The Women’s Foodservice Forum has canceled its annual Leadership Development Conference in Dallas, set for the end of the month.
“Due to the numerous health and safety risks that have recently arisen regarding the COVID-19 outbreak, cancelling our national leadership conference is in the interest of safeguarding the well-being of our valued Members, Partners and staff,” the organization announced late Thursday.
The event was scheduled to run from March 29 through April 1. It is typically attended by more than 3,000 foodservice industry executives and associates.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have been encouraging the cancellation or suspension of large, in-person gatherings. That has triggered dozens of event cancellations.
“Please be assured that you are at the very top of our minds and that we will communicate with you again as soon as we have answers to your questions and additional information to share,” WFF said in a statement to supporters. “We recognize the profound implications of canceling an event of this magnitude and its importance in providing professional development for women in our industry.”
WFF provides leadership development, content and strategic networking for women in foodservice and supports the industry in cultivating the next generation of leaders.
“We fully support the WFF’s decision to cancel its event for the health and safety of the foodservice community, and we know this brief pause in industry gatherings will not affect the important thought leadership and hard work WFF undertakes to advance gender equality,” said Sarah Lockyer, group publisher of Nation’s Restaurant News and the Restaurant & Food Group at Informa Connect. “We look forward to continuing the strong partnership between Nation’s Restaurant News and the Women’s Foodservice Forum in 2020 and beyond.”
Nation’s Restaurant News has canceled its WFF affiliate event, the Power List Celebration Reception, previously scheduled for Monday, March 30 at the Omni Hotel in Dallas.
The cancellation of the leadership conference joins a string of events that have been postponed or cancelled due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus, which was declared Wednesday by world health officials as a pandemic.
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