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ERay@FRLA.org
FRLA Congratulates National Restaurant Association’s Dawn Sweeney,
Named One of America’s “Most Powerful People in Food”
(Tallahassee, FL) The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association is thrilled to congratulate the National Restaurant Association’s (NRA) President and CEO Dawn Sweeney, who was named one of 2015’s “Most Powerful People in Food” by The Daily Meal. This marks the third year in a row Sweeney has earned a top spot on the list.
“Dawn is one of the restaurant industry’s greatest advocates, an innovative leader who works tirelessly to ensure more than one million establishments and industry employees across the nation are well represented,” said Carol Dover, President and CEO of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. “We are proud to work closely with Dawn to help protect and promote the industry. There is no doubt this recognition is well-deserved.”
The Daily Meal recognized Sweeney’s leadership in directing NRA’s key initiatives such as its Kids LiveWell nationwide children’s nutrition program; Conserve, the Association’s sustainability initiative; and the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation ProStart program which runs in nearly 2,000 high schools across the country and provides culinary scholarships to thousands of future restaurant and foodservice leaders.
The list of the top 50 recipients is compiled by The Daily Meal editors with the criterion that these individuals substantially impact the quality and variety of the American diet or the way Americans think about it. Included in this year’s list are heads of national food processing and distribution companies and retail food outlets, agribusiness moguls, tech gurus and recognized restaurateurs.
As President and CEO of the National Restaurant Association, Sweeney leads the primary business association for the restaurant industry. The National Restaurant Association represents multiple foodservice concepts, including quick service, fast casual, managed foodservice, casual and fine dining – along with manufacturers, suppliers and distributors – for an industry of one million restaurant and foodservice outlets and 14 million employees.
Sweeney also serves as the CEO of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, a philanthropic foundation dedicated to enhancing the industry’s service to the public. The Foundation’s major goal is to prepare students for rewarding careers in restaurant management and the culinary arts.
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About the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association
FRLA is Florida’s premier non-profit hospitality industry trade association. Our mission is to ‘Protect, Educate and Promote’ Florida’s $76.1 billion hospitality industry which represents 23% of Florida’s economy, $4.6 billion in sales tax revenue, and nearly 1.1 million employees – making it the state’s number one industry. We offer regulatory compliance and food safety training needs (RCS and SafeStaff®); industry developed career-building high school programs (FRLAEF); sponsor the only event in Florida exclusively serving the restaurant and foodservice industry (FR&L Show, October 6-8, 2015 in Orlando); and we safeguard the needs of the hospitality industry by providing legislative advocacy. We represent and serve more than 10,000 independent and household name members, suppliers, and theme parks. For more information, go to www.FRLA.org and find us on Twitter @FRLAnews, Facebook and YouTube.