FM Profile: Ginger Cater

When I complete my term in office, I will feel I have been successful if the board has approved a successor for Bill St. John, who is retiring.

Our members would like to see ANFP significantly increase its membership.

When I ran for president, I promised I would not keep the ANFP ship “safe in the harbor” because, like great ships, she was crafted and ready to sail and sail.

The most unexpected reward for assuming this role has been the number of great people I have met and worked with who have since become personal friends.

My strongest role model has always been Eleanor Roosevelt.

My first job in foodservice was as a waitress in a Shoney’s Big Boy restaurant.

The most important career decision I ever made was to retire as a High School English teacher and become the foodservice director at a local hospital.

I think my strongest personality trait is loyalty. When I tell you I have your back, I mean it.

The best way to improve the image of those in foodservice is education, education, education.

The professional accomplishment I am proudest of is becoming chair of the ANFP board of directors.

I think I have a real talent for written communication.

The best advice anyone ever gave me was, “Don’t try to just survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor and some style.”

The reason more young people don’t enter foodservice is because they don’t see it as a glamorous or lucrative profession.

People are often surprised to find out that I’m a former team member of goodwill trips to the Honduras and Nicaragua. Without electricity or running water, I fed a team of 70 doctors, dentists and nurses three hot meals a day. I am a former member of the Disaster Relief team for the state of South Carolina and helped prepare meals after 9-11 in New York and after Hurrican Katrina in New Orleans.

My most prized possession is the antique iron bed that my mother, grandmother and great grandmother were born in.

If I weren’t in foodservice, I’d probably be retired.

The most recent book I’ve read is Eleanor Roosevelt: First Lady of the World.

The famous person I’d most like to meet is a toss up between Elvis Presley and Mae West.

If I could pass one piece of legislation it would be a law to protect seniors and promote food safety in nursing homes and similar facilities by requiring that Certified Dietary Managers be on-site.

My comfort food is soup. Soup makes everything better!

If I could write my own epitaph, it would be: “She loved life, but knew that the best was yet to come!

At a Glance

ASSOCIATION:
Association of Nutrition and Foodservice
Professionals

No. of Members: 14,000

HQ Address:
406 Surrey Woods DriveSt. Charles, IL 60174
Executive Director:
Bill St. John, CAE

Phone: (800) 323-1908

Website: www.anfponline.org

MISSION/VISION: ANFP is the nation’s leading source for nutrition and foodservice professionals, promoting career development, setting best-practice standards, and strengthening the profession of nutrition and foodservice management.

PROFESSIONAL:
Job:  Director of Clinical Nutrition,  Healthcare Services Group (currently contracted to Glorified Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Greenville, SC.)
Education:  BA, English, College of Charleston; MEd from Converse College; CDM, CFPP from Greenville Technical College.