Chris Harmon, Director of Community Service, set out to help kids and teens withProject 16 learn how to make a meal for themselves with our DFW NACE 2020 Community Service Project, “Cooking with Kids”.
This all wouldn’t have been possible without the many donations from our DFW NACE members that allowed us to buy groceries for the kids ensuring that they each had the ingredients to make the Italian Chicken Bake Pasta recipe. After a trip to the market, DFW NACE members gathered safely (with masks) at Truluck’s to pack each grocery bag for the kids and then delivered them to their homes all over the Dallas – Fort Worth Metroplex.
Later that week, the cooking demonstration was streamed and there were many proud kids and happy bellies after they prepared their own dinners!
I would not be where I am in my career had it not been for NACE. Supporting NACE and serving in the various roles I have taken on, is how I give back to this great organization and our NACE community. After serving for 10 years on our DFW Board of Directors, I had the privilege of serving on the National Board as the CLC Chair (Chapter Leader Council), which I LOVED. That role allowed me to share all of the great work that we were doing in the DFW area with other local chapters around the country.
And now as a Board of Trustee for the Foundation of NACE, I have helped to integrate the needs of our local chapters with our fundraising efforts, and the main project I worked on this year, along with Timothy Lam CHT, CGSP was the “Speaker Series.”
The Foundation provides education for the speakers at our two National Conferences and also this year we started an amazing program called the “Signature Speaker Series” which provides education to NACE members through a variety of delivery formats to benefit members and chapters across the country.
The “Signature Speaker Series” program helps chapters offer high-quality education through a vetted list of speakers and specially negotiated rates. HELLO … some speakers are offered at no cost to chapters! Local Chapters also receive a REBATE for booking the speakers through this program.
The Foundation also supports the NACE Community through grant-based investments. Our “Community Education Grants” help chapters provide high-quality programs at the local level. This year a total of 9 Chapters received community grants totaling over $12,000.00.
The Foundation provides support for current and future professionals through merit-based education scholarships. We have three scholarships which include: Vince DeFinis Scholarship, The Foundation of NACE Scholarship, and The Patti J. Shock Scholarship (in partnership with The International School of Hospitality TISOH). Together, these three scholarships award over $16,000.00 to 4 individuals. These scholarships provide aid that supports tuition, travel, leadership training, and professional development. You can find more information about the scholarships here: http://www.nace.net/give/educatingtoday/
Of course, this year was a special year, so the Foundation pivoted to offer additional programs for members and Chapters. With one of those programs, The Foundation paid the rebates back to the Chapter for all members that signed up during the membership campaign. And the Foundation also launched the “Chapter Grant / Loan Program” which provides funding to be used toward education programming, program development, membership development or general operations. 50% of the financial support is in the form of a “forgivable grant” and the remaining 50% is treated as an interest-free loan. 9 Chapters applied for this grant and a total of $15,000.00 was awarded.
Serving with the Foundation of NACE
The term of each Foundation member is a one-year term with a maximum of eight years. I am coming up on the end of my first term as a Board of Trustee on the Foundation, and looking forward to continuing my service with the Foundation next year. Also, next year, our very own DFW NACE member Terry Shields, CPCE, CSEP will be Foundation President taking office in January 2021!
An ideal candidate for the Foundation of NACE Board of Trustees has an interest in NACE, was active in their local chapter, and has good connections in the community so that they can fundraise. Remember, the Foundation is the fundraising arm of NACE. Each member is also encouraged to give a monetary donation as well.
Nominations are made by the current Foundation Board of Directors and Trustees. The Immediate Past President vets each candidate and the board reviews the applications. The number of available seats determines how many we are able to invite to join the Foundation.
What the future looks like for Foundation of NACE
My hope is that through my role with the Foundation, I am able to build more awareness within the NACE community, for our local chapters and all of NACE, about what it is exactly that the Foundation does. We do so much more than pay for the speaker at Conference. We believe so strongly in the catering and events industry and we are here to support you.
We’re on a really tough road in our industry. I want to be part of the solution. 2020 was hard. The next two to three years will be even harder, but we have the opportunity to forge a new path and write a new story. My goal is to help lead the Foundation in writing a new story with some of the most amazing men and women I have ever had the opportunity to stand next to and say “how can we, as the Foundation of NACE, help you, our members?” Honestly, every single person on the Foundation is a good person. I am proud to be a member of this amazing group. They lift me up and I learn how to be a more diligent business person from them on a daily basis. Our connections go far beyond NACE.
Thank you to everyone who participated and brought our 2020 Fundraiser to life in the middle of a pandemic! It was a pretty big deal to see all of you come together VIRTUALLY to raise money for Team Connor Childhood Cancer Foundation.
Congrats to our talent show winners!
1st Place: Sarabeth Yeli Marshall, Egyptian Belly Dance 2nd Place: Beth Albright & Adam Wright, “The Quarantine Binge Mix Tape” 3rd Place (Tie): Alan Paoletti, Magician and Mollie & Kate Nelson, DJ Duo People’s Choice: Molly Rassmussen, Baton Twirling
The NACE Board, with support from the Foundation of NACE, is immediately instituting a Membership Dues Support Program for those members who have lost their jobs, have been furloughed or otherwise impacted by the pandemic. All current members will be able to renew their membership at a lower dues amount. In order to obtain this membership rate, please call (410-290-5410), chat at http://www.NACE.net, or email membeship@nace.net. These membership dues rates are additionally eligible for the payment plans.
This program is available to renewing members only.
Members who want to use the support plan are eligible for payment plans.
Members must request the discount code by contacting NACE by phone (410-290-5410), chat (www.nace.net), or at membership@nace.net.
Members who have already renewed and paid are not eligible for a refund however they can renew ahead of time and receive a full year of additional time at the support program dues level.
Members still have a 120 day grace period. Their membership will remain active for 4 months following their expiration date. When they renew, their anniversary remains the same, so a 3/31/2020 expiring member will renew to 3/31/2021.
Members currently on payment plans can retroactively add the dues support.
The dues relief program will run until further notice.
All NACE members are invited to attend the virtual Town Hall on August 20, 2020, at 5:00 PM Eastern.
This annual event will provide an update from the NACE National Board and Foundation of NACE on the state of NACE including strategic initiatives, operating metrics, the ongoing response to Covid-19 and other topics of interest to members. Results from the 2020 NACE National Elections will also be announced.
It’s that time of year when we elect our NACE National Board for the next year! Each year our National Board elections are held in the Summer months at the Annual Meeting during the National Experience Conference which is historically in July or August. The elected board serves a one year term from January to December.
Members should have received an email announcement from NACE National announcing the 2021 candidates, however, you can also find the information here: https://www.nace.net/elections2020/.
The NACE National Board is the governing body of the association to regulate networking opportunities, showcasing for companies, and job opportunities for the community. They set the strategic direction of the association, help monitor progress on initiatives for each chapter, and work to strengthen and help grow our NACE community. The National Board will also give support to newer chapters in how to set up their boards, how to conduct a meeting, etc. And, let’s not forget the awards program! They have provided a platform for all NACE Chapters to showcase their achievements!
The National Board also searches for resources that would benefit individual members that they normally would not qualify for on their own such as rental car rates, shipping, etc. They also focus on certification access, speakers and education, and a central community for our industry. Some of the member resources can be found on the NACE website here: https://www.nace.net/connect/memberbenefits/
Our NACE National Election board is elected by delegates. Each chapter is allotted 1 voting delegate for every 25 Professional Members in good standing. The voting delegates must be NACE Professional members in good standing and not subject to suspension at the time of election and at the time of the meeting. Our DFW NACE Chapter delegates are chosen by the President and are suggested to be a mixture of active members who are attending the National Conference (where the elections are held annually) and board members attending. It’s nice to have a mix of perspectives on the incoming leadership. The delegates will vote on behalf of their chapter and will vote with one voice, meaning they must be in agreement with their voting (per chapter).
This year our DFW NACE chapter delegates are:
Don Mamone (Immediate Past President)
Kimberly Rhodes (President)
Angie Moors (President-Elect)
Lauren Twichell (Vice President)
Jennifer Burns (Treasurer)
Christopher Harmon (Director of Community Service)
Amber Knowles (Director of Communications)
Rebecca Wright (Awards Chair)
Here is a breakdown of the election process: Once the Voting Delegates have been selected, each Voting Delegate is certified and authenticated by the Executive Director (Lawrence Leonard, CAE, CMP) that they meet the qualifications of membership. The ED will then notify each Voting Delegate of their approval as a certified delegate. A printed list of the certified delegates signed by the Executive Director is forwarded to the Governance Committee.
The Governance Committee coordinates election efforts, reviews all potential candidates for elections to ensure they meet the minimum criteria required for each position, and they conduct the election process at Experience Conference where elections take place every year.
The Chair of the Governance committee will appoint inspectors: a Judge and two Tellers – these inspectors cannot be a candidate for office, a certified voting delegate, or assigned as a certified proxy. The Judge and Tellers are responsible for processing & certifying the elections by determining the voting power of the certified voting delegates, the existence of a quorum, the validity and effect of proxies with fairness to all members. The Judge and Teller must be professional members in good standing and appointed (15) days prior to the election.
The Tellers, after collecting and counting the ballots, will determine the result of the election. The judge and tellers will certify and report the results of the election to the chair of the Governance Committee, who will be responsible for announcing the results to the membership. You can find the Governance Committee information on the NACE National website, along with other National Committee information (http://www.nace.net > “About NACE” > “National Standing Committees”).
This year, due to COVID & the postponement of the National Conference, the ballots were mailed to the delegates and a virtual Q&A was set on July 19th. Each delegate is responsible for mailing, faxing, or emailing their ballots to the NACE National office no later than August 17th. The Governance Committee will meet on August 18th to count ballots, and there’s a virtual Town Hall meeting on August 20th at 4:00pm CST where the 2021 Board will be announced.
An email invitation for the Town Hall has been sent to all members, so if you are available to join, please do! You will also hear from our 2020 National Board & Foundation of NACE on the state of NACE including strategic initiatives, operating metrics, and the ongoing response to COVID-19. Log in to your NACE account here to register for the Town Hall.
In 2019 for our Community Service project, DFW NACE provided over 30 students from Project 16 education on how to be successful after High School! We spent the day teaching them the value of networking, dinner etiquette, interview tips, dressing for success and more at Truluck’s in Dallas. After the luncheon event, the students joined our chapter at The Joule for our NACE monthly meeting which allowed them to network with our members and other DFW event industry professionals.
Project 16 is a non-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas, and founded by Jade “Lady Jade” Burrowes. On their website, they state: “Our mission is to equip and inspire youth ages 10-16 to realize the broad spectrum of educational paths and career options available to them beyond what they may see in their immediate surroundings. Through our programs and community partnerships, we seek to offer up-close access, eye-opening experiences, and educational tools to help children and teens aspire higher than their circumstances, and to dream big.”
This community service project allowed our NACE members to be involved in several ways. For our evening monthly meeting, NACE members had the opportunity to sponsor the meeting fee so that each of the students could attend. And also to serve as their mentor and host during the evening by introducing them to other members and professionals, and also making sure they enjoyed their time and understood each part of the program. At the luncheon, our NACE members helped by hosting panel discussions, as well as breakout stations for the students to be able to have interactive education and discussion on various topics that would help them to be better professionals in their future.
After the full day and evening of programs, the Project 16 teens left motivated and excited with all of the new knowledge they learned. Some of the students even received internships from our NACE Members! It was definitely a huge success and extremely beneficial for the teens to learn about things that they don’t have the opportunity to learn about in their school curriculum.
Our 2020 DFW NACE Community Service project is in the works and we can’t wait to share more info about it with all of you soon!
Chris Harmon CEO & Videographer of Harmland Visions and High School Hype DFW NACE Director of Community Service
For active members, it’s important to keep your contact information updated with NACE national so that you will receive communication from our local DFW NACE chapter.
If any of your contact information has changed recently – such as your email, phone number, or mailing address – you will need to update that information with NACE National so that we can update our local DFW NACE roster and member email list. Log in to your account at http://www.nace.net to update your information ASAP and our local roster will be updated. If you are having issues logging in or recovering your password, email chapters@nace.net with your updated information.
As a reminder, if you have created your DFW NACE member directory profile, you can email communications@dfwnace.com to update your information on your profile. And if you don’t have a DFW NACE member profile yet, you can create your own! Just follow the instructions on our Member Directory page.
Our theme this year is DFW’s Got Talent and we are proud to announce that applications are NOW OPEN!
Please put together your best talent video between 2-3 minutes long and email that to fundraiser@dfwnace.com by August 1st. We will put together a panel of judges for the video submissions and will pick 10 to participate in our September competition! We look forward to seeing your submissions!
Once we finalize the 10 participants, the fee will be $75 to perform and all others will be used as commercials in between acts.
The submission fee is $20 to submit a video. All submission fees are a donation to the overall fundraiser.
How long have you been a NACE member?On the board? 5 years a member, 4 years
What is your personal motto? I am the kind of person you can only truly love when I’m dead and gone… Meaning that I have to raise the bar so high and leave an impact so heavy on this earth, that generations after me will mimic the Chris Harmon model.
What is your guilty pleasure? Popping Bottles in the club…. always making bad financial decisions
Which actor or actress would play you in the movie about your life? Omari Hardwick
What does true leadership mean to you? Leadership is being able to lead a team and not having anyone do anything that you wouldn’t do. Constantly demanding greatness and nothing less. Realizing that you don’t have to be a leader because someone said so, but you do it because that’s just who you are.
What is in the trunk of your car right now? A whole bunch of bull…. naw just kidding… but it’s a lot of trash and broken pieces of something. I don’t even think the spare tire is screwed in right.
