Last Friday morning, more than 600 attendees including local business leaders, elected officials and teachers, gathered at The National Conference Center for the Loudoun School-Business Partnership Executive Council’s (LSBP) annual breakfast. The event was held to recognize businesses that have gone above and beyond for education in the county. Eighth grade students from Belmont Ridge Middle School, who participate in our school business partnership program, arrived early to help greet guests. The vibrant morning began with entertainment from The Woodgrove High School Guitar Ensemble. Guest speakers and presenters included Jill Turgeon, vice-chair of the Loudoun County School Board, Al Nielsen, chair of LSBP, Donna Fortier and Cynthia Marin of LSBP committee and Peter Arundel, publisher of the Loudoun Times- Mirror. Dr. Edgar B. Hatrick, superintendent of Loudoun County Public Schools, gave concluding remarks.
Congratulations to all of the award recipients and a sincere thanks for all your efforts in making Loudoun County a great place to live!
Award Recipients
Abernethy and Spencer Nursery in partnership with Lincoln Elementary School
George Mason University in partnership with Sterling Middle School
J10 Church in partnership with Farmwell Station Middle School
Loudoun County Farm Bureau in partnership with Woodgrove High School
Wal-Mart Supercenter in partnership with LCPS Head Start Program
2013 “Make a Difference Award” Honoree
Second Lieutenant Jeffrey Mees, Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO)
Belmont Ridge Middle School students recently got a behind-the-scenes look into hospitality. As part of our business-school partnership, more than 100 students participated in a banquets and stewarding session where they learned how to complete a requisition sheet and how to set the perfect table. The sessions were held on February 12th and 13th and were led by Gene Bussineau, director of banquets and event operations, Ernie Camposeco, stewarding manager and Sharon Meyers, director of catering.
“No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.”- Robin Williams
Since 2010, the National Conference Center has partnered with Belmont Ridge Middle School to give eight-grade students an opportunity to learn about hospitality and business operations. Through the business-school partnership program, NCC has invited the students for a variety of fun-filled sessions including workshops on exceptional customer service to culinary sessions with Executive Chef Mason. Our partnership has given both the students and NCC employees invaluable learning experiences and reinforce our commitment to education and making a difference in the community.
We recently learned about the incredible story of Phoebe Lisle, one of the school’s seventh-grade students. In a very poignant, handwritten note to President Obama, Pheobe expressed the need for action to be taken, surrounding the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy. Her candid words caught the attention of the White House and prompted an invitation to the president’s gun control press conference on January 16. At just age 13, Pheobe reminds that even the smallest actions can have a large impact. Read more about her story here.
“Pleasing the customer” and “If we keep the customer happy, we can get the customer to come back” was a reoccurring theme when I asked several eighth graders their main lesson learned from session three in the school-business partnership between Belmont Ridge Middle School and NCC. Eighth graders who are comprehending what makes a business successful at this age will thrive in the hospitality and meeting/events industry if they choose to follow that career path. The eighth graders who come to NCC monthly are currently help plan the Loudoun County School Business Partnership breakfast in March 2012.
In the community of event professionals, Food for Thought is often a topic of discussion. Without speaking too scientific, food for thought is defined as food options high in nutritional value which stimulates brain activity and enhances meeting performance, attention and overall experience. As research is performed and results of food for thought items are shared among meeting professionals in the industry, more planners are developing an interest in what their attendees are consuming and venues are rising to the requests. However, are meeting planners and venues the only ones excited about food for thought?
As a venue who is active in the #eventprofs community, we like listening and responding to what attendees are saying, online and offline. Walking through the halls yesterday, I heard “Boiled eggs, I’ve seen better snacks.” and “Hummus, it’s so bland.”
After approaching Executive Chef Craig Mason with the news, he said,
“Planners are all about food for thought. But, when we place a ‘build your own trail mix’ on the break stations with mixed nuts, raisins, dried blueberries, banana chips, Reeses Pieces and plain M&Ms. Attendees kill the Reeses Pieces and M&Ms, leaving the rest.”
However, as event professionals we’ve come a long way and these same attendees who prefer the candy may also be the ones who are wondering where the fried chicken is at lunch. Our current break-station rotation includes food for thought items such as hard boiled eggs with flavored salts, hummus with pretzels and crackers, vegetable crudité, assorted cheese cubes and a ‘make your own trail mix’ bar. On Fridays, our break-stations feature cookies and brownies as a special treat; attendees also won’t feel the 2:00 sugar crash as most meetings adjourn early afternoon on a Friday, but for attendees to choose the unhealthier option demonstrates to a venue and for meeting planners, we still have a long way to go.
What’s the solution?Education! For the break-stations, we’re designing a food for thought card explaining why those options were chosen for the break-station, the benefits and how to make smarter choices for day-to-day healthy living and enhanced meeting performance. It’s all about educating planners, venues and attendees on the subject of food for thought. Feel free to read our Food for Thought white paper with Andrea Sullivan of BrainStrength Systems.
What has been your encounter with attendees and break-station choices? Is it favorable or do you also view this as an opportunity for education?
You first read about it in Leesburg Today, now read about it from an eighth graders’ view -
Eighth grade student, Brett Woods of Belmont Ridge Middle School wrote this about our business partnership with the school, “At the NCC we learned about taste testing foods that you will be serving at events that you plan. You eat very small portions just to know the taste. You do this to make sure the food is proper for your event. The foods they let us taste were some of the most delicious things I had ever tasted. Based on what I ate, I know that the cooks there work hard and are good at what they do. I can’t wait to go back. I am looking forward to going back. I am excited to see what we will be learning next. This is a wonderful experience.”
Learn about the Partnership… Eighth grade students at Belmont Ridge Middle School are getting an up-close look at the inner workings of the hospitality industry, through a partnership with NCC. Since October, the students have been visiting us to get hands-on experience in various aspects of the field, from housekeeping to the front desk and the kitchen to the banquet hall. Now the students are gearing up for their final task: overseeing the catering of a large-scale breakfast in March. From start to finish the students will be involved with every aspect of the event, including food preparation, serving guests and final clean up. This will be the third year students have participated in the program, which is part of the conference center’s overall goal of supporting education in the community.
The next session of Belmont Ridge Middle at NCC will be later this month. Stay tuned for their next blog post.
To watch a recap of the last session, visit our YouTube channel.
For the past four years, Selden’s Landing Elementary School has traveled to our property to draw their interpretation of what the Holidays look like at The National Conference Center.
At the November Menu Tasting for clients of The National Conference Center and West Belmont Place, clients are asked to vote on their favorite creation. Congratulations to our 1st place winner, Jun Luu. His winning vision is featured on the front of our 2010 Holiday Card sent to clients, local community members and more. We gifted Jun Luu with a $100 giftcard to Michael’s to continue to expand his creativity. Congratulations to our 2nd place winners who tied – Aoife O’Conner and Sarah Katherine Lawless. They each received a $50 gift card to Michael’s.
Pictured from left to right: Eric Whitson (Director of Sales & Marketing at The National Conference Center),
Sarah Katherine Lawless (2nd place winner), Mr. Steve Loya (Art Teacher at Selden’s Landing Elementary),
Aiofe O’Conner (2nd place winner), and Jun Luu (1st place winner)
What would you “color” if you were told to draw the Holidays?
A fifth grade art class from Selden’s Landing Elementary School travels to NCC each year to “color” the Holiday/Winter season. Internally, the pictures are narrowed down to the top 10 favorites. These are displayed at our Fall Tasting and Cooking Demonstration by Executive Chef Craig Mason in November and guests are asked to vote on their own favorites. The winning picture is featuring on the front of the National Conference Center’s holiday card and the 2nd and 3rd place runner-ups are featured on the back of the card. Here are some pictures from today’s event to color your morning:
Ever wonder how a younger person would perceive your organization? We did too!
Through a partnership with Belmont Ridge Middle School, our conference center has designed an annual program for selected eighth graders to participate in. The students meet once a month and job shadow an event planner, team members in the catering department, our Director of Food & Beverage as well as Executive Chef Craig Mason.
Last week was the first session for the 2010-2011 school year where the students toured the conference center, learned about occupations… and well, here’s what Steven C. says about The National Conference Center -
“This past week, in my sixth block resource, I attended the National Conference Center (NCC) Business Partnership Program. The building was very large and had three main sections to it: North, South, and West sections. While attending, I was enlightened by many interesting people and occupations. I learned that NCC has over one million square feet on the property and employs thousands upon thousands of people. I also learned that I will be educated on proper culinary techniques, how to partner up with other businesses, and how to plan a party. The thing I enjoyed learning the most while there was seeing how much food is actually needed during any ceremony at NCC and how quickly that food is replaced. When we walked into the huge pantry, all I could see was shelves and shelves of food. During my sixth block resource I will go the National Conference Center and will continue to enjoy learning these life skills.”
Thank you Steven! We look forward to seeing you next month. Stay tuned for other featured students who were selected to write on their experience.
