The annual I-CHRIE conference took place in Puerto Rico from 27th July to 31st July 2010. The International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education was founded in 1946 as a non-profit organization for schools, colleges and universities offering programs of study in hospitality and tourism. International CHRIE has since expanded its scope to include the enhancement of professionalism at all levels of the hospitality and tourism industry, monitoring ongoing developments and keeping its members at the forefront of trends. I-CHRIE is a tremendous source of interaction, information and influence for everyone committed to hospitality and tourism industry related education and training. Every summer professors from universities across the globe present their research in the USA while EuroCHRIE and AsiaPac-CHRIE organize a conference in the fall and the spring respectively.

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More than 400 delegates attended this year’s event which took place at a great venue : The Caribe Hilton Hotel and Resort in San Juan Puerto Rico. Key note speakers included Ana Maria Viscasilas President and CEO of the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau and Joe McInerney, President and CEO of the American Hotel and Lodging Association. More than 250 local university students attended a full day of workshop and seminars, thanks to the sponsorship of the local Convention Bureau. Industry sessions highlighted the importance of social media and their use by corporations such as Hyatt, Marriott, Sodexo and Whitelodging, as well as the efforts made to achieve "greening" our industry.

The EuroCHRIE federation took center stage with Susan Fournier being installed as Vice President of the I-CHRIE board and Rai Shacklock being awarded the prestigious Howard B. Meek Award : the highest recognition a member of International CHRIE may receive. It is presented annually to a member in recognition of the individual's lifetime contributions and outstanding services to hospitality education. Rai Shacklock is currently Head of Languages and English Language teaching at Leeds Metropolitan University. She has been a member of I-CHRIE since 1990. In 2001, she was elected President of the EuroCHRIE Federation and in 2003 I-CHRIE President. She currently serves as Director of Education on the EuroCHIE Board.

Jan Meierhof presented a 3-minute video clip to promote the Amsterdam Conference at the Awards Dinner. The event will take place on 25-27 October 2010 at the Mövenpick Hotel, a great venue near the main train station and close to downtown. At the General Members meeting, Francis Domoy from RIT, gave an up-date on the 2011 EuroCHRIE conference which will take place in Dubrovnik, while Hong Kong and Denver will host the Asian-PacificCHRIE and I-CHRIE 2011 events.

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