October
9, 2007
In This
Issue:
- Biggest
ProStart Teacher Meeting Ever
- Welcome
New ProStart Trustee to OREF Board
- Roots
& Shoots: Sustainability
Oregon
State Fair Hosts Biggest ProStart Instructor
Meeting Ever!
Over sixty Oregon ProStart
teachers met at the Oregon State Fair on October
5th and learned about connections between Oregon
agriculture products/commodities and culinary
trends. As the meeting sponsor, the Oregon State
Fair provided lunch for the instructors and
engaged in a brainstorming session that will
help potentially develop the food and beverage
side of the fair event itself. Other discussions
revolved around other events that will be taking
place on the fairgrounds throughout the year
and how agriculture and ProStart could partner
up. Additional speakers at the all-day professional
development meeting included Craig Mesmer of
Gingerich Farms and the Oregon Blueberry Commission,
Polly Owen and Lonna Severnsen of the Oregon
Hazelnut Marketing Board who coordinated a cooking
demo with Chef Josh Hobson from the Oregon Culinary
Institute, Ron Dodge of the Oregon Department
of Education who gave teachers an update of
the CIM/CAM changes, and instructors had a chance
to share best practices with one another.
The next ProStart teacher
professional development meeting will take place
in April at Western Culinary Institute (date/time
TBD).
Willamette
High School Teacher to Serve on OREF Board
Please help us welcome Oregon
ProStart instructor Martha Humphreys as the
newest appointee from the ProStart teachers
who will be serving as their representative
on the Oregon Restaurant Education Foundation
Board of Trustees. Each year, the teachers elect
one of their own to be the liaison between the
teachers and the Foundation. This is now the
fourth year that this position has been in place
as a non-voting member that helps connect business
and education. Willamette High School, under
Martha's expert teaching, was one of the first
pilot programs for the ProStart program back
in 1998, and since then, she has taken two teams
to the National ProStart Student Invitational
as the result of winning the Oregon competition
in recent years. She is excited about her new
appointment and is looking forward to getting
to know fellow Trustees. We would also like
to thank Louise Markland, Bend High School,
for her service as a Trustee in the past year.
Louise also has been to Nationals several times
and has helped put Oregon on the culinary map
with two first place and one third place win
in the past few years as well. Thanks, Louise,
and welcome aboard, Martha!
Roots
& Shoots: Sustainability Interaction and
Students
Are you wondering how to engage
kids with sustainability issues? The Roots and
Shoots program from the Jane Goodall Institute
may be of interest. This global, environmental
and humanitarian program for young people provides
an opportunity for involving an after school
club, a classroom or even an entire school in
the sustainability effort. Its mission is to
foster respect and compassion for all living
things, to promote understanding of all cultures
and beliefs and to inspire each individual to
take action to make the world a better place
for the environment, animals and the human community.
All Roots & Shoots members, from pre-K to
university, demonstrate their care and concern
for living things through service projects in
their communities.
Its goals are:
- To implement positive change
through active learning about, caring for
and
interacting with the environment
- To demonstrate care and
concern for all animals
- To enhance understanding
among individuals of different cultures, ethnic
groups, religions, socio-economic levels and
nations through our global
communications network
- To help young people develop
self-respect, confidence in themselves and
hope for the future
Learn more at http://www.rootsandshoots.org/.
Upcoming
Events
2008 ProStart State
High School Culinary Championships: February
23, 2008 - at the Oregon Convention Center in
Portland
