On the evening of May 30, 2008, members and friends will gather to dine, dance and bestow honors on this year's choice of three industry stars.

Scott Geraghty, Hospitality Professional of the Year, has been the General Manager of The St. Regis Hotel since 2004. He joined The St. Regis as Hotel Manager in 2002 from the Essex House, where he worked as Hotel Manager for four years.  He has over thirty years of diverse hotel management experience, including twenty years with Sheraton Hotels and Resorts. He has held positions as Executive Chef, Director of Food & Beverage, Director of Operations, Director of Rooms, Executive Assistant and Director of Catering at such hotels as the Sheraton Hotels of New York, Sheraton Society Hill in Philadelphia, Sheraton Greensboro, PGA National Resort, PGA Sheraton Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, Sheraton Washington Hotel, Contant Guest House in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Cross Keys Inn in Maryland.  Scott has also fulfilled Sheraton corporate executive roles such as Corporate Executive Chef

He received a Bachelors Degree in International Relations from Lehigh University and he has a Degree in Culinary Arts from the Culinary Institute of America.  Scott has also spent his time teaching others.  He was a Chef Instructor at the Culinary School of Washington and is currently a Guest Lecturer at New York University.

Just as important to him as work is his family.  Scott is a devout family man and shares his passions of fishing and rowing with his wife and 2 daughters. 

Cited as a Industry Professional of the Year, Liz Neumark conceived Great Performances in 1979, and has kept her business at the forefront as she learned that it is all about satisfying needs.  Liz believes there is no more critical time in the relationship between people and the foods they eat or have access to than today. Liz is a visionary in putting future culinary ideas on the plates of New Yorkers and a trendsetter in bringing food politics to the table, all with great taste and memorable flavors.

In almost three decades of being at the top of the food chain in New York City, Liz Neumark has learned that it is all about satisfying needs.  Liz believes there is no more critical time in the relationship between people and the foods they eat or have access to than today.   Liz is a visionary in putting future culinary ideas on the plates of New Yorkers and a trendsetter in bringing food politics to the table, all with great taste and memorable flavors.

Liz conceived of Great Performances in 1979 as a waitress service for women in the arts, offering an alternative way to supplement meager artist incomes with work in the catering industry.  The company is headquartered in Hudson Square, NYC and is today the largest off premises catering company in the city.

Collaborative relationships with some of the leading cultural institutions in the city have been the major growth vehicle for the company.  Exclusive contracts include Jazz at Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Sotheby�s, Asia Society, Caramoor and Wave Hill. 

Liz recently joint ventured with Delaware North Companies to operate what will be the most sought after banquet and event space when it reopens in October 07 � The Plaza Hotel.

Katchkie Farm, the company�s 60-acre organic farm in Columbia County, provides Great Performances� cafés and special events with a unique selection of menu items with unmatched freshness.  Crops are grown for specific customer use and a line of artisanal products has been introduced.  There is no other catering company nationwide, operating its own farm, no less organic.

On a weekly basis, Liz and Great Performances serve thousands of meals to a wide range of corporate, social and non-profit clients.  The 100-Mile Menu has been incorporated into the culinary offerings, and organic produce from the farm is integrated into food production across the board. 

Liz and her family established The Sylvia Center at the farm, a non-profit organization whose mission is to bring the farm experience into the lives of at risk children in neighboring towns and from NYC.  The Sylvia Center reconnects children and their families to real foods and real flavors and imparts a lesson of nutrition and healthful eating.  The Sylvia Center works in collaboration with other non-profits, school systems and community organizations to enhance their health and nutrition programs.  Recent visits include the entire first and second grades from PS 180, a Harlem based school.

Liz is a third generation New Yorker, a Barnard graduate who majored in Urban Studies and Political Science.  She, her husband and children live in Manhattan.

Our Purveyor of the Year, Stephen Tucker, is President and CEO of M.Tucker, Inc., a company focused on the distribution of food service equipment, supplies, and disposables. Stephen, the son of the founder Marvin Tucker, provides another example of hard work and a willingness to start at the bottom. Over time, using ambition, shrewdness and an astute business sense, Stephen impressed his father and his partners as well.   He started by focusing on health care accounts, mastering all aspects of the business, and in 1986, with the retirement of his father, Stephen took over all aspects of the company.

Led by Stephen's vision, the M. Tucker company's spirit of integrity and reliability meets today's challenges with the support of their most important resource, a team of dedicated, uncompromising professionals.

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The Food and Beverage Association of America is a nonprofit, tax-exempt, philanthropic, educational and social trade organization. Its membership encompasses executives in the food and beverage and allied industries of the greater New York Metropolitan area.

Sean Cassidy,
Director of Event Service
Sheraton New York Hotel
212.841.6508
[email protected]