by Jerry Fournier, 2001 President of the Board

This saying is definitely true as it relates to everyone involved in making the Michigan Restaurant Association effective in its mission to serve the membership. The staff, board, and committee members are all part of what make things happen.

Consistent with this theme I would like to give a big thanks to Bill Roberts, Dennis Brinker and the Finance Committee for their efforts in signing Rob Gifford, our Executive Director, to a new five year term through 2005. Rob is definitely the engine that drives our association.

In 2001, the MRA will be eighty years old. Personally it is a great honor to be chosen as the new President of the Michigan Restaurant Association. Looking back at past leaders, it appears that I am the first to be elected from the non-commercial side of our industry. Being on the board for eighteen years has given me tremendous respect for what the association accomplishes in order to serve its membership.

Reflecting on my MRA experiences, I will never forget my first board meeting in January of 1982 at Roma’s of Bloomfield. There was a snowstorm that day, and it took most of the day before there were enough members present to make a quorum. Henry Montague was our paid executive and a past chair. Our chair was Dick Cregar, Jim Constand was our vice chair, and Dan Kellay was our treasurer. Other members of the board that might be familiar to you were Bill Anton, Reid Ashton, Peter Behr, John Correll, Marcia Cron, Barbara Curl, Mark Fraker, Mike Gibbons, Jon Gould, Jerry Hill, Dale Jarackas, Frank Jeffs, Nils Johansson, Barney Johnson, Peter Jubeck, Gary Lichtman, Ralph Miesel, Dave Ostrander, Bill Roberts, Glenn Sommers, Norbert Swinkowski, John Vanderwouw, and Art Weeber. The past chairs included Jack Bedell, William Blakeney, Joe Blisman, Harold Cregar, Adrian (Dutch) deVogel, Bill Ihlenfeldt, Eleanor Klida, Marty Kreger, George Kurtz, Robert Lajoie, Harris Machus, Henry Montague, Chuck Muer, Don Payne, Herb Schmidt, Win Schuler, Mark Steinbrunner, and Peter Westberg. Many of these association leaders shaped the industry over the history of the MRA.

What an honor it was to be among such distinguished industry leaders!

I would also like to mention other industry icons who have been important to my career, such as Robert Emerson, General Manager of MSU’s Kellogg Center, who hired me for my first job in the hospitality industry in the Fall of 1964 as a "coat checker and bellhop." James Cornelius, General Manager of Meadowbrook Country Club in Northville, employed me as a waiter in the summer of 1965. Little did I know that this opportunity would allow me to meet William W. and Lois B. Triplett, founders of HDS Services, my employer for the past 32 years. What a ride it has been!

So you can understand why I believe it is true- we are what we are because of each other!

When you stop to think about it, this applies for most individuals who work for successful organizations. The strengths of each member of the organizational team must be developed to their fullest potential in order to meet or exceed business goals. In reality, this is a philosophy of management that must be held by managers in order to make their organizations prosper.

An important element of this philosophy is the development of our most important resources, our employees. The team members who work in our businesses are often our front line to our customers. Developing a team-focused commitment to quality at every level within our member businesses is key to success. During my 2001 term, through the six articles that I will write for this magazine, I would like to share a "common sense" philosophy of management that HDS Services has embraced to significantly improve our customer satisfaction. We refer to it as Pathways to Excellence. I believe that these principles of continuous quality improvement will be beneficial to our members as restaurateurs, suppliers, and the staff of the MRA.

An underlining guiding principle to this management style is a simple definition of quality, which is "exceeding the customer’s expectations."

I look forward to sharing these principles with all of you during my term as President. Happy New Year!