Culinology - June 2020 - 42

INDUSTRYNEWS

The local
pulse of RCA
A Q&A with Regional
Committee Chairs

Susan Edwards

RCA has 11 regional hubs that span the US,
allowing members to connect locally. We
caught up with Susan Edwards, immediate
past regional committee chair, and Jessica
Goldstein, current regional committee chair,
to learn more about their experience and
what RCA's regions have to offer.

What drew you to getting involved
in your region and being a
regional chair?
Susan Edwards: The regions have always
been a strong grassroots contributor to the
RCA. The program's overall structure gives
individuals ownership to drive success and
help the association capture new ideas. This
is the main reason I am passionate about the
regions. The chance to get to know people
locally and thrive at events is the purest form
of supporting others and yourself.

Q: 

Jessica Goldstein: I joined the RCA shortly
after the New York Metro Region split from
the New England Region, and was asked
soon thereafter to become region chair.
Through events I helped bring to life, I've
made new friends and shared my passion for
food while offering educational opportunities
for members. As regional committee chair,
I'm excited to put more turnkey events
together across regions. I'm looking forward
to supporting regions who hold fewer events
annually as well.
What have the regional chairs
been focused on the past year?
Edwards: Regional chairs have been
focused on sharing as much information as
possible among themselves. Chairs have

Q: 
42 |

Culinology | JUNE 2020

Jessica Goldstein

formed small committees of people wanting
to plan events. This enables the chair to
focus on managing the region with staff
support and committee members to focus
on events. The growth snowballs into the
larger organization and builds relevance of
the RCA to the industry. Further, the chairs
have been focused on organizing events
to cover our main interests in education,
purposeful networking, mentoring and
personal development.
Goldstein: The RCA Month of Giving event in
November was one of the coolest things I've
ever been part of. Coming from self-made
parents who intrinsically taught me the value
of hard work and helping others, this struck
home for me. Establishing an entire month
that members across the US could be part of
was something I'm so proud of.
Can you share an example of
when regional work exemplified
the power of the RCA's community?
Edwards: In the Metro Atlanta/Southeast
Region, we organized a networking event
prior to the meat and poultry exposition held
annually in Atlanta. The event space was
large enough to evolve into mini trade shows
to support sponsors. This is a great example
of the networking passion of the RCA, as we
grew the event to more than 100 attendees
by word of mouth for several years.

Q: 

Goldstein: When I host events, before we
start, I ask all guests to present who they
are, their job and which company they
represent. It makes mixing and mingling more
comfortable when guests have made their
own introductions.
Culinology - June 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Culinology - June 2020
