To Be a Chapter Member

By Michael Ty, CEC, AAC

As I travel throughout the country, I am fortunate to meet many passionate chefs and eager students. I am asked numerous questions wherever I go, and one of the most frequent is whether a person should join ACF National Chapter or a local ACF chapter.

One of the reasons the national chapter was formed was so that members who travel much of the time could participate in a chapter meeting wherever they happened to be. In addition, there were those who wanted to join ACF, but not necessarily be involved with a local chapter. I believe that you should be associated with a local chapter. If you disagree with the way your local chapter is run, why not become active and help make changes that will benefit everyone.

It’s time to reach out to national chapter members and invite them to be a part of our chapters. The membership department at the national office provides a monthly report that lists national chapter members by state. Work with your chapter leadership and take a look at this list to find those in your area, then invite them to your chapter meeting. This will strengthen your chapter, not only in size but in the wealth of knowledge each individual brings to the table.

On a recent trip to Taiwan, sponsored by the Taiwan Hospitality & Tourism College, Michael Ty met with Dr. Ming-Huei Lee, second from right, president of the college, to discuss bringing Taiwanese cuisine to the 2010 ACF National Convention in Anaheim, Calif. Ching-Her Liao, left, and Tien-Kuo Liao are chefs at the college.

I would like to share some best practices that I believe will help chapters be more successful. Many thriving chapters have a director or an administrator who takes care of the chapter's business. We are all volunteers and busy with our craft, and having a designated person who keeps the members informed, maintains the membership roster and is cognizant of member needs is a boon.

ACF Colorado Chefs Association has two individuals who work in its offices and at chapter meetings, where they meet and greet all members or potential members at the door. Visitors are escorted to the meeting space and introduced by name and place of employment to chapter officers during the social hour. This is a great opportunity to make not only the potential member but also the chapter leadership feel at ease.

My chapter, ACF Chefs Las Vegas, has used a phone messaging system for many years. This allows the chapter to send 30-second messages to all its members instead of calling each one separately. The system can deliver a message at a specific date and time, which means that members are reminded of monthly meetings and special events in a timely manner.

Chapters that provide quality educational programs have great success in drawing members to their chapter meetings. The key to this is providing programs that target the professional members but that also attract students. Everyone buys in to continuing education, so why not make your chapter the place of choice for those looking for educational opportunities. And did you know that chapters can apply to have continuing-education hours (CEHs) awarded to attendees?

Web sites have become the norm for all kinds of organizations, and every chapter should be taking advantage of this asset. On ACF’s Web site, chapters are given the opportunity to give up-to-date information on what is happening in their chapters, and can also alert members to go to a specific Web site to be updated on chapter activities.

Last but not least, camaraderie and the ability to network with members is one of the most valuable attributes of chapter membership. Many times you hear that chapter meetings are boring, and chefs stick with their group. When your chapter engages with members, you will have more success in not only retaining those members but in continuing to grow membership while providing mentoring opportunities.

There are many more success stories within chapters, and I encourage you to share what works for your chapter by posting your story or experience on the “We are Chefs” social-networking site. The way we can all succeed is to learn from others’ experiences and forge strong chapters that meet the needs of our most valuable asset, our members.