News from SUNY Cortland

For more information contact: Jean Palmer, 607-753-2232

Auxiliary Services Corporation Dining Services Wins National Award

CORTLAND, NY (05/20/2008; 0953)(readMedia)-- The SUNY Cortland Auxiliary Services Corporation (ASC) Dining Services received a national award for food served at a special gala dinner dance held on campus this spring.

The National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS), as part of its Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards competition, will present ASC with a gold medal in the residence hall dining theme category among medium-sized schools during this year’s conference from July 9-12 in Washington, D.C.

“It’s an honor to be nationally recognized for our achievement,” said William McNamara, director of ASC Dining Services. “I am proud of each and every member of the dining team who began planning the February event in September. It was a team effort from dishwashers to managers to executives and is just one way dining and ASC give back to the campus.”

The winners were judged on menu selection, merchandising and promotion, marketing and overall impression.

ASC is still in competition against Washington and Lee University and Miami University for the overall National Gold Medal, to be judged during the conference.

A non-profit organization that provides food services to the College, ASC received the gold medal for “It’s Showtime Where Everyone’s a Star,” which attracted more than 1,300 students and their guests on Feb. 19.

SUNY Cortland hosted the third annual Neubig Awards from Neubig Hall, which was transformed into a center of cinematic magic with a dinner menu and serving stations based on popular movie themes. Staff members also were decked out in costumes to support the various subjects.

Upon arriving at the star-studded event, guests visited a series of buffet-style food stations decorated on Hollywood themes. They started at a box office concession before making their way to view the movie sets. Receiving awards for the evening were “City Slickers,” “The Blues Brothers,” “The Godfather” and “Pirates of the Caribbean.”

“City Slickers” won an award for its open pit barbeque; “The Blues Brothers” for its Chicago-style grille; “The Godfather” for its authentic sidewalk marketplace; and “Pirates of the Caribbean” for its Seafood Fest featuring lobster tails, crab claws, shrimp and calamari. Finally, the Disney-themed movie set won an award for the “Finding Nemo” cake, created in ASC’s full-service bakery.

Following the ceremony, visitors danced the night away at the “After Party Gala.” When not on the dance floor, partygoers had an opportunity to visit the sets of “Grease,” “Animal House” and “Star Wars.” These stations featured desserts that included a Hershey’s creation station, bananas Foster, cotton candy, root beer floats and a chocolate fountain.

ASC has now won four Horton Awards. In July 2007, ASC earned a gold medal in the catering special event category for its “Escape to the Cape” gala held in February 2007 and a silver medal in the residence hall dining theme dinner category for “It’s Vegas, Baby!” also held in February 2007. In 2006, ASC received a silver medal in the residence hall dining theme category for its “Caribbean Cruise Night.”

“The award means a lot to ASC and the campus,” said McNamara. “Having won silver medals in this category in 2006 and 2007, I think this year’s gold medal shows that our team is dedicated to quality and service and always looking to improve even when we are doing something well.

“For this event, we were able to take feedback from previous years and turn it into an extremely elaborate and detailed event for the entire campus to enjoy,” McNamara said.

Founded in 1958, NACUFS has more than 1,000 institutional and industry members combined. The organization, based in Okemos, Mich., is dedicated to promoting the highest quality of food service on school, college and university campuses by providing members with educational and training opportunities, technical assistance, scholarships, industry information and research.

-30-