The Forum for Foodservice

By Patricia Dailey, Editor-in-Chief -- Restaurants & Institutions, 5/1/2003

Conferences, nearly as common as birds at a beach picnic, are integral to the foodservice industry’s intellectual strength and vitality. Each of the many that take place in any given year offers its own unique contributions to the core of knowledge, experience and expertise, a set of learning intended to cultivate future growth and greatness.

Unfortunately, although not altogether unexpectedly given their sheer number, not all industry conferences are worth the time or expense. Too many come up short in scope, reach, audience or originality (a phenomenon that, hardly new, was written about in R&I in 1972, when Editor Jane Young Wallace noted that the same recurring issues—training, industry standards, lack of communication between various foodservice constituencies— formed the predictable and dull basis for nearly every event that sought to draw together operators and manufacturers). Other conferences are guided by the wrong motivations: to capture attendees for the planners’ purposes and profits rather than for any real benefit of paying guests.

Some events, however, seem destined to break the molds as they forge ahead with new meaning and clarity of vision. The Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF), which concluded its 14th annual Leadership Development Conference in Dallas last month, is one such standout, an event of rock-solid stature, validity and purpose. As an unparalleled vehicle for personal and professional development, it should command the industry’s attention, support and attendance.

In a year made more challenging by a plodding economy and war-torn geopolitical landscape, registrations at the event were up 30% over 2002, leaping from 1,300 to 1,700. That simple statistic alone speaks to the value of WFF, its programming and role in the industry—as a partner in the growth and development of executive women and leaders.

The corridors, meeting rooms and gathering places of attendees—whether groups of three or four or fully 1,700—told a stronger, more compelling story: The WFF is all about success—the solid, irrefutable economics of achieving business success through the cultivation of excellence through gender diversity.

At this stage in WFF’s evolution, executive women continue to be the organization’s primary focus, a strategy that compensates for a bit of historical shortchanging. But it would not be accurate to think of WFF as just a women’s group. It exists for the benefit and betterment of an industry whose goals only will be fully achieved through cooperation across all levels.

Time is an irreplaceable resource, a commodity of limited supply. Choices for its use tug all of foodservice in different, often conflicting directions. But the WFF annual conference, the centerpiece of the group’s programming agenda, hardly seems like an optional, elective activity. Its next conference takes place March 21-24, 2004, in Chicago. Being part of its growth and momentum—indeed its success— would appear to be a sound strategy and a smart business decision.