About

NACE Celebrates 50th Anniversary
by Larry Osburn CPCE,
NACE Region 3 Vice President and National Historian
Summer 1998
NOTE: The following information was obtained from recent interviews
with Vincent Definis and Helen Roberts CCE

The association was founded on June 3rd, 1958, NACE (The National Association of Catering Executives) observed its 40th anniversary. The association, which has become the oldest and largest catering association in the world, was founded in 1958 as the Banquet Managers Guild. A look at how and why the association was founded is a discovery of the evolution of the catering industry itself. Mr. Vincent Definis, first national president of NACE relates "Before World War 2, catering was a status symbol for the very rich. Most of the catering occurred in hotels where the rich had a home away from home, sometimes occupying an entire floor. Many of these were from Europe and so they stayed for long periods of time. Most had their own staff when they entertained. The Maitre'D was a very respected person who supervised the staff." "After the war, many companies who had been involved in making products for war, had to find another product to manufacture. This resulted in the industrial revolution. There were new products created, resulting in the people selling these products having to travel and the beginning of the sales meetings as we know today. This coincided with the increase in air travel, which meant that less leisure travelers were occupying hotel rooms for extended stays. Hotels noticing the increase in revenue from business travelers began to set up sales departments. They also began to create meeting and ballroom space especially for this business." "As the number of people in hotel sales and other executive positions increased, several saw the need to create associations. Among those formed were the American Hotel Association, The Hotel Sales and Marketing Association and the Food Service Executives Association." "In the early 1950's, several hotels began to hire sales managers specifically to sell catering, most of these individuals reported to the sales and marketing department. As the potential for business continued, several of the hotels saw the need to establish a catering department. The Waldorf Astoria in New York City was one of the first to create such a department and following their lead, other hotels saw the potential for business. As more hotels in New York added catering departments, they recruited from the Waldorf Astoria for Directors of Catering to run their departments. In fact it was such a breeding ground that probably the first 15-18 DOCs in New York were originally employed at the Waldorf Astoria." "At this time there were not any chains, so these Directors decided that they should form an organization to keep all the business within themselves as well as promote good fellowship and relations. They also felt that their positions were not being recognized on the same level as the Directors of Sales and Marketing. They could promote their positions through an association. Thus the Banquet Managers Guild was formed. The date was June 3, 1958." For two years the Banquet Managers Guild existed only in New York City. In 1960 Joe Haney, who had previously worked at the Waldorf Astoria left and took over as general manager of the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia. He encouraged his catering manager, Vincent Definis, to join the Banquet Managers Guild in New York. He went to see Clyde Harris, current president of the guild, saw the potential for the association, joined the guild and was member number 12. Travel to New York on a regular basis was difficult for Mr. Definis, so he began forming a Philadelphia chapter. 1n 1964 this was accomplished and the Banquet Managers Guild became a national association. In 1965, the first seminar which preceded what we now know as the NACE Educational Conference was held at the Belden Stratford hotel in Philadelphia with 32 attendees. This was followed by the next year with 50 people in attendance in the Wedgewood room of the Waldorf Astoria. From this beginning the conference became an annual event. The Banquet Managers Guild continued to expand. Chapters were soon added in Atlantic City, Washington D.C., Boston, St. Louis, Miami, Chicago and Atlanta. The name is changed to NACE in 1980 the name of the association was changed to the National Association of Catering Executives. According to Helen Roberts, first women on the NACE Board of Governors: "It was felt that The Banquet Managers Guild was not a descriptive name for the association anymore. Many of our members were Directors of Catering, and Catering Managers and if we were to continue to raise the level of professional recognition the name change was necessary. The new name also enabled the association to attract members who were off-premise caterers, which is a sizable part of our industry." NACE continued to grow and in 1985 surpassed 1000 members. It became necessary to hire a management company to handle the day to day operation of the association. In 1985 the association strengthened its focus on education with the creation of the NACE Foundation. In 1986 the Certified Catering Executive (CCE) designation was also created and the first exam for this purpose was given. In keeping with this need to focus on educating our members the annual convention became the annual educational conference in 1989. In 1994 the CCE designation was upgraded to the Certified Professional Catering Executive (CPCE). Also in 1994 the Foundation of NACE, who had previously given grants to universities for catering related programs, created the Foundation of NACE Catering Research Institute at the University of Houston. Looking to the future in 1995 NACE undertook the process of planning for the future where a strategic plan was made. This has resulted in the refocusing of association issues coming from the membership instead of the board of directors as it was in the past. This resulted in the creation of the Chapter President's Council. NACE has become an association of almost 3000 members in 46 chapters in the United States and Canada. However NACE continues to keep current with technology to benefit its members and therefore the industry. The recent addition of the NACE website at www.nace.net is an example of this. Members will have access to a vast world of resources to benefit their careers and their professional development. As NACE celebrates its 40th anniversary in 1998 it's purpose, to promote the professionalism of the catering industry, remains much the same as it was in 1958. It is interesting to see how the evolution of NACE parallels the evolution of the catering industry itself. The association has become a significant voice in the hospitality industry, a voice that will continue to become more prominent as the industry and the association evolve.