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The Wisconsin Restaurant Association Education Foundation recently announced Jenny Wehmeier, Family and Consumer Science Teacher at Elkhorn Area High School, as the 2023 Wisconsin ProStart® Educator of the Year. The award recognizes an exceptional educator in Wisconsin who utilizes the ProStart program. Wehmeier has been a Family and Consumer Science educator for 24 years having taught at Big Foot High School, the University of Wisconsin Extension and currently Elkhorn Area High School. She has shown a strong commitment to family and consumer science education in her roles as a foodservice educator, community leader and industry role model. Wehmeier attends Wisconsin ProStart teacher trainings, learning new skills to bring back to her classroom and empowering fellow educators with her best practices. She provides her students with opportunities to engage in academic and career planning outside of the classroom, bringing students to ProStart Career & Industry Expos. She actively prepares her students for industry success by providing industry certifications including ServSafe and the ProStart Certificate of Achievement. She promotes and assists students in applying for Wisconsin Restaurant Association Education Foundation scholarships, reducing the financial burden of post-secondary education. She is very well-deserving of this commendation due to her extensive contributions to culinary education, extracurricular programming and the ProStart Program. “Jenny is very well-deserving of this commendation. She has shown strong dedication to the ProStart program and is a shining example of culinary education excellence,” according to Alex Vernon, ProStart Manager for the Wisconsin Restaurant Association Education Foundation. “She is an inspiration to her students by offering excellent instruction and genuine encouragement every day.” As Wisconsin’s ProStart Educator of the Year, Wehmeier will be nominated to be a finalist for national awards given by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. The ProStart program, administered by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) and state restaurant associations, is a curriculum designed to teach high school students the skills needed for a career in the restaurant and foodservice industry. When students meet academic standards, complete a checklist of competencies and participate in at least 400 hours of a mentored work experience, they are awarded the ProStart National Certificate of Achievement that signifies they are well qualified to enter the industry workforce. With national and local support from industry members, educators, the NRAEF and state restaurant associations, ProStart reaches 140,000 students nationwide. The ProStart program in Wisconsin reaches over 8,300 students. For more information on the ProStart program, visit www.chooserestaurants.org. Founded in 1987, the WRA EF is among the largest state restaurant association foundations in the nation. The Foundation vision is to advance professionalism through education, scholarships and community involvement to ensure the future success of the foodservice industry. -END-
The Wisconsin Restaurant Association Education Foundation recently announced Jenny Wehmeier, Family and Consumer Science Teacher at Elkhorn Area High School, as the 2023 Wisconsin ProStart® Educator of the Year. The award recognizes an exceptional educator in Wisconsin who utilizes the ProStart program.
Wehmeier has been a Family and Consumer Science educator for 24 years having taught at Big Foot High School, the University of Wisconsin Extension and currently Elkhorn Area High School. She has shown a strong commitment to family and consumer science education in her roles as a foodservice educator, community leader and industry role model.
Wehmeier attends Wisconsin ProStart teacher trainings, learning new skills to bring back to her classroom and empowering fellow educators with her best practices. She provides her students with opportunities to engage in academic and career planning outside of the classroom, bringing students to ProStart Career & Industry Expos. She actively prepares her students for industry success by providing industry certifications including ServSafe and the ProStart Certificate of Achievement. She promotes and assists students in applying for Wisconsin Restaurant Association Education Foundation scholarships, reducing the financial burden of post-secondary education. She is very well-deserving of this commendation due to her extensive contributions to culinary education, extracurricular programming and the ProStart Program.
“Jenny is very well-deserving of this commendation. She has shown strong dedication to the ProStart program and is a shining example of culinary education excellence,” according to Alex Vernon, ProStart Manager for the Wisconsin Restaurant Association Education Foundation. “She is an inspiration to her students by offering excellent instruction and genuine encouragement every day.”
As Wisconsin’s ProStart Educator of the Year, Wehmeier will be nominated to be a finalist for national awards given by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.
The ProStart program, administered by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) and state restaurant associations, is a curriculum designed to teach high school students the skills needed for a career in the restaurant and foodservice industry. When students meet academic standards, complete a checklist of competencies and participate in at least 400 hours of a mentored work experience, they are awarded the ProStart National Certificate of Achievement that signifies they are well qualified to enter the industry workforce.
With national and local support from industry members, educators, the NRAEF and state restaurant associations, ProStart reaches 140,000 students nationwide. The ProStart program in Wisconsin reaches over 8,300 students. For more information on the ProStart program, visit www.chooserestaurants.org.
Founded in 1987, the WRA EF is among the largest state restaurant association foundations in the nation. The Foundation vision is to advance professionalism through education, scholarships and community involvement to ensure the future success of the foodservice industry.
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