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The Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers (CHART) today announced the recipient of the 2005 Commitment to People Award as Julia Stewart, president and chief executive officer of IHOP Corp.
Stewart will be honored at the Commitment to People Awards Gala on Monday evening, July 25, 2005, during CHART’s 70h semi-annual hospitality training conference, to be held at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel and Towers in Boston, Massachusetts.
“Beyond personal and professional development, Julia places a tremendous emphasis on the happiness and well being of IHOP’s employees,” said Joleen Flory-Lundgren, SPHR, FMP, vice president of human resources and training for Famous Dave’s of America and CHART president. “Julia’s management style is one of collaboration and inclusion, and she extends her employee commitment to include the franchisees and vendor partners of IHOP. She clearly recognizes that the combined efforts of these three groups are re-energizing the company.”
After joining IHOP in 2001, 34-year restaurant industry veteran Stewart proceeded systematically to create a culture based on individual accountability, core values, regular and timely communication and demonstrating appreciation. “Employees have the need to be developed and coached on an ongoing basis. The employees in the IHOP system have a strong desire to excel and deliver the best in guest service. It is our responsibility to provide them with the tools they need for success. This is why I have challenged our training and development department to reach all 70,000 employees in our system every 60 days with best in class training,” said Stewart.
“Under Julia’s leadership, the training team is challenged to provide world class programs that support the development of people and the performance of the company,” said John Isbell, director of training and development. “From accountability training to non-traditional learning opportunities like stress management and financial planning; from new franchisee training and product promotion training with a hospitality focus to the establishment of IHOP University, the development needs of employees are met at every state of their career.”
The Commitment to People Award spotlights the head of an industry organization who clearly and consistently demonstrates a commitment to the development of people. The award selection committee reviewed and ranked the Commitment to People nominees in four categories:
•Effective communication of the organization’s culture;
•Programs that demonstrate a commitment to people;
•Efforts to be involved in the development of people; and
•Ability to break down barriers to create opportunities.
Past recipients of this prestigious award:
1993 Donald N. Smith, Chairman, President, and CEO of Friendly’s Ice Cream
1994 Joe Byrum, President of Morrison’s Hospitality
1995 Simon Cooper, President and CEO of Delta Hotel and Resorts
1996 Bob Jameson, President and General Manager, The Worthington Hotel
1997 Wally Doolin, President and Chief Executive of Carlson Restaurants Worldwide
1998 David C. Novak, President and Vice Chairman, Yum! Brands, formerly Tricon Global Restaurants
1999 Molly Hancock, Chief Operating Officer, Consolidated Restaurants, Inc.
2000 William Walton, Holiday Inn
2001 Robert Dedman, Founder and Chairman of the Board, and Robert Dedman Jr., President and CEO, Club Corp. Inc.
2002 Kerry Kramp, President, Buffets, Inc.
2003 Harry Bond, FMP, President, Monical Pizza Corporation
2004 Larry Flax and Rick Rosenfield, co-CEOs, California Pizza Kitchen
For more information, please call 312-405-2634, email lmarovec@ameritech.net or visit www.chart.org.
CHART is one of the oldest and largest nonprofit organizations dedicated to training in the hospitality industry. Members number over 500 and represent multi-unit restaurant and hotel companies. A typical CHART member holds over 10 years of training and human resources experience and impacts over 5,000 employees in 80 units. By helping trainers do their jobs better, CHART positively impacts millions of employees, customers and companies and the industry as a whole. 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.
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