AHF Conference | Schedule1

2020 Conference Schedule

View our schedule below to plan out your conference agenda. Please note our agenda is subject to change without notice, so be sure to check back before heading to Orlando.

Continuing Education Credits: AHF is pleased to offer attendees continuing education credits at each of our annual conferences. Each year AHF obtains certification approval from AND, ANFP, and ACF. We have not yet obtained certification approval, however attendees can expect to receive approximately 15 credits.

Leadership Competencies: Bussiness acumen, emotional maturity, executive management skills, employee retention and engagement, service orientation, team building, strategic innovation, strategic thought, vision setting, risk taking, decision making, communications and marketing, and more.

Use the tabs below to see the agenda for each day of the conference.

Tue Aug 4

11:00 am – 7:00 pm	Registration Open Registration counters will be attended during this period. Guest ticket or badge required for the Opening Reception.
8:15 am – 12:00 pm	Area Activity: Everglades Airboat Tour An hour long airboat tour through the Everglades.	Ticket required
9:30 am – 11:30 am	Area Activity: Paint & Sip Brunch Sip Mimosas and Bloody Mary’s while enjoying a continental breakfast and taking a paint class with a local Orlando art teacher.	Ticket required
8:45 am – 11:30 am	Area Activity: Chocolate Museum Tour Discover the origins of how the world’s most beloved treat is made during a tour of the Chocolate Museum.	Ticket required
2:00 pm – 4:30 pm	Pre-Conference Session: Developing a Local Procurement Program: Challenges and Rewards Speaker(s): Seth L. Grant, CDM, CFPP; Additional Speakers TBA Join Seth Grant and others to learn about case studies in self-operated foodservice which you could apply to your own operations. Seth will detail how he and Eskenazi Hospital became a national leaders in the local procurement movement. Additional unique case studies may be added to this session. Stay tuned!	Planned CEUs: 2.5
2:00 pm – 4:30 pm	Pre-Conference Session: Institutional Impact – Skills & Behaviors Necessary for Managers to Grow Performance Speaker(s): Julie Jones, MS, RD, LD To make an impact, leaders must demonstrate influence – the capacity to persuade, inspire, and propel others forward. Foundational skills frame leadership and form the basis of your leadership presence. Join this interactive workshop and learn methods to strengthen your “influence” and elevate your organizational impact.	Planned CEUs: 2.5
2:00 pm – 4:30 pm	Pre-Conference Session: Equipment Innovations Speaker(s): TBA Get ready to find out about the latest in cutting edge equipment that can aid you in your daily operations. Participants will hear from an industry expert on the latest equipment innovations and then from selected AHF Business Partners on their latest developments.	Planned CEUs: 2.5
4:30 pm – 5:00 pm	Culinary Competition Orientation (By Invitation) Culinary Competition competing teams are required to join AHF staff and Culinary Competition Committee members for an orientation prior to the competition taking place on Wednesday.
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm	Business Partner Orientation: Building Relationships in AHF and the Self-Operated Foodservice Industry Speaker(s): Ralph Goldbeck, IAB Chair; Barbara Kane, IAB Vice-Chair Exhibitors, Sponsors, and Business Partners seeking to learn how best to maximize their AHF experience, build longstanding relationships, and grow their ROI in the self-operated foodservice industry in healthcare and senior dining are encouraged to join AHF’s Industry Advisory Board (IAB) Chair and Vice Chair for this training and networking opportunity.
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm	AHF Chapter Leader Orientation: Best Practices in Nonprofit Management Speaker(s): Leah Reily, CAE, AHF Executive Director; Thom Pastor, AHF Director-At-Large All AHF Chapter board members and leaders are encouraged to join AHF for a clinic on nonprofit best practice and chapter management training led by AHF’s Executive Director Leah Reily and Chapter Advisory Board Board Liaison, Thom Pastor.
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm	First Time Attendee & New Member Orientation First time at AHF’s Annual Conference? Welcome! Get the most out of your first conference experience with us, join AHF staff and leaders to ingite your conference experience and learn the ropes. Afterward, grab your new connections and head over to the Opening Reception!
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm	Havana Nights Opening Reception Network with colleages, both new and old, at our Havana Nights Opening Reception. Join AHF for food (can serve as your dinner), live music, salsa dancers and Hanava themed entertainment.

Wed Aug 5

7:00 am – 4:00 pm	Registration Open Registration counters will be attended. Guest ticket(s) or badge required for access to receptions and sessions (respectively).
7:30 am – 8:00 am	Breakfast Served
8:00 am – 8:15 am	Welcome & Opening Ceremony
8:15 am – 9:15 am	Opening Keynote Speaker Speaker: TBA, Stay tuned!
9:15 am – 9:30 am	Coffee Break
9:30 am – 10:45 am	Concurrent Session: Benchmarking & Guides for Self-Operated Success Speaker(s): TBA Join AHF’s Benchmarking Committee and Self-Operated Support Team to dive deep into how AHF’s free benchmarking program and resources can become an extension of your operation, improve operational efficiency, and keep the contractors at bay.
9:30 am – 10:45 am	Concurrent Session: Developing a Shared Service Model for Food & Nutrition Services Speaker: Joyce Hagen-Flint Get the background on case studies from mulitple healthcare systems to demonstrate the value of a shared service or conslidated management approach to healthcare food and nutrition services. Participants will learn the advtanges of the approach, the differences when compared to traditional self-operated and outsourced management, and how to develop a business case to convince executives to embrace the model.
9:30 am – 10:45 am	Concurrent Session: Retail Trends to Ingite your 2020 a Beyond Speaker(s): TBA Get up to speed on the latest innovations and trends in retail to help improve your operation and take-home new pearls of wisdom for your teams. More information coming shortly – stay tuned!
10:45 am – 11:15 am	Networking Break
11:15 am – 12:15 pm	General Session: CREATE Commitment – The Cultural Balance Between Leaders and Those We Serve Speaker: Eric Eisenberg CEC, CCA CREATE is an acronym that identifies the human emotional and intellectual traits, skills and characteristics that we all need as leaders and in life to truly balance our leadership presence and the human being within. Once this balance is struck we have the platform to manage from a place of true respect and admiration for those we serve with clear expectations of performance and accountability.
12:15 pm – 12:30 pm	Break Tradeshow will immediately follow this break and will serve as Lunch. Operators should all plan to attend, and see the latest our vendors and supporting business partners have to offer.
12:30 pm – 4:00 pm	Tradeshow & Marketplace (LUNCH) Be sure to check out Tradeshow to explore 100+ vendors booths, learn about the latest products and innovations, and get your vendors lined up. Vendors will serve food to serve as lunch so you can eat while you browse and connect.
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm	Chapter & Interest Group Networking Hour Take the hour to explore AHF chapter tables and learn about how to get involved in your regional AHF chapter. AHF will also be coordinating interest group connection points for new members and first time attendees, senior dining attendees, ACF members, and more.
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm	AHF Culinary Competition, Reception, & After Party! Wrap up your sessions, grab a change of clothes and head over to AHF’s 11th Annual Culinary Competition to watch five team from accross the country complete for the Gold medal using ingredients from our Marketing Basket! Immediately following the competition AHF will have surprise reception so plan to stay and network with colleagues and competitors throughout the evening. Dinner will be served.

Thu Aug 6

7:00 am – 4:00 pm	Registration Open Registration counters will be attended. Guest ticket(s) or badge required for access to receptions and sessions (respectively).
6:30 am – 7:30 am	Rise and Shine Yoga Energize your day with early morning yoga led by AHF’s instructor. Registration is required and can be added during your conference registration process. AHF will provide hand towels and yoga matts.
8:00 am – 9:00 am	Business Partner De-Brief & Breakfast Business Partners should plan to join us for breakfast and provide feedback and input on how AHF can continually improve and innovate our offerings.
8:00 am – 9:00 am	Breakfast
9:00 am – 10:o0 am	Keynote: Rubber Band Resilience – How to Stretch without Snapping Speaker: Kathy Parry With quotes like, “transform or die” and “disruption is king” it is pertinent that changes, especially those from technology, regulations and staffing, be embraced by healthcare foodserice professionals. The ability to apply a disruption-friendly mindset to transitional shifts will be necessary to serve teams, retain personnel and meet budgets. Walk away from our keynote session equipped with the skill set to move through transitions while continuing to produce and be successful.	Planned CEUs: 1
10:15 am – 11:25 am	AHF FISH Talks^TM – Food, Innovation, Service, Hospitality Speaker(s): TBA Join AHF for our 2nd Annual FISH Talks. We will bring together leading industry experts to talk towards the latest cutting edge knowledge and advancements in food, innovation, service, and hospitality. FISH talks are short 15 minute Ted-Talk style presentations designed to help jump start your creative thought process.	Planned CEUs: 1.25
11:25 am – 11:45 am	AHF FISH Talks – Panel Discussion Speaker(s): TBA A panel discussion and Q&A immediately following the presentations by our four FISH Speakers.	Planned CEUs: .25
11:45 am – 12:15 pm	Networking Break
12:15 pm – 2:00 pm	Celebrate Excellence Luncheon & All Operator Lunch Join AHF for our Award Ceremony where we will honor AHF’s 2020 award winners and host our Sponsored Operator Lunch. Award nominations are open until March 9th, nominate someone today!	Planned CEUs: 1
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm	Concurrent Session: Outside the Traditional Role of a Food Service Director – Operational Efficiency Speaker(s): Stephanie D. Giraulo, RD, CDN, MBA, CPPS, CPXP Hear from Stephanie Giraulo of St. Charles Hospital about their CLIMB (Care. Lead. Innovate. Motivate. Become.) weekly Leadership Rounding program established in 2017 to transform their prograssion of patient care, drive efficiency in operations, and achieve performance excellence.	Planned CEUs: 1
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm	Concurrent Session: Culinary Bootcamp! Instructor(s): Chef Timothy Schoonmaker; Chef Ryan Conklin Get ready to join AHF chefs for an hour long culinary bootcamp. AHF will provide the materials necessarily to participate including cooking equipment and stations. Participants will be taught the fundamentals of searing, dry rubs, knife skills, and more. Walk away with fresh expertise and handouts to bring home.	Planned CEUs: 1
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm	Concurrent Session: Trends & Innovations in Senior Dining Speaker(s): TBA A session for all, but with a focus on self-operated Senior Dining operations. Join our speakers to hear the latest on trends and innovations in senior dining foodservice and hospitality. Acute care attendees are encouraged to attend and learn about unique approaches to the industry that can be carried over to hospital foodservice. Stay tunes for more information!	Planned CEUs: 1
3:00 pm – 3:30 pm	Networking Break
3:30 pm – 4:30 pm	Keynote Speaker: Closing Session Speaker(s): TBA – Stay Tuned!	Planned CEUs: 1
4:45 pm – 5:15 pm	AHF’s Lazy River Rubber Duck Race Extravaganza Speaker(s): Rubber Duck Head down to the lazy river to watch hundred of rubber ducks race for the “gold” in our second annual rubber duck race. Ducks can be purchased during registration ($25 for 1, or $100 for 5) or when you check in or at the registration counter. Funds support AHF’s Scholarship Program to help operators attend the 2021 Annual Conference.
5:15 pm – 6:00 pm	AHF’s Amazing Self-Op Race, Orlando Once the winner is crowned in our Rubber Duck Race, attendees will get together in teams of 2-10 for an Amazing Race style challenge with small, fun, competitions set up around the hotel. Race to the finish line with your team to win prizes and the glory! This is a great chance to make new friends – new attendees and members won’t be left behind! Entry tickets cost $20 per person and include 2 “bribe tickets” to get a leg up in the race. Funds support AHF’s Scholarship Program to help operators attend the 2021 Annual Conference.
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm	Free time Check your email and take a break before you head to our closing reception “Celebrate AHF: Ignite the Night”.
7:30 pm – 11:00 pm	Celebrate AHF: Ingite the Night! Time to party! Join us for our final reception. Get your cocktail attire on and head down to our red carpet to take photos on the runway, grab dinner & drinks, and then dance the night away. AHF will have some brief closing remarks and honor the 2020 Making a Difference and Lifetime Achievement award recipients. Cocktail attire required.

Fri Aug 7

All Day

Enjoy Orlando or Depart!

That’s a wrap on AHF’s 11th Annual Conference. Thank you for making a the best yet! Attendees can depart or explore the city with friends and family. See you in Dallas in 2021!