CHICAGO — The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) June 14 announced that three new officers have been elected by the NRAEF's Board of Trustees for the 2007-2008 term.
Ruben Villavicencio became the board's new chairman, Linda Bacin assumed the post of vice chairman, and Bill Hyde was elected to the position of treasurer.
Villavicencio currently serves as president and chief executive of R&M Food Services Inc. in Brea, Calif. He has held positions with the Army and Air Force Exchange Service and Alpha Beta Company. He also operates seven restaurants called the Whole Enchilada, Mill's and Charo Chicken and serves on the board of the California Restaurant Association as a trustee of the Forest Home Foundation.
Bacin is vice president of Bella! Bacinos, an Italian trattoria concept developed, as well as owned and operated by Bacin and her husband Dan in the Chicago metropolitan area. Bacin is a member of Les Dames d'Escoffier and, in 1991, was named Pizza Person of the Year by the National Association of Pizza Operators. She has testified before Congressional and Regulatory agency oversight committees on behalf of the restaurant industry. She also was recently elected to the NRAEF's Certification Governing Board.
