Page 8 - OhioAlaCarteSummer2011

6 www.ohiorestaurant.org Summer Issue

Nearly 200 guests, including Ohio ProStart ®

students, parents, industry representatives and friends of the foundation, attended the 2011 Ohio ProStart ® Celebration of the Stars event, which was held at Mentel Memorial Golf Club on May 18, 2011.

This year’s event was supported by industry sponsors: A Catered Event; Bob Evans Farms, Inc.; Butcher Block; Butterball; Cameron Mitchell Restaurants; Carrabba’s ItalianGrill; TheColumbus Culinary Institute; Gordon Food Service; John Q’s Steakhouse; McCormick Company; Mercer Cutlery; The National Restaurant Association

Educational Foundation; Ohio Packing Company; Ricardo’s Banquet and Catering; Rusty Bucket Restaurant & Tavern; Sysco; The Wasserstrom Company; and White Castle System, Inc. These sponsors really stepped up to the plate and helped the foundation offer the grandest scholarship banquet to date. The Columbus Culinary Institute at Bradford treated guests to a buffet dinner that included an elite fair of food by the chefs-in-training and their esteemed instructors. A great dinner was enjoyed by all.

Cameron Mitchell whet the appetites of all by sharing his “rags to riches story” as the keynote speaker. Mitchell is the president and founder of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. A lifelong entrepreneur, Mitchell is an accomplished businessman, culinary expert and nationally-recognized restaurateur. His prominence in the industry increased exponentially in early 2008 when he guided the sale of two of his most popular concepts – Mitchell’s Fish Market and Mitchell’s/Cameron’s Steakhouse – to Ruth’s Chris for $92 million. He awed attendees as he shared his trials and tribulations on his meteoric rise in the restaurant industry. With an entrepreneur’s energy, vision and passion, Mitchell shared stories to inspire students to strive for their dreams and to be the best they can be.

Ohio’s top ProStart culinary teams and management teams, representing Cuyahoga Valley Career Center, C -Tec Career Center, Lancaster High School, Lorain County JVS, Tolles Career & Technical Center, Polaris Career Center, South Stark Career Academy and Springfeld Clark Career & Technical Center, were honored. Individual Ohio ProStart Invitational student award winners were also honored: Top Culinary Student – Jonmorgan Smith, Penta Career Center; Top Management Student – Shawn Mayle, South Stark Career Academy, Poultry Fabrication Award – Austin Zavodny, Polaris Career Center; Leadership Award – Evan Crawford, Eastland Career Center; and Knife Skills Award – Mindy Anderson, Penta Career Center.

The Ohio Restaurant Association Education Foundation (ORAEF) along with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation

(NRAEF); Gordon Food Service; Fran and Mike Dewine Family; Ingram White Castle Foundation; Sysco, Presto Foods and the Cleveland Area Restaurant Association partnered to present nearly $24,000 in Ohio ProStart scholarships to graduating students. Students who received scholarships included Joshua Baskey, Polaris Career Center; Austin Zavodny, Polaris Career Center; Amber Weber, Penta Career Center; Patience Williams, Lancaster High School; Jonmorgan Smith, Penta Career Center; Damaris Loretz, Columbus Downtown High School; Katie Vaughn, Tolles Career & Technical Center; Lexis Hoover, Lancaster High School; Torri Coleman, Millstream Career Center; and Adam Alexander, Columbus Downtown High School.

The ORAEF must also express its gratitude, when focusing on supporting the future of the restaurant industry, to Tom Vollmer, the general manager of the Ohio Valley division of Gordon Food Service. Vollmer, who has served as a staunch advocate for ProStart and the foundation since its inception in 2000, will be retiring at the end of the year. He was honored with this year’s Executive Director Advocacy Award. Over the years, he has spearheaded GFS’s family support for the all of ProStart’s events, scholarships and programs. Although Vollmer will be saying goodbye to GFS, he intends to continue to support the Ohio ProStart program and the industry. The ORAEF extends its thanks and best wishes to him as he moves into a more relaxing period of his life.

The ORAEF would not be a successful foundation and have the great Ohio ProStart program that we operate without the support of our industry partners. We are very fortunate to be able to work with each and every one of our partners. As always, thanks again for your help and commitment to the program and our amazing students! Go Ohio ProStart!

By Sharon K.M. Fish, Executive Director, Ohio Restaurant Association Education Foundation

Education is Our Foundation

ORAEF Holds Ohio ProStart ® Celebration of the Stars

The event recognized excellent achievement among Ohio ProStart ® students

Cameron Mitchell enthralled attendees at the 2011 Celebration of the Stars Banquet with his “rags to riches” story in the foodservice industry. Mitchell’s message to the scholarship recipients was clear: Without hard work, you will never reach your dreams so do your best every minute of every day.

These beautifully-crafted melons adorned the hors d’oeuvres table at this year’s event. Guests and attendees all remarked on the hard work and attention to detail refected throughout the evening’s dinner.