2003 Ad

Nation's Restaurant News,  May 12, 2003  

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CHICAGO -- The 2003 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show will host more than 50 free educational sessions addressing key business and operations issues.

Seminars at this year's show--which will be held from May 17-20 at McCormick Place here--will offer topics ranging from recruiting techniques to new promotional methods.

Educational sessions include "Ten Steps to Creating Customer Loyalty in Diverse Coin munities," which will be moderated by Gerry Fernandez, president of the MultiCultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance. Fernandez will oversee a panel that will discuss building brand loyalty, how racial-minority customers perceive your brand and how to leverage cultural understanding to increase diverse customer return.

Another seminar, titled "People: A toolkit for Recruiting and Retaining the Right People," will explore the best advertising options for employees as well as review the process of identifying the best candidates. Participants will include Jenny Bean, employment marketing manager, Yum! Brands; Jennifer Sanford, corporate accounts manager, The Employment Guide; and Christine Johnson, director of employee communication services, Shaker Recruitment Advertising & Communications.

"The Darden Supplier Diversity Initiative" will address how the Orlando, Fla.-based casual-dinnerhouse company established its supplier diversity program and the steps it took to provide equal access to minority-and woman-owned companies. Norma Sica, Darden Restaurants' director of supplier diversity will lead the session.

Gary J. Beisler, president and chief executive of Qdoba Mexican Grill, will moderate a seminar titled "Surviving and Thriving in the Fast-Casual Industry--Building a Small Company from Scratch." The session will discuss elements that are key to the success of starting, building and expanding a small restaurant company.

All sessions will be held on Level 4 of the South Hall of McCormick Place. For a complete listing, visit the Web site www.restaurant.org/show/events.

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