Save the Culinary Arts and Hospitality Programs in Lane Community College.

I just heard from Dr. Lisa that the Culinary Arts ad Hospitality Programs might be eliminated on a proposal on June 17th.
Here is the original Post.

I just learned that the LCC administration, without public notice, will present a proposal to eliminate both the Hospitality Management program as well as the Culinary Arts programs effectively immediately post this term and they will vote on June 17. If you are a fan of tourism and food and drink in our state please speak up and call our President, Marge Hamilton and Vice President, Paul Jarrell, before this happens as well as any board members.

FACTS for ONLY Lane county- our hospitality and tourism industry (2019 #’s) generates:

- $762 million in DIRECT visitor spending

- $297 million industry earnings

- 11,030 industry jobs

- $ 12.3 million in transient room tax which goes go to the state to be dispersed in several ways.

If this isn’t a huge economic impact to our county I don’t know what is $1 BILLION DOLLARS per year in our county and our local community college thinks we don’t matter and are unnecessary to train this integral workforce.

I am interested in creating a multi pronged action to bring awareness of this to fellow students past and present of Lane Community College Culinary Arts and Hospitality programs, Lane Community College students, those invested directly in these programs the foundation and other vehicles of support and our community via word of mouth, news agencies like The Torch, Eugene Weekly, Registrar Guard, and local TV News. The objective is to bring to bear these voices and other calls of the community to support these programs that we had known as home, that put us on our career paths, and programs we love so much. We will decide on two meetings in the community to organize in mass shall we say, to develop a comprehensive plan, implement it, and to listen to ideas and then in the 2nd mark progress of the projects development.
I will give some break down of each of these arenas.
1. Alumni Outreach: Students of the Lane Culinary Arts and Hospitality programs past and current will be contacted from email lists, facebook, phone, and any other avenue that we can think of.
2. Lane Community College students on a whole: Lane student have been receiving their scholarships from the Harvest dinner for over a decade and so this move will possibly effect students in the future and has helped many students to lower their cost of education.
3. Community outreach and program impact: Culinary Arts and Hospitality are the front door to many programs and community outreach from the Harvest Dinner where the foundation and lots of businesses come to enjoy a meal and invest in Lane students will be ended. Other types of outreach that this community has recieved are Whiteaker dinner, Veterans Dinners, The Presidents dinners, Cooking 2000 eggs for Easter hunt, The Mid East Peace dinner hosted by Ib of Cafe Soriah, and the list goes on. We will contact all those involved in these programs and communities to get their voice heard.
4. News outlets: The Torch, Eugene Weekly, Register Guard and local television station will be contacted for interviews and invited to the 2nd meeting.
5. Meeting will set in next few days for this week. We will choose a night time meeting place and I will let everyone know in the next 72 hours.
6. In the 1st meeting we will assign duties, coordinate who contacts who and what our next plan and final plan of action are.
Thank you everyone for being a part of saving the programs at Lane that we love.
Chef John Ernst
Please send emails or post if you want to be a part. We have 11 days.
ChefJohnTheEyeofTHOR@Gmail.com