Dear ACF Family of Las Vegas,

This has been the most exciting culinary year for us Junior members. This year we became independent. We had a slow beginning, but now I can say with confidence that we are on a journey to success. As we build our organization we build it with pride. We support our parent chapter as they support us. We spread awareness to our community that we are here to help and we care. We begin early and stay late. We are hungry to learn and eager to become successful chefs. Our future is bright and the opportunities are endless. Looking ahead, we have several exciting plans and we are anticipating a greater second year!
Our first year started out fantastic as we double our membership from 32 to 70! I believe that it is important to continually offer our members something that is significant with value and entertaining. Just to name a few accomplishments: great guest speakers, educational demonstrations, a book signing, outings, wine tasting, scholarships, competitions, community service, career opportunities and recently a headline in the newspaper!
On behalf of the Junior Chapter I would like to thank our guest speakers for taking the time out to share their knowledge and experiences with us: Chef Peter Sherlock & Chef Shag (ACF competitions), Chef Sterling Burpee (Our industry in Las Vegas), Wendy Cohen (Junior Hot Food Competitions) Julian Maine (Wines of Italy) and Chef Kitti (Benefits as ACF members).
Also a special thank you goes out to all the establishments whom have provided us rooms to hold our monthly meetings and the wonderful refreshments. They are: CCSN, Southwest Gas, Le Cordon Bleu, UNLV, Culinary Training Academy and Vo-Tech High School.
Thank you to all junior members who have gone above and beyond participating in the Las Vegas Culinary Challenge, the Junior Hot Food Teams, Chefs for Kids activities, and the ACF Opportunity Village Christmas gathering.
When giving back to our community, we are not only feeding the hungry or helping a charitable cause; we find our souls satisfied with the gratification of being human. In March, our members contributed to the Muscular Dystrophy fundraiser. In May we supported for the Susan G. Komen 5K walk/run. And each month we participate in the Chefs for Kids (CFK) program, which includes 12 elementary schools, Shade Tree Christmas, Shade Tree Mothers Day and the CFK dinner and auction fundraiser. The children are always happy to see us and I especially enjoyed capturing their smiles on camera.

Our top three highlights of the year:

1. The ACF Dinner meeting at Southwest Gas. We had the most fantastic time preparing the BBQ which turned out extremely delicious and no leftovers!

2. On May 5th we participated in the Susan G. Komen 5K walk/ run to help fight breast cancer. Our team, “Food Lovers for a Cure” walked a lot, ran a little, stopped for ice cream and laughed a lot! Fortunate as we are, we were in good company with Mayor Oscar Goodman and Senator John Ensign.

3. Our first outing in October, we enjoyed the festivities of October Fest! At the Hofbrauhaus, we sampled everything the chef brought out: from sauerkraut and schnitzel to bratwurst and spatzle and trays of Bavarian pastries and apple streudel for dessert. I have to admit that we were terribly spoiled by the hospitality! And the beer was not bad!!!

A very warm “Thank You” goes out to: our Advisors, Chef Patrick Knowles and Chef Steve Soltz, for your constant support and guidance. And to the Junior Board members, we are the foundation of something good, something worth doing and something worth continuing. We are leaders and we help build leaders.
Congratulations to Kitti Sanderson as the 2007 Chef of the Year and to Rose de la Rosa as the 2007 ACF Junior Member of the Year, and Adam Gail as the Associate Member of the Year. Thank you for your services to our organization. I wish you great success in your future.
It has been my sincere pleasure to serve you.

Sincerely yours,

Sang Schneck
ACF Junior Chapter President of Las Vegas Junior Chapter