The sparkling new high-tech facility, which is located next to the Queens Health Center, drew words of praise from Union officials and management alike. Its lay-out, its set-up and its bright, roomy classrooms and workspaces easily make it the best training facility of its kind anywhere in the industry.

A look at photos of the training center in this week's Hotel Voice shows just how special the facility is. As an example, the computer training classroom can be subdivided to suit its purposes and each student will have a brand new computer to work on. The class that teaches air conditioning has actual air conditioning units that the students can use to learn repairs. The school is so roomy it is believed that it can comfortably accommodate 1,000 or more students over the course of a year.

There's more. The new training center has a full, up-to-date kitchen, where members can learn all fields of food preparation. And it gets even better. There is a restaurant at the training center where other members can learn food service. The restaurant will feature an upscale menu of fine dishes - prepared by students - that will be available at low prices. The restaurant will be open exclusively to members of our Union and staff members at the Queens Health Center. The food preparation and service students will work under the guidance of their widely-acclaimed instructor, Chef Pablo Trobo, a former member of our Union himself who became a celebrated restauranteur.

Much thought and preparation went into the development of the training center, as evidenced by the final result. The new training center is meticulously planned and spectacularly designed. It was built at a cost of $4 million, with $1.6 million coming from a grant by the federal government's Economic Development Administration (EDA). The new facility will add a dimension to the Union and the New York hotel industry that will be virtually unparalleled anywhere else.

At the opening ceremony, Benefit Funds Chief Executive Officer Linda McDowell reviewed the history of the facility's development. It entailed a careful, thoughtful process that included studying other training centers in Las Vegas and elsewhere, and much additional work that was involved in winning the government grant to help make the facility become a reality.

Hotel Trades Council President Peter Ward thanked the Hotel Association and its President, Joseph Spinnato, for their help in building the center. He saluted Funds CEO Linda McDowell and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Robert Greenspan for their efforts in bringing the center to completion, describing them as "a driving force behind everything the benefit funds office does right." He saluted Training and Scholarship-Fund administrator Victoria Spitalere, Sheraton Human Resources Director Tom Mituzas and the Union's Director of Education and Training Lynn Hoffard for their hard work and insightful input into the design and purpose of the training center. He also expressed appreciation to Steve Shertel, of UNITE HERE and Alec Meiklejohn of the AFL-CIO's Working for America Institute for helping the Benefit Funds office obtain the $1.6 grant from the federal government's EDA.

"This program is all about opportunity," Ward said. "It is about unlocking the potential of the very unique and able individuals that comprise the workforce of the New York hotel industry. Hotels have always been a gateway for immigrants and this program allows newcomers who are dishwashers to learn English, to get high school equivalency diplomas and, best of all, to better themselves by upgrading their job skills."

In his remarks at the opening of the new training center Hotel Association President Joseph Spinnato saluted Ward. 'Without Peter's perseverance we would have never gotten this grant and would have never gotten this project off the ground," Spinnato said. In noting how well-planned and impressive the new training center is, he praised Funds Office CEO Linda McDowell, saying, "She will some day become Donald Trump's construction manager."

Following the remarks by McDowell, Ward and Spinnato, the ceremonial ribbon cutting took place, starting a bright new era in valuable training for members of our Union!