The USA's first Alumni Chapter gets off to a sunny start

During our recent career trip to Miami, we took the opportunity of organizing an alumni reunion at the majestic five-star The Setai Hotel on SouthBeach. The location couldn't have been more beautiful, a reserved section in the water-encircled courtyard. Under the stars, we enjoyed a refreshing ocean breeze.

This wonderful evening saw the official launch of the “César Ritz” Florida Chapter. It is hard to believe that this is the first Alumni Chapter launched in the United States. To cap it all, it is the 30^th Chapter to be established around the world so we had plenty of good reasons to celebrate!

Christoph Wilke, who currently works at The Setai Hotel, is the Chapter President and was thanked for taking the lead in managing Florida's alumni network. Christoph will contact "César Ritz" graduates and management trainees in Florida and will organize alumni reunions regularly.

Happy to be part of the trip and to have the chance to meet so many alumni were Trude Gulbrandsoy, Christine Schroeter, Marga Cretton, Sylvia Fawer and Michèle Patry.

This reunion was a great success with over 40 alumni attending from all over Florida and some graduates travelling from other parts of the USA to join in. The 12 students and alumni involved in the career trip were glad to be able to mix with graduates and learn from their experiences. They were also able to make contacts in the state where many of them will soon embark on their careers in the hospitality industry.

We thank our graduates for attending this reunion and for being active in our alumni network. Many friends met up with each other after several years, new contacts were made and people working for the same hotel chains but in different locations had the chance to share experiences. The “after-reunion” continued in Miami's many fashionable bars and restaurants where attendees enjoyed mojitos or other specialities of the city until the early hours.

During our trip to Miami and Fort Lauderdale, we also had the pleasure of meeting many “César Ritz” alumni either following management training or already established in the USA. They were proud to show us around their hotels and to introduce us to their lifestyles in sunny Florida. Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome we received wherever we went! We are proud to see how well you are doing in the hospitality industry!

Michèle Patry
Alumni Network Manager

31 March 2008