Westfield, NJ | Featuring three panel presentations, three keynote speakers, 12 interactive peer-to-peer sharing sessions and three tracks for hourly staff training, management training, and executive and multi-unit training, the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers (CHART) 70th semi-annual hospitality training conference will be July 23-26, 2005 at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel and Towers in Boston, Massachusetts.

“The conference theme plays on the American history of Boston to “Celebrate a Proud Heritage” of trainers learning, sharing and growing,” said Joleen Flory-Lundgren, SPHR, FMP, vice president of human resources and training for Famous Dave’s of America and CHART president. “This 70th conference marks the 35th year CHART has been helping hospitality trainers develop people to improve the performance of their organizations. As a thank you and recognition, over 15 members who have been members of CHART for twenty years and above were invited to attend this conference at no charge.”

High-level insights on training will be given by the annual President’s Panel, moderated by Jeff Higley, editor-in-chief, Hotel and Motel Magazine. President participants are:

• Roger Berkowitz, Legal Sea Foods
• Phillip P. Friedman, McAlister’s Corporation
• Julia Stewart, IHOP Corp.
• Gary Williams, Coakley & Williams Hotel Management Company
• Stephanie Sonnabend, Sonesta International Hotels Corporation

Jim Smith, Jr. will kick off the conference with “From Average to Awesome: 41 Plus Gifts in 41 Plus Years.” The always popular Jim Sullivan will deliver a high energy presentation on “Many Houses, One Servant: The Art of Multi-Unit Leadership.” Lisa Ford will close the conference with “Why Customer Service is Not Enough.” For the second year in a row, CHART member recipients of Chain Leader’s “Best Places to Work,” based on findings by People Report, will participate on a panel to share best practices in recruiting, training, retention and compensation. The panel will be moderated by Teresa Siriani, president of People Report, and Donna Hood Crecca of Chain Leader. For lodging attendees, Jeff Higley will moderate an interactive discussion on “Training for Today While Planning for Tomorrow.”

CHART members will have many opportunities to learn from their peers through solutions-sharing sessions. Large group settings include “Ask My Peers: LIVE!” a speed roundtable version of CHART’s popular on-line discussion group, “Competencies of Winners,” moderated by Rodney Morris, FMP, of Fired Up, Inc. and “Building Leadership Talent,” moderated by Matt Kenslea of Harvard Business School Publishing. To learn from the CHART lifetime members who will be in attendance, a special session, “If I Knew Then What I Know Now: Reflections from the Field,” will feature the good, the bad and the ugly lessons learned in the training and human resources profession. Smaller group breakout tracks include:

Hourly staff training

• “Energize! Your Training” by Katie Mangett of Xanterra Parks and Resorts;
• “Lessons Learned in E-Learning Development” by Monique Donahue of the AHLAEI; and
• “Forced Creativity: Steps that Keep Trainers Quick and Training Segments Fresh” by Adam Huddleston of California Pizza Kitchen.

Management training

• “Top 10 Tips for Training Top Performers” by Donna Rynda;
• “Proven Methods to Teach Effectively” by Deon Glorius and Christine Dunn of Golden Corral Corporation; and
• “The Impact of Technology and the Role of Training” by Kim Skolnick and Debbie McNally of Jack In The Box.

Executive and Multi-Unit Training

• “Growth, Succession Planning and Development for Senior Leaders” by Harry Bond, FMP, of Monical Pizza Corporation;
• “Tasks of Leadership” by Denise Franck and Lamar Hamilton of Bilimbi Bay; and
• “Less Stress…More Success” by John Alexander FMP, of the NRAEF and Milly Sonneman and Thomas Sechehaye of Hands On Graphics.

For the first year, and by popular demand, the 5th CHART Community Service Event will take place during the summer conference on Saturday, June 22. Also on Saturday are a host of pre-conference workshops and certifications, including:

• “E-Learning: Kicking it Up a Notch with Interactivity” by Jim James of Red Lobster;
• “Making it Happen: Getting Leaders to Support the Training Effort” by Jerry Keenan of AchieveGlobal;
• “Leadership & Management Program featuring ManageMentor? Plus” Approved Facilitator Tutorial by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF);
• “ServSafe Alcohol Course and Examination” by the NRAEF; and
• “Certified Hospitality Trainer (CHT) Review and Exam” by the American Hotel and Lodging Association Educational Institute.

The annual Commitment to People Awards Gala honoring Julia Stewart of IHOP Corp. will be held the final evening of the conference, Tuesday, July 25, 2005. The event honors the head of an industry organization that has clearly and consistently demonstrated a commitment to the development of people.

To download the CHART Boston Conference brochure or to view the full agenda with descriptions, visit www.chart.org/conferences/.