Incoming President Mark Kraner addresses the membership.

On July 9-12, attendees at the 50th annual conference of the National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS) gathered in Washington, D.C. to celebrate a half century of leadership in the C/U segment and to offer members a strategic vision that would help guide the organization in coming years.

To support that vision, NACUFS released its new Visioning Summit Report, a white paper two years in the making that is geared to helping members and their administrations prepare for the future of higher education.

As always, the conference featured some of the most wide-ranging educational opportunities for attendees. These ranged from workshops on technology applications and retail business development to sessions on benchmarking, sustainability, food cost control, culinary development, marketing and customer service strategies.

In formal events, Mark Kraner, assistant vice president for university services at George Mason University, was installed as the 2008-2009 president while Samuel Bennett, director of hospitality services at Texas Tech University, was installed as president-elect.

Theodore Minah Award winners

Ted Mayer, executive director of dining services at Harvard University, was installed as at-large director; and Bill Moloney, senior director of dining and auxiliaries at Miami University-Ohio, will serve as the ‘09 national conference chair and on the board of directors.

Jane Grant-Shambaugh was honored as the 2008 recipient of the Theodore W. Minah Distinguished Service Award, NACUFS' most prestigious honor. Mark Kraner and Janet Paul Rice, associate director of dining services at Concordia College, received NACUFS Lichtenfelt Awards in recognition of their volunteer contributions to the organization; and Jamesena Miller, a past NACUFS president from the University of Tennessee, was named a Distinguished NACUFS Lifetime Member.

Anthony Jung, chef at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, was awarded first place in the 8th annual NACUFS Culinary Challenge (see related story, p. 28). His entreé, Morel Crusted Striped Bass with Asparagus Broth, Dijon Gnocchi and Carrot Batonnet, received a gold medal from ACF.

Silver Medals went to Andrew Mayne, from Stanford University (2nd Place) and Jason Reynolds, of Ball State (3rd Place). Silver medals were also awarded to Thomas Schraa, University of Maryland, and Edward Castillo, of Rice University. A Bronze medal went to Billy Kardys from University of Colorado at Boulder.