New Executive Board Announced for Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers (CHART)

WESTFIELD, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers (CHART, www.chart.org) announced the election of its new Executive Board at its’ 84th semi-annual Hospitality Training Conference, held July 21-24, 2012 at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel in Chicago, Illinois.

The new Executive Board will be headed up by John F Kelley III, President of CHART. John is Chief People Officer & VP of Training and Human Resources at White Castle System in Columbus, Ohio. He has worked in various management positions there for 20 years and has been a member of CHART since 1997.

Other CHART Executive Board members for the 2012-2013 year include:

Calvin Banks, President-Elect

Calvin is currently Senior Training Manager at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center located outside of Washington DC. Calvin joined Gaylord in 2004 and became a CHART member the following year.

Patrick Yearout, Board Member - Education, San Diego Conference

Patrick has been working in the hospitality industry since 1992 and is currently Director of Training for Ivar’s Restaurants in Seattle, WA. He joined CHART in 2002 and has been an active participant in the organization serving on the board and several conference teams.

Jason Lyon, Board Member - Education, Miami Conference

Jason is CEO of The Common Man Family of Restaurants in Ashland, NH. He has been a CHART member since 2007, where he has served as a mentor, presenter, and has been a director on several conference teams.

Jen Johnston, Board Member

Jen is the Learning Facilitator at Darden Restaurants in Orlando where she has worked for over 25 years. Jen has been with CHART since 2003 and has been active serving on many conference teams as well as a past board member.

Michele Lange, Board Member

Michele is the newest member elected to the CHART Board. She is Director of Training for Landmark Restaurant Group, a franchisee of IHOP Restaurants, where she has been since 2007; the same year she joined CHART.

Tara Davey, Executive Director

Tara is President of Eastwood Association Management and has been the Executive Director of CHART since 1998. Before joining CHART, she was a trusts and estates attorney working with several non-profit foundations.

This new Executive Board will continue to carry out the key strategies for CHART including strengthening strategic partnerships, expanding their educational competency courses and managing membership growth. The Board also oversees CHART’s semi-annual hospitality training conferences which will be held February 23-26, 2013 at the Westin San Diego in San Diego, CA and July 20-23, 2013 at the InterContinental Miami in Miami, FL,

Bios and Photos for the Executive Board can be found at www.chart.org.

For more information, please call 708-588-0565, email [e-mail] or visit www.chart.org.

CHART (www.chart.org), a non-profit professional association founded in 1970, is the leading resource for the development and advancement of hospitality training professional and their organizations. With more than 450 members from more than 300 multi-unit restaurant and hotel companies, CHART represents a workforce of almost five million. CHART includes all facets of hospitality training, learning and performance professionals; from entry level to senior executive. CHART’s mission is to develop hospitality training professionals to advance industry training practices and improve operational results by providing access to education, tools and resources.