NRA chairman Kaufman receives Cecil B. Day awardNRA chairman Kaufman receives Cecil B. Day award

Ron Ruggless

CHICAGO National Restaurant Association, was honored during the group’s spring board meeting with the 2009 Cecil B. Day Ethics Award, which recognizes the high ethics of hospitality industry leaders. —Michael Kaufman, chairman of the

Florida State University and the Cecil B. Day family present the annual award to honor Day, who was the founder of the Days Inn motel chain. —Michael Kaufman, chairman of the

Robert A. Brymer, who serves as the Cecil B. Day professor of lodging management at FSU in Tallahassee, Fla., and presented the award May 17 during the NRA Restaurant Hotel-Motel Show, said, “Michael was selected for his stellar record and commitment to an ethical approach in how he conducts all areas of his life–business, community, family and faith.” —Michael Kaufman, chairman of the

In accepting the honor, Kaufman, co-president of Enovo Restaurant Ventures LLC, said: “While I did not have the privilege of meeting Mr. Day, his legacy of integrity is a lesson for all of us. There are many deserving leaders in our industry; I am truly honored to have been nominated and selected.” —Michael Kaufman, chairman of the

A $10,000 award accompanies the Cecil B. Day honor, and it will benefit the ProStart program, a two-year high school foodservice curriculum supported by the NRA and state restaurant associations. —Michael Kaufman, chairman of the

“It is thrilling that the award will benefit our ProStart career-building program and invest in our future workforce and industry leaders of tomorrow,” Kaufman said. —Michael Kaufman, chairman of the

This is the third year the award has been given. Past recipients were S. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A, and Richard Rivera, president, chief executive and chairman of Real Mex Restaurants Inc. and a former president and chief operating officer of Darden Restaurants Inc.— [email protected] —Michael Kaufman, chairman of the