Jacksonville Hospitality Institute Hosts Grand Opening

Thursday morning, November 9th, 2006, Jacksonville Hospitality Institute (JHI) officially opened its doors for classes with FreshMinistries and its partners particpating in a hospitality “service bell ringing” ceremony.

Participating guests and partners, left to right, included The Rev. Davette Turk, Todd Jones, JHI Director, Bob Nelson, OIC Philadelphia, Jacksonville City Councilman Kevin Hyde, The Rev. Dr. Robert V. Lee III, Chairman of FreshMinistries, Ju’Coby Pittman, Executive Director of Clara White Mission, Bruce Ferguson, WorkSource and Tim Horn of Comcast.

“We are ready for our first class” says Michael Bryant, Director of FreshMinistries’ Urban Initiatives. JHI offers free job readiness and skills training, job placement assistance, counseling, mentoring and advanced training to program participants. Working internships in culinary arts at the Clara White Mission and hands-on internships at area hotels, motels, resorts and catering companies will also be available to give participants hands-on work experience. Todd Jones, the newly appointed Director of JHI, states “The job training we provide not only gives individuals the skills they need to get a job, but also the foundation for a career in the thriving hospitality industry.”

JHI, located at FreshMinistries’ business incubator, Beaver Street Enterprise Center, will hold its first orientation for participants at the new facility November 16, 2006. The institute, based on the successful “Opportunities Inn” program in Philadelphia, offers 9- to 16-week hospitality training sessions. Each training session, designed to meet specific needs outlined by our hospitality advisor partners – Hyatt, Holiday Inn, Marriott, Omni and other hospitality industry leaders who have expressed a desire to offer job placement to certified program graduates – serves 30 to 45 participants. 5 training cycles are scheduled for 2007.

Jacksonville Hospitality Institute partners with Comcast, WorkSource, Hyatt and numerous community and industry partners. JHI is located at Beaver Street Enterprise Center, 1225 W. Beaver Street, Jacksonville, Florida, 32204. For further information on program curriculum or participate in training, contact JHI Director, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , 904.265.4750.

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