It’s Every Member’s Responsibility

By Michael Ty, CEC, AAC

How many times have you heard the saying that 20% of an organization’s members are the ones holding it together, and the rest, 80%, are not involved? It does not have to be this way, because each and every one of us has the ability to make a difference, not only nationally, but on regional and local levels.

One of the biggest challenges in our organization is membership growth and retention. I would like to ask your indulgence and solicit your input on how we can identify the reasons for this and how we can retain existing members. We tend to lose the same number of members that we gain each month. Why is this happening?

As I travel the country, I consistently hear this message: miscommunication, misunderstanding, and a lack of time to network and to help colleagues. Taking time from your busy schedule is imperative as an ambassador of ACF. Yes, an ambassador, which is the role for each and every one of us. Only you can make a difference. Only you can help retain members. And only you can rectify any misunderstandings at local or national levels. I would be willing to share my experiences of turning each challenge into a positive situation and inspiring individuals to work even harder for our federation. Through member involvement, these individuals have become ambassadors, and I ask each of you to take the lead and make a difference in the coming year.

Michael Ty, second from left, attended ACF Tampa Bay Culinary Association Inc.’s annual awards dinner in September at The Art Institute of Tampa. Chapter members, are, left to right: Jay Choe, CEC, CCA; Michael Rigberg, CEC, CCA, Chef of the Year; Myrta Mundo, Apprentice of the Year; Moa Lee; Paul Evans, CEC, chapter president; and Marc Castillo.

First, take an active role in this initiative by recruiting at least one new member or mentoring one person who is seeking value from our organization. When you become a mentor to a new member both of you become active in ACF. The demographics of our federation show a need for more industry professional culinarians, and no matter what your membership category—student culinarian, culinarian, professional culinarian, senior culinarian, allied or associate—I would like each of you to mentor a new member and get him or her involved with your chapter. Then, introduce that person to one of our regional conferences or the national convention.

We have many national members, but they do not belong to a chapter. We are correcting this in the near future, and I hope that with these changes we will be able to work together and build our membership.

Retention of membership is just as important as recruiting new members. And because it is difficult to get these members back once they leave, we all need to work harder to keep them. This past year, the board of directors implemented a deferred-dues program for ACF members in good standing who are unemployed and seeking employment and who cannot pay their dues. ACF provides a complimentary membership for one year if a member meets the criteria. Also, did you know that you can make four equal dues payments, one each quarter, during the course of your membership year? ACF offers this program because we understand that these are difficult economic times, and we want to retain members.

Some chapters have a local membership category. This category does not exist in our bylaws, and one of the four criteria for a chapter to be in compliance at the national level is that it aligns its chapter bylaws with the national bylaws. We will explore how we can address this in the coming year.

Reimund Pitz, CEC, CCE, AAC, second from right, received the first-ever Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Ambassador designation, Sept. 8, at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, Orlando, Fla. He is congratulated by, left to right: Joseph Hardiman, president, Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, Orlando; Ferdinand Metz, CMC, WGMC, AAC, HOF, executive dean, Le Cordon Bleu Schools of North America and chairman of Le Cordon Bleu National Advisory Board; and Michael Ty.

Now let’s talk about my vision for this second term in office. We will continue to promote our future, which is young people in the federation. They are the ones who will need to fill our shoes as we age. Recognition is a powerful tool, and we need to recognize them for their accomplishments. This is one of the reasons that I implemented two programs that have student culinarians at the forefront: Lead Like Mike (formerly, Be Like Mike) and an event that will involve students at the national convention in Orlando, Fla. (to replace this year’s Student Culinarian Invitational). Details are being finalized and will be communicated to the membership soon. We need your support to get the word out to promote these initiatives and encourage our student culinarians to apply.

We will continue to promote Chefs Outreach to the Community Day. This year, in Dallas, was our second time for chefs to reach out to the community by sharing a message of healthy eating with children and parents. Those who have participated know the satisfaction of contributing to the communities where we host our national conventions.

The foodservice industry is one of the biggest employers in the country, and together, all the different foodservice organizations are a powerful force. We should exchange ideas and work together. We hope to form an industry advisory council during this term of office. It is my vision that many of our sister organizations will sit with us on the council and address the challenges that face the industry.

Next year, the ACF National Championship will feature college and university foodservice chefs who will compete at the 2012 national convention. If you are a chef at one of these institutions and have an interest in competing, contact Tracy Smith at tsmith@acfchefs.net.

We will continue to work toward running the federation like a business. Our policies and procedures are almost complete, and we will examine the bylaws to make sure we are in compliance with New York State laws for not-for-profits. We will continue to keep a close watch on our financial status, especially with the volatility of the stock market.

Finally, plan to attend one of our upcoming regional conferences in Winston-Salem, N.C., Reno, Nev., Detroit or Niagara Falls, N.Y. I hope to see many of you, and remember that the regional conferences have no borders. If the time suits your schedule or the content of the educational seminars is of interest, feel free to attend any conference.

The holiday season will be here shortly, so please make time to be with family and thank those who have contributed to your success. Reach out to the exhibitors and sponsors that have supported us over the years, and let them know you appreciate them. They would enjoy hearing from you.

I wish you and your families a safe and prosperous holiday season.