Well, Hi SHFM! I hope this note finds you happy, healthy, hopeful and properly thawed out from that wild winter we had. It’s been a long time coming, but it does feel like spring is arriving right on time!

I want to start by admitting to a cognitive bias known as the recency bias as I begin. While there has been incredible work, effort and energy happening behind the scenes at SHFM for months – I have also just returned from the 3^rdAnnual WISE Experience, and it only feels right (and recent) to lead with that.

Women, Inspiration, Support, Excellence – a day and a half of curated content for women, by women – was truly special. Not only because of the content, but because it was so moving to be in a room full of women who all made the same decision to invest in themselves, their companies and teams, SHFM, our industry and one another. We heard about “must-haves” and “never-evers”, the influential power of body language and vocal tone (way over words, by the way), the misnomer that successful careers must be something that resembles a straight line, and the curiosity of how strengths show up differently in all of us. Importantly, SHFM and WISE continue to recognize the gift that was Bobbi Capps – awarding Helene Kennan the Bobbi Capps Trailblazer Award for Helene’s ongoing commitment to supporting, challenging and elevating women, chefs and our entire industry through leadership, mentorship, sponsorship and advocacy. And in a moment of calmness and peace, we were blessed by long-time SHFM member, Shayla Martin’s 25-minute sound bath meditation, which gave us all permission to just sit with ourselves, and embrace the silence. Finally, my last thought regarding WISE is thank you – thank you to the WISE conference leaders, the extended planning committee and everyone who attended – 40 percent of which were not currently members yet still chose to trust SHFM with their time and energy and show up for themselves.

By the time this letter finds you, we will be less than three weeks away from the SHFM “trifecta” - one city, two days, three events. First up, Monday, April 13^th, we are taking the Young Professionals summit back to where it began – American Express. The Summit planning committee, led by Sam Euler has mostly wrapped on planning, including a significant amount of pre-surveying, an obvious commitment to giving the attendees what they want. The theme this year: Elevate Your Voice: Build Influence, Confidence & Your Professional Edge. For those of you 39 & younger, this event promises to leave you with clear, practical tools to strengthen your impact and deliver against your organization’s goals.

Immediately following the Young Professionals Summit is a New York City  Local, happening at Le District, and everyone is welcome. It’s both the after party, and the pre party, because on Tuesday, April 14^th, at People Inc., the Critical Issues Conference, The Efficiency Imperative: Practices Driving Workplace Hospitality, is back for its 24^th year.Our committee, led by the steadfast Amy Lewis, started with the concept of “doing more with less” and decided to flip the script the way hospitality people know how – through resilience, intelligence and managing change. Three divergent but complimentary sessions will address trends, economic pressures, AI, change management and people leadership. We commit to delivering something for everyone. Registration is open for all three of these events, and we can’t wait to see you in New York City!

Other events happening around the country (before you’ll hear from me again!):

• DC Local – Monday, March 30^th, Froggy Bottom Pub
• *New Series* Client Roundtable – Friday, April 10^th, Virtual (Clients only)
• Philadephia Local – Tuesday, May 5^th, Citizens Bank Park
• Denver Local – Thursday, May 7^th, JFS Altius Farms
• NRA Networking Breakfast – Monday, May 18^th, Union League Club, Chicago

The SHFM Foundation, led by Amy Franks, has announced its 2026 Fellowship Program recipients. The Foundation fellowship program was established to recognize and reward students and members of our armed forces with attendance at select SHFM events, including the “trifecta” aforementioned. A sincere thank you to the program leaders, spring mentors and warm congratulations to our incoming Fellowship class. If you see any of our Fellowship recipients, please introduce yourself and welcome them to SHFM:

• Bernal Frenesis, Marine Corps
• Cassandre Bossicot, Bethune-Cookman University
• Maxwell Bradford, Purdue University
• Aiden Furget, UMass Amherst
• Connor Nobile, Johnson & Wales University

Late last year, our Board of Directors approved a financial investment in one of our strategic initiatives: growing and nurturing our client segment into the future. I am so pleased to share that the increased efforts have produced incredible results in attracting clients to join SHFM. We also recognize joining is just the beginning. We’ve complimented these endeavors with a client task force to keep focused on the effort, like how we have grown the Young Professional group through consistent investment, and how we support the supplier community through the work of the IAB. Above, you might have noticed a client roundtable, (which thanks to insights from our newly minted client task force), we are launching to give clients more opportunities to discuss challenges, ideas and innovation in a safe place with others in their role and industry. Though I won’t be involved (only open to clients), I am excited for this effort and cannot wait to see the results. A huge thank you to my successor, Rob Yayac, for his partnership and leadership with this important initiative.

We have awards to share, membership efforts, DEIB greatness, Rising Star stories and an entire other conference planning happening (Chicago, October 6-8)! So YES, there is much more to say, AND thankfully, with our many upcoming events, I will get the opportunity to do that in person very soon. To all our dedicated committee leaders and volunteers, sponsors and of course FSA, I am so grateful for your trust in me, and your energy, vigor and commitment to the strength and future of SHFM.

All my best, all the time,

Jenna Calhoun

SHFM President