WASHINGTON The National Restaurant Association, as part of its five-year strategic plan, has extended the terms of the current and succeeding chairmen of the boards of the NRA and the Educational Foundation by three months each to synchronize the positions with the calendar year.
Previously, incoming chairs had assumed the yearlong position in May at the NRA's annual trade show in Chicago.
Michael Kaufman, the NRA's current chairman and co-president of Enovo Restaurant Ventures LLC in Chappaqua, N.Y., will remain in the post into September 2009. Following that, the current vice chairman Michael Gibbons, president and chief executive of Mainstreet Ventures in Ann Arbor, Mich., will take the reins and serve through 2010.
Linda Bacin, vice president of Bella! Bacinos in Chicago, who is the current chairwoman of the Educational Foundation, will turn the post over to vice chairman William Hyde Jr., principal of Dallas-based Abacus Restaurant Group, in September as well.
Following the transitions, board chairs will change in January.
"As we transition the term for the National Restaurant Association's and NRA Educational Foundation's chair positions to a calendar year, we are fortunate that our current leadership is willing to extend their service to allow for a most seamless transition," said Dawn Sweeney, the NRA's president and chief executive.
"Our current chairs, Michael Kaufman and Linda Bacin, have devoted an incredible amount of time and effort in helping to lay the groundwork and begin implementation of the National Restaurant Association's and NRAEF's five-year strategic plan. We appreciate Michael and Linda agreeing to continue as chairs through September.
"We are also extremely fortunate that Michael Gibbons and Bill Hyde, also outstanding industry leaders, have offered to add three months to their chairmanships starting in September through the end of the 2010 calendar year," she said.
Separately, Sweeney recently sent a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama on behalf of the NRA, thanking him for dining out.
"During these challenging economic times," she wrote, "your recent and highly visible visits to restaurants with the vice president and your family are exactly the type of activities that help convey the important role of restaurants in the economy and the importance of all of us doing our part to help support a revitalized economy.
"By dining out, you have helped support some of the 13 million Americans that depend on our industry for their livelihood."
Contact Paul Frumkin at [email protected]
