association Focuses on Career Opportunities for Military Personnel, Veterans
Association creates new Military Foundation
(Washington, D.C.) The National Restaurant Association (NRA) is enhancing efforts to build career opportunities and support for military personnel and veterans by launching the National Restaurant Association Military Foundation.
The NRA’s Military Foundation will focus on providing training and industry support to military hospitality programs, promoting foodservice and hospitality career opportunities for former servicemen and women and military spouses, and working to provide small business ownership opportunities for military veterans.
These efforts are an extension of NRA’s long support of the military, including the presentation of the Air Force’s John L. Hennessy Award, the U.S. Marine Corp’s Major Gen. W.P.T. Hill Award, the Air National Guard’s SMSgt Kenneth Disney Award, and support of the Hennessey Travelers Association Educational Foundation’s (HTAEF) Armed Forces Forum for Culinary Excellence. The establishment of the NRA’s Military Foundation coincides with the transfer of all activities and programs associated with the HTAEF to the new foundation.
“We are proud to expand our support of military veterans by encouraging them to choose restaurant careers,” said Dawn Sweeney, president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association. “The National Restaurant Association’s long-time involvement with the Hennessy Travelers Association has resulted in the creation of our new Military Foundation to strengthen the impact of our support and expand programs like the Armed Forces Forum for Culinary Excellence.”
“We are renewing our commitment to support America’s active servicemen and women and military veterans through our new Military Foundation,” said Art Myers, National Restaurant Association Military Foundation board member. “We will focus our work on programs that help develop career and ownership opportunities for individuals who have served their country, as well as support military foodservice professionals in developing their culinary and management skills.”
“We have always appreciated the support of the National Restaurant Association, and look forward to passing the torch to the newly formed NRA’s Military Foundation to carry on the work previously conducted by our educational foundation,” said Dick Hynes, president of the Hennessy Travelers Association. “The personal dedication of NRA board members who have served as Hennessy Travelers will bring a wealth of passion to the NRA’s Military Foundation. By leveraging their commitment and industry resources under the umbrella of the industry’s premier trade association, along with long time Hennessy partners Society for Foodservice Management (SFM) and International Foodservice Executives Association (IFSEA), we are confident that our united efforts will be stronger than ever and will keep growing into the future.”
The Armed Forces Forum for Culinary Excellence program each year brings 25 outstanding U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine servicemen and women to the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone for a week-long educational program to help develop their culinary and foodservice management skills. This year’s program will take place November 5-9.
Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which comprises 970,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of nearly 13 million employees. They represent the industry in Washington, D.C., and advocate on its behalf. They operate the industry’s largest trade show (NRA Show May 18-21, 2013, in Chicago); leading food safety training and certification program (ServSafe); unique career-building high school program (the NRAEF’s ProStart, including the National ProStart Invitational April 19-21, 2013, in Baltimore, Md.); as well as the Kids LiveWell program promoting healthful kids’ menu options. For more information, visit www.restaurant.org and find them on Twitter @WeRRestaurants, Facebook and YouTube.
