A weekend in Charlotte

I am so ready to be over this snowy, frigid winter. Fortunately, I get a bit of a respite this weekend, when I travel to Charlotte, N.C., where the daytime temperatures are expected to be in the 60s.

Another reason I am stoked to be in Charlotte is that Sunday we kick off our 12th annual MenuDirections conference. We are anticipating record attendance for the conference, which is themed “Satisfying a More Educated Customer.”

Despite all of the work that is involved, MenuDirections is one of the highlights of the year for us. We provide a unique experience for the 150 or so operators who attend. The demographics span the breadth of the industry, from colleges and schools to hospitals and retirement communities. Directors, managers and chefs all will be represented, with a balance between operators who attend every year and those who will experience the event for the first time. No other conference brings together so many different job titles from so many different segments.

Our goal is to impart as much wisdom as we can and encourage as much networking as possible over a two-and-a-half-day period. But after each conference I am always amazed at how much I got out of the event. Our readers are never shy about sharing, and all of the editors come away with so many stories and ideas that can help us craft content for the magazine and the website. We make new friends and renew old friendships and we hope the return on attendees’ investment of time and money is manifold.

So I am eager to get started with the conference. If you are attending, I look forward to meeting you and hearing about your operations. If you can’t make it, I encourage you to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and our website as we chronicle the sessions as they unfold. It’s going to be a great show.