An extensive educational program that focuses on business issues related to in-house dining programs will dominate the annual national conference of the Society for Foodservice Management (SFM), to be held October 4-7 at the Disney Contemporary Resort in Lake Buena Vista, FL.

Program highlights will include the traditional liaison forum idea exchange and sessions on sustainability, crisis management and using social media as the basis of customer loyalty and relationship programs. Specific sessions for those seeking to improve their ability to manage outsourced foodservice operations will cover the use of Key Performance Indicators to evaluate contract operator performance and the ins and outs of writing better RFPs with language that specifies accountability metrics.

The conference will also offer presentations from Walt Disney World hospitality management experts who will discuss the best practices in use in its internationally acclaimed quality assurance and customer satisfaction programs. The resort itself will provide a world class opportunity for interpersonal and business networking among SFM attendees.

To obtain the sprecial SFM hotel rate, reservations need to be made by September 6. For more information or to register, contact SFM at (856) 380-6829 or go to sfm.conference2010.org.

SNA Installs New President

Nancy Rice (r.), state director of the Georgia Department of Education's School Nutrition Division, assumed the office of president of the School Nutrition Association from outgoing president Dora Rivas during the group's recent 64th Annual National Conference in Dallas.