On Monday, January 22, Hospitality Minnesota Education Foundation (HMEF)'s Cyndi Keesee was awarded the American Culinary Federation's Cheffy Award! The honor is well earned.

Ever since starting in May 2018, HMEF has been honored to have Cyndi as the foundation's Administrative Coordinator & Manager of both our ProStart and Hospitality & Tourism Management (HTMP) Programs.  

Cyndi has been instrumental in bringing ProStart and HTMP to more and more Minnesota high schools. To date, over 100 high schools offer either ProStart and/or HTMP curriculum, impacting nearly 6,000 students. These programs offer tangible culinary and hospitality management skills to the next generation of hospitality leaders.

Cyndi has also overseen the foundation's annual scholarship program, which to date has awarded over $850,000 to students pursuing secondary education in hospitality and/or hospitality-related careers.

Hospitality Minnesota congratulates Cyndi on her award and cannot wait to see what more she will accomplish for Hospitality Minnesota's workforce initiatives and the greater hospitality industry. 

Cyndi Keesee accepting ACF's Cheffy Award on Monday, January 22, 2023.