| Friday, 21 November 2008 | |
Jax Hospitality Institute students get real-world training at hospitality luncheon The Jacksonville Hospitality Institute (JHI), a FreshMinistries initiative, gave its students real-world training while hosting the North Florida Hotel and Lodging Association (NFHLA) luncheon Tuesday.The event, which was hosted at the Beaver Street Enterprise Center (BSEC), was a meeting of professionals from the local hospitality industry to discuss the current state of the industry and to recognize JHI for its success. As guests arrived, JHI students gave tours of BSEC and JHI facilities. Also, several students got their very first taste of food service, one of the areas in which they will be trained while at JHI. Bob Burr, JHI instructor, gave the students on-the-fly instruction and advice as the luncheon went on. “They haven’t even had any training in food service yet,” Burr said at the luncheon. “But they’ve been doing a great job so far.”  Demorris White, one of JHI’s current students who served drinks and cleared empty plates, said the luncheon was a huge confidence booster.“JHI has given me a lot of self-confidence already,” she said after the luncheon. “But even pouring drinks at the luncheon today without any ice cubes falling helped me feel good about myself.” JHI students have a lot to feel good about lately. JHI recently received a boost from Winn-Dixie when they donated the funds to create a computer lab for the students. Todd Jones, director of JHI, was sure to thank Winn-Dixie for the lab and Comcast for its recent donations at Tuesday’s event. As the luncheon began, Scott Stuckey, general manager for Omni Hotel in Downtown Jacksonville and president of the NFHLA, took to the podium to speak out in support of JHI and its success, noting several members of his workforce are JHI graduates.  Ronnie Evans, a JHI Cycle 4 graduate and employee at the Omni, also spoke at the luncheon in appreciation of JHI.“The confidence they gave me brought me back to the person I used to be; the one who won’t back down from anything,” he said to the attendees. Evans, who is now on his fourth promotion at the Omni and who has almost doubled his pay rate since he started, fought back tears as he expressed his gratitude for JHI and Stuckey. “Outside of JHI, the most important person to me has been Mr. Stuckey because he gave me a chance.”           |
Coming Up
'7 Habits of Successful Families' workshop
(open to the public)
August 7 & 14, 8:30am - 1:00pm
Jacksonville Children’s Commission
Contact
1131 North Laura St.
Jacksonville, FL 32206
Phone: (904) 355-0000
Fax: (904) 355-3004
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