Mark Linden, CEC AAC SEPTEMBER 2012 From the Range Greetings Fellow Culinarians and Associates I hope you have all enjoyed some of the fantastic summer days we have had so far. Hopefully a few more are in store for the rest of the season. With the upcoming Labor Day Holiday upon us, signals the start of another year of exciting chapter meetings and events.
I have been reading a book by Patrick Lencioni titled "The Advantage". It's focus is on why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business. I hope to share with you some of this book over the next 2-3 months. The crux of the book primarily deals with the greatest advantage a company (our chapter) can achieve is organizational health. Many groups place a lot of emphasis on finances, marketing, strategy and technology. What is often overlooked is the simplest of them all and that is the culture of the organization. These include minimal politics, confusion, high morale and low turnover. However often looking into these areas can be a bit scary as you have to delve into what is not working. The lack of sophisticated intelligence will not hinder the development of a healthy organization. In fact an organization that is healthy often becomes smarter because the people can have a degree of fun and productivity climbs, as people realize that they can look for solutions and arrive at compelling conclusions. So turning our chapter into an even healthier one requires honesty, placing emphasis on how we can grow and improve an adding a little muscle to the projects as hand.
That being said I would like to hear from you as to how we can improve our chapter from YOUR perspective and what you would like to see changed. Please drop me an email at mlinden@exeterhouse.org. August Board Meeting The officers and Board of Directors held our annual summer planning session last week. A special thanks to Brian Date and Western Food Brokers for hosting it again and providing the food. Our discussion centered around two basic themes. The first being the 100th Anniversary of the Governors Inaugural Ball. Our chapter has provided the food for this event for the past 30 or so years, and it serves as one of our best fundraisers for the chapter. Please see the volunteer section below for assistance needed. The second dealt with how we as a chapter can begin to add value to your membership. FSA (Lori ) has stepped forward to host two critical meetings to address the current trends within our industry, especially concerning local products. In addition a later educational session geared towards students and entering culinarians on what to expect once you have entered the job market. A panel of individuals will host your questions. Our finances look to be in good shape for the upcoming year and our apprenticeship program looks to be starting off with a great slate of students. Congratulations!
Once again we offer a special word of recognition to the Lake Washington Technical College for earning the Gold Medal at the National Conference for the Culinary Knowledge Bowl. A great achievement by a Great Team. Special thanks to the coaches Janet Shaffer and Matt Dimeo. I also would like to congratulate Thomas Morisette of Idaho and Matt Dimeo for successfully passing their practical exam for the CEC designation. We saw some great work, good food and culinary techniques. When you see them please congratulate them for a well-deserved kudo.
Volunteer Opportunities
-The Governors Inaugural Ball
Slated for January of 2013 is off and running as far as initial meetings go. Once again we have been asked to provide the reception event for this ceremony. It is the 100th anniversary of the Hall of Justice so there is a lot of hype surrounding this. Tony Parker is the Chairman for this event. The event date is January 16th 2013 at the Hall of Justice in Olympia. It will be a large tented area serving appetizers for close to 5,000 people. Several committees have been assigned. The people in charge of these committees will be call in for volunteers. As a reminder it is an event that will raise close to or over $20,000 for our chapter. These funds are what make meetings possible at the rates we have them at. -Apprenticeship Demo Chefs Individuals are needed to help in the instructing the apprentice's. It always add extra credence to the program by having guests doing demonstrations in areas that the students may not see. The focus for the first quarter this year deals with the business side of things.
September Meeting
The September meeting is scheduled to be on September 10th at Oberto's Sausage Company in Kent, WA. We will have a board meeting from 4-6pm followed by a tour of the plant and reception from 6:30-8pm. Click here to visit the meetings page for more info... Join us on WE ARE CHEFS and FACEBOOK Gouter a la Cuisine
Mark Linden CEC ACE AAC Washington State Chefs Association Website | 
