FCSI-The Americas, a consulting society dedicated to serving independent foodservice design and hospitality management professionals, will host its annual conference April 19-21 in Kansas City, MO at the Intercontinental Kansas City at the Plaza.
This year’s theme, Reset • Reconnect • React • Renew, will set the stage for a variety of educational seminars on professional development and industry issues, plus interactive events, networking opportunities, national speakers, and a tour of the PowerSoak Systems factory.
Planned highlights of the annual FCSI-The Americas Spring Conference include:
PowerSoak Systems Plant Tour
The maker of commercial ware washers will lead FCSI-Americas consultant members through a tour of its manufacturing plant in Kansas City.
Keynote Speaker: Organizational Development Specialist Dave Mitchell
Dave Mitchell has helped some of the world’s largest and most successful companies, including many Fortune 500 firms, to embrace the benefits of performance excellence through better training techniques.
Educational Session: Can MAS & Designers Co-exist?
FCSI consultants Karen Malody and Todd Guyette will reveal proven strategies for achieving more productive and beneficial partnerships between management consultants and designers.
Educational Session: MEP 123
FCSI consultant Steve Carlson will help attendees understand useful approaches to incorporating mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering into foodservice design work.
Educational Session: LEED & Energy Star Trends
Food Service Technology Center Director of Education Richard Young is known throughout the industry for his practical and thoughtful approach to achieving sustainability within a commercial kitchen. Young will offer insights on achieving energy efficiency through water, electricity, and more.
Educational Session: REVIT – When to Implement, How to Learn and How to Use
REVIT is among the most discussed topics within foodservice today. This panel discussion will see two of the founding members of the industry-wide FCSI-REVIT Task Force dispel myths and offer useful insights on the popular software package by examining when firms should begin to implement, how to use effectively and more. Panelist Dennis Martinez will also lead a workshop on the topic on Saturday.
Educational Session: Tax Planning for Your Business
CPA Larry Taylor will offer tax-planning strategies specifically designed for today’s independent foodservice consultants.
Educational Session: Why, Who, and What on Sustainable Foodservice… Period!
FCSI consultant Greg Christian will lead a presentation that shares ideas and techniques for managing this often overwhelming topic.
Educational Session: Achieving Functional Kitchens Through Effective Use of Space
FCSI consultant Richard Dieli will teach attendees how to coordinate and communicate more effectively with their clients in order to achieve effective space programming, while also covering the pitfalls that arise when shortcuts are taken in the programming stages.
The conference will also feature education sessions on marketing and public relations strategies for foodservice consultants, on leadership strategies for today’s foodservice managers, numerous roundtable discussions, plus a tour of Kauffman Stadium, home to the Kansas City Royals and Kansas City Chiefs.
“We are proud to bring such a wealth of education opportunities to FCSI-The Americas members and know that this event will facilitate many valuable business relationships for our members,” says Wade Koehler, executive director, FCSI-The Americas.
$1,000 Scholarships available to First-Time Attendees
The FCSI Education Foundation, which is committed to developing the future leaders of foodservice and hospitality consulting, has graciously made available several $1,000 scholarships for non-FCSI members that are also practicing foodservice and hospitality consultants with less than five years of experience.
These grants are designed to encourage independent foodservice consultants to explore the outstanding education and networking that will be featured at FCSI-The Americas’ annual conference.
Consultants must apply by March 2, 2012, and can register for the scholarship by completing the registration form here:
http://fcsita.site-ym.com/
For more than 50 years, FCSI-The Americas has served as the voice of independent foodservice and hospitality consultants, defining excellence in the development, execution and process flow implementation of commercial foodservice design and hospitality management. Visit the website at http://www.fcsi.org/?page=
