Oregon's hospitality industry has once again made its mark at the national level. Bend High School's ProStart Team won First Place in the Hospitality Management Competition at the national ProStart Student Invitational in Charlotte, NC over the weekend.
This is an unprecedented third year in a row Bend has placed at nationals, and a second year they've walked away with gold. Student teams from Oregon's ProStart program now have claimed four wins at the national competition-a distinction that no other state in the U.S. can claim.
The Bend team captured 400 out of 400 on the Quiz Bowl-the only team in the nation to receive a perfect score. Sources tell us that Oregon's Culinary team from Willamette High in Eugene finished among the top 10 in the nation--though this is not yet confirmed-after taking first place at the statewide ProStart competition.
The competition brought together the top ProStart students from 34 states, territories and districts to battle for medals, prizes and scholarships in both a culinary and management competition. Winning teams from each of these two events are awarded scholarships to pursue a career in the restaurant and foodservice industry as well as gold, silver and bronze medals.
Teams participating in the management competition demonstrate their knowledge of the restaurant and foodservice industry by competing in two different events: the Case Study and Quiz Bowl. In the Case Study, students are tested on their communication skills and ability to apply their knowledge of the restaurant and foodservice industry to practical situations. The second portion of the competition, the Quiz Bowl, is a question and answer event where students are tested on their comprehension of ProStart coursework.
"These talented students represented not only their school, but the entire state of Oregon at the National ProStart Student Invitational," said Sharon Lingenfelter, Executive Director of the Oregon Restaurant Education Foundation "This was the culmination of a lot of hard work by the students, teachers and mentors, and we couldn't be more proud of them. We are honored to support these students as they embark on a career in this exciting industry, and anticipate great success for them."
ProStart is a two-year curriculum that prepares students for management-level careers in the hospitality industry, which consists of 9,000 restaurants in Oregon and 120,000 employees, making it the largest private employer in the state. More information can be found on the web: www.oregonprostart.org.
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The Oregon Restaurant Education Foundation (OREF) is the leading education resource for the greater hospitality industry in Oregon, which is comprised of over 9,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets, 2,100 lodging facilities, a work force of over 133,000 employees, and a total economic impact of $13 billion - making it the cornerstone of the economy, career opportunities and community involvement. OREF works to educate, train, and promote the rapidly growing industry. For more information, visit our website at www.orefoundation.org.
