By:
Chuck Woods (352) 392-1773 x 281Source(s):
Ron Schmidt RHSchmidt@ifas.ufl.edu, (352) 392-1991, (352) 392-1991 ext. 206
Rebecca Matta rmatta@ifas.ufl.edu, (352) 392-1991 ext. 207
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!
Now in its 19th year, the Successful Ice Cream Retailing Seminar – designed for small business operators who want to start their own retail ice cream business or improve their existing business – will be held Jan. 12-16, 2006 in Gainesville when the University of Florida hosts the event for the first time.
“The annual seminar, which is presented at different locations around the nation, is the original, longest-running and best-known course of its kind,” said Ron Schmidt, a professor in UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences who is coordinating the four-day event. Leading national experts in the ice cream business will speak at the seminar, which will be held at UF’s food science and human nutrition department.
“For the small-business person, the seminar will provide detailed information on a wide range of topics for success in the ice cream business,” Schmidt said. “Designed by experienced shop owners, the seminar will help owners and store managers learn what they need to start and operate a viable business.”
Topics include management and marketing, business expansion, internal business controls, store design and theft prevention. There will also be presentations on manufacturing with batch freezers, ice cream cakes and soft-serve products, and flavoring resources.
Dick Warren, who owns and operates Four Seas Ice Cream in Cape Cod, Mass., will be a featured speaker at the seminar.
“After 45 years in the ice cream business, Dick Warren is a nationally recognized personality, and his store has been featured in USA Today, Gourmet magazine and other national media outlets,” Schmidt said. “His expertise runs the gamut of everything you are liable to encounter as an ice cream store operator. He will share his vast wealth of knowledge and experience that has made Four Seas a stellar attraction.”
Other speakers include Bill Meagher, owner of Lakeside Creamery in Deep Creek Lake, Md.; Ray Sheehan, past president of the National Ice Cream Retailers Association; and John Pasciuto, who has more than 25 years of experience in the ice cream, dairy and baking industries.
The program will also include Rich Johnson, owner of Tasty Time Ice Cream in Folsom, Calif. and Rob Romarino, co-owner of Sentry Equipment and soft-serve ice cream consultant.
Schmidt said those interested in attending the seminar should register as soon as possible because class size is limited. Registration fee for the seminar is $645 before Nov. 30, 2005, and $695 after that date. Hotel rooms at the Paramount Resort and Conference Center in Gainesville are available at the special rate of $69 daily.
For more information on the Successful Ice Cream Retailing seminar, contact Rebecca Matta, a program assistant in UF’s food science and human nutrition department. Her telephone number is (352) 392- 1991 ext. 207, and her email address is rmatta@ifas.ufl.edu.
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