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CONNECTING THE CHART MEMBER COMMUNITY
HOSPITABLE GOOD NEWS JUNE 2026
VISIONARY TRAINERS TRANSFORMING HOSPITALITY
Get Hyped! Build an AI Agent
Boston Pre-Conference Workshop: AI Did the Talking. Now It Does the Work. A Hands-On, Three-Hour AI Agent Workshop
We’ve been in the AI tool era. You’re about to enter the agent era. You asked for more on AI, and here it comes! In this hands-on workshop, you won’t watch a demo, you’ll build something real. Led by expert facilitators, and working alongside fellow CHART members, you’ll design and deploy a real AI agent: a Conference Companion that
Early reg ends June 18!
captures your notes, ideas, and key takeaways throughout the event, and generates a polished executive summary you can use the moment you return to your organization. Chatbots respond. Agents act. You’ll understand the difference because you’ll have built one yourself! No programming experience is required. Bring a real problem, a
Matt Nelson CEO Modern Training
Donna Herbel COO & Co-Founder | Savii & Blue Phoenix Learning
laptop, and your curiosity. Leave with a working agent and a framework for building the next one on your own. Note: You’ll build using Claude and Claude Cowork, and you'll leave with a framework that works in whatever AI environment your organization already uses. Fee: $49. Sign up at conference registration or email Susan@chart.org to add this session.
2026 Training High 5 eBook Online Now
Implement these winning ideas!
Get the eBook at chart.org > Training Tools & Resources > Training High 5 eBook
Present Your High 5 in Boston This Summer! See page 2 for info.
Present Your High 5 in Boston This Summer What seems like a simple idea to you might be exactly the solution another trainer is looking for. Submit your favorite tool,
Easy form is at chart.org > Membership & Community > Awards & Scholarships
procedure, game, or shortcut using our easy form OR email Tara@chart.org by June 5 for a chance to present your High 5 idea in Boston this summer. Let her know if you need an extension! For example, share your idea for: increasing team member engagement recognizing outstanding employees effective icebreakers onboarding or retention strategies encouraging customer feedback any little approaches that your CHART trainer peers might want to copy
Welcome to Our New Silver Partner!
PresidenTalks Everyday Hospitality
I recently had one of those days where everything just clicked in the best way. Walking down the hallway at work, everyone I passed offered a warm hello and a smile. I passed two colleagues laughing in small talk. Someone held the door open for me on my way out. And it got me thinking: Is hospitality back? That same day, nine months after I preordered Will Guidara’s Field Guide , it arrived on my welcome mat. It is a workbook companion to Unreasonable Hospitality , filled with step-by-step ways to deliver bespoke experiences. One story featured a friend and former colleague, Tiffany, who created a custom wand-ceremony video filmed at Universal’s Hogwarts for a young girl whose day was spent in Urgent Care rather than the theme park.
CHART President Kelly McCutcheon
It is wonderful to experience something once in a lifetime. Everyone should. But what about the things that should happen every day, for everyone? The smiles. The kind words. Holding the door for the person behind you. This kind of everyday hospitality may be the revolution we are actually looking for, because hospitality shows up in the small moments just as much as the big ones. There is a reason we are called the hospitality industry. Shouldn’t that be how it feels when you walk into any of our businesses? Intouch Insight’s 2025 Drive Thru Study highlighted friendliness as a true super driver. When service was rated as friendly, customers also rated it faster and more accurate. In fact, 97 percent of customers gave five-star overall satisfaction scores when service was friendly, compared to just 22 percent when service was not.*
*Check out the full study: https://www.intouchinsight.com
In her recent CHART Talk, “Make Hospitality Hospitable Again,” Audrey Benet shared that the root of the word hospitality comes from the ancient Greek philoxenia , meaning “love of strangers.” You can watch Audrey’s talk on chart.org > Trainer Development & Events > CHART Talks Videos. To make it in this industry, you have to get joy from making people feel good. You have to love strangers. So is hospitality back? If you still wake up with passion for this industry, put a smile on your face, and carry a willingness to look back and hold the door for the person behind you, I say it is. Maybe it never left. Thank you for choosing hospitality - the industry, the gesture, and the revolution. You are making a difference.
CHART Minnesota RTF Recap: Sparking Everyday Creativity
This April Regional Training Forum (RTF) may have been intimate in size, but it was big in energy, ideas, and impact. Janese Evans, founder of Strategic Toolbox and creator of BrainNoodling led the group in a highly interactive session reinforcing that creativity is a learned skill. Rather than talking about creativity, participants practiced it; using visual exploration, hands-on frameworks, and real training challenges to reframe thinking and spark new ideas. Two tables full of carefully curated images became catalysts for deeper conversation, clearer problem framing, and unexpected insights.
One line that truly resonated: “It’s easier to make a wacky idea workable than it is to invigorate a dull idea.” In true Minnesota fashion, there was also collective pride in Janese’s creative use of CHEERIOS (yes, that General Mills Cheerios) as a playful but powerful way to unlock new thinking and break out of humdrum processes. Participants left energized, with practical tools and fresh perspectives they’re already excited to apply back at their organizations. This was CHART learning at its best!
Meet Your Boston Conference Team The spark behind Light the Way? These incredible volunteers! Get to know the people shaping the Boston experience, and hear their answer to an insightful question about what makes them shine. Q. From the Freedom Trail to the Tea Party, Boston changed history. How will you make a moment memorable for a guest today?
Communications Director/Project Manager Heather Murray Training & Implementation Manager Sheetz
I’ll make it memorable by listening for small details and acting on them before being asked to turn a routine visit into a human connection.
First Time Attendee Co-Director Serah Morressey Senior Director, People & Culture Schoox
I create memorable moments by listening to understand instead of listening to reply. This enables me to respond thoughtfully and leave people feeling seen and heard.
Service Event Co-Director Lindy Bagby Director of Training & Development Dish Society
Start a small “revolution” of hospitality: ditch autopilot, notice details, personalize the moment, and make it worth retelling.
Silent Auction Co-Director Philip Pinkerman Learning, Development, & Recruiting Manager Bristol Farms
Memorable moments come from human connection. I build strong teams; placing the right people in the right roles to bring energy and care.
Volunteer Co-Director Dina Taher Senior Manager, Operational Learning & Development InTown Suites
Read the moment, personalize the experience, and deliver one unexpected touch.
Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers P.O. Box 2835 Westfield, NJ 07091 chart.org (800) 463-5918
Please send content to flipCHART Managing Editor | Lisa Marovec, lisa@chart.org Deadline is 1st of the month for the next month’s issue | Back issues: chart.org Welcome New & Returning Members 🎉
Andrew Adams, Portillo's Angel Albright-Sexton, Levity Live Jennifer Altschuler, Fox Restaurant Concepts Hope Anderson, SPB Hospitality Dean Andrews, Jim N Nicks BBQ Kevin Archbold, Home Grown Industries of Georgia, Inc. dba Mellow Mushroom Colby Baird, Cotton Patch Cafe Amy Bartley, Rocky Rococo Sarah Bradley, Handel's Ice Cream Kristin Bray, Ryman Hospitality Properties Alisa Browning, Flower Child Emalyn Caminos, PGA National Resort Michelle Campbell, Portillo's Danny Canary, Portillo's Shayna Cardillo, Flower Child Chris Carter, North Italia Auggy Chan, FeedMe Hospitality Jake Chastain, Whataburger Cat Claus, Sweet Cow Ice Cream Tess Collins, Teriyaki Madness Kristi Comstock, Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken Caroline Connors, Call Your Mother Deli Katherine Cook, Tropical Smoothie Cafe Marcus Cox, Welcome to Memphis Ryan Coyle, LM Restaurants Charles Criswell, FeedMe Hospitality Zachary Detweiller, Eau Resort & Spa Palm Beach Brittany DiMarco, Flower Child
Alexandrea Doyal, FreeRange Concepts Clayton Garth, Right Way Restaurants, Inc. dba Steak-Out Alexandra Gierbolini, RomaCorp Michelle Gilbert, BJ's Restaurants, Inc. Rebecca Gollin, Bolay Nichol Hahn, Big River Restaurants Warren Hart, Sonny's BBQ Abbey Hartman, Eat'n Park Hospitality Group John Henderson, Sheetz Nate Hight, Blacktop Restaurant Group Madison Huse, UNCO Management Andy Jackson, Inspire Brands Nina Johnson, Sonny's Franchise Company Deanna Jones, Home Grown Industries, dba Mellow Mushroom Morgan Kamensky, Luke's Lobster Nadia Khalaf, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Demitrie Knudsen, Hopdoddy Burger Bar Emily Kuzma, Inspire Brands - Buffalo Wild Wings Lindsey Lane, Inspire Brands Richard Leacock, FreeRange Concepts Kate Lefort, GoTo Foods Whitney Lesaine, Inspire Brands - Buffalo Wild Wings Megan Levine, Blacktop Restaurant Group Stephanie Matthews, Jim ‘N Nick’s Community Bar-B-Q Alexis McAllister, Right Way Restaurants, Inc.
Kevin McCarthy, Teriyaki Madness Jackie McCluskey, InTown Suites Lisa McDonald, Southern Rock Restaurants
Laken Moore, The Big Biscuit Edwin Morales, GoTo Foods
Kristin Morrell, UC San Diego Health Rachael Moseley, SPB Hospitality Adam Noll, Inspire Brands - Buffalo Wild Wings Meeka Page, Greenbriar Holdings Joseph Papiro, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Lauren Pavlicko, Nemacolin Resort Brent Peacock, Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority Erin Pillar, Concept Entertainment Group Jace Rainwater, P. Terry's Vanessa Robinson, FeedMe Hospitality Anthony Robles, Miguel's Restaurants Stephanie Rodas, RBI - Popeyes Idelin Rodriguez Suarez, RBI - Popeyes Krysteen Romero, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse Elisabeth Runyon, Arizona Biltmore Kelly Saunders Jessica Shisler, Vintage Hospitality Group Todd Spadafore, FeedMe Hospitality Jennifer Stamper, Dewey's Pizza Sierra Trevisani, Inspire Brands Maria Vertes, Square One Concepts Austin Wisner, Cornerstone Restaurant Group Ciara Young, Bolay Fresh Bold Kitchen
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