Every environment is filled with talkers, ACF notwithstanding. They're those people who are quick to fill air space rambling noisily on about anything negative, face to face or over the telephone, makes no difference. It's gossip!! Most of the conversation is their perceived personal worth, accomplishments, opinions and prognostications. I've discovered, however, that the more that's known about them and their over exposure, the more quickly the full quotient of nothingness is recognized! Hollow is hollow, no matter if a balloon or a busy body, just a lot of hot air!
And then there are doers .... the action people. This is a smaller, worthier and indeed more insightful group. These folks are apt to be the bridge builders.... the ones who earn their respect and keep it while they enjoy very professional long term careers. Rarely do we know enough about them to sate curiosity. Even an aggressive quest for gossip fodder yields empty baskets, imagine that.
Month after month there is this gathering of doers... the Chapter doers; that collection of leaders who come together from every major, and I might add, successful local kitchen. They come to share and exchange ideas. They're the cooks, chefs and bakers solidly rooted in the hard concrete of success. They're chapter oriented, contributing action and not simply words (usually critical, if you've ever stopped to listen) leaving the casual abstractions and vague assertions to the others.
It is from this collection of members that we easily recognize the difference between generous contributors and the greedy takers and the differences between the two factions. This is a study in the composition of our cook's world... giving rare glimpses into that wondrous "universe" we call ACF Professional Chefs/Cooks Association of Rochester. Are we unique to this phenomenon? Nope! It's everywhere people gather. The ACF, no matter how weak it might seem, still has "golden nuggets" of wisdom that shimmer with a precious brilliance borne of honest, hard work, experience and success.
I ask you to reassert yourself into that value chain. You are important to someone in this association. It is the active member who drives our chapter.... or any organization, for that matter. With out your talent and information, experience and creativity we will eventually "die" in process. We shun any notion or assumption which places our chapter or its members anywhere but at the top of the professional culinary ladder. Words vs. Actions differ lot, but the "chapter driven doer, the action person" reverberates through out ACF, locally, regionally and even nationally.
Perhaps no one watches the health of our chapter more closely than I do. After all it's almost like my being our chapter anthropologist, so to speak, with an eye on its evolution (after all I've been around for so long I'm sometimes taken for an old fossil.) I look at the past, adjust for time, then plan for the future and try to design ways we can meet the challenges, today's & tomorrow's, head on so that we can prosper and make a difference 'in Rochester and to each other professionally.
With cumulative wisdom coming from all of us who are focused on chapter goals, we can blithely dance among the industry's toughest and most daunting leaders. We can, together and united, meet today's challenges that seem to block our progress and overcome all of them.
We are facing a new challenges today ... newly elected officers will take their place at the helm and steer this chapter even more pointedly toward new and focused goals. They will all need our help. So look at the difference between words and actions and assess your place. What end of the rope are you on if you're in the tug-of-war at all? Of course we need action people to generate the energy necessary to bring about positive change. The Conference is just one example... added to the many other programs, equally

'It take doers, team players who have no fear of getting aboard, getting "dirty" as long as the game is played hard and honestly for the good of all of us as we contribute to the end goal: success with out question.
We are the best, the first and foremost authorities on cooking in Rochester. Let's prove it with our actions (which, by the way do speak louder than words!)
You have spoken and this month your newly elected leaders will assume their rolls and responsibilities. Each brings to the Board Table special talents and visions for our chapter. With your support they will be able to continue to grow this chapter and move us forward.