I am so deep into my documentary project, Back To Basics. I love it! It’s a wonderful project. So many stories to be told, and so many opportunities abound in the fantastic restaurant industry. Thing is, it’s BIG and getting BIGGER! Much bigger. It needs more now.
I am learning an incredible amount about the history of our industry. The explosive growth. The environmental impact of our industry. The early entrepreneurs. Ah…. the early entrepreneurs. We owe them so much. They were real pioneers.
Well, I can see clearly these days. The restaurant business offers many opportunities to anyone who chooses it as their life’s work. It’s always been that way. Full of opportunity. Check out this film from 1946 that we found. It’s fantastic in a simple most basic way.
Over the last few months, we have had some wonderful developments for this project. As you may know, we are donating the proceeds to the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation’s Prostart program A very important program for our future. We must invest in our youth. We must show them a path to success. We must act now as a community. That will be the only way that we can build a sustainable business.
13 Million American Workers; 688 Billion Dollars plugged into the economy. Yes, the restaurant industry is very, very important. Don’t fool yourself. It’s a BIG part of American Culture and it needs to be preserved if it is to survive.
Here is a snippet of what the film will be about:
I’d like to start by introducing you to Lorenzo Torres a young man who grew up on the streets of Dallas, TX and was yearning to capture the Great American Dream but didn’t quite know how to go about it. As we follow Lorenzo’s life we experience his struggle as he seeks and finds his inspiration from 15 of the greatest leaders this industry has to offer.
Well, there are 35 people working hard on this project (all volunteers) and our community has an incredible opportunity here. These volunteers have brought the project to life and we are ready to roll cameras. The thing is, we need to be realistic about funding it properly now, if we want to do it with big hollywood resources. So we do it right. It’s only going to happen once. And although, we can ‘bootstrap it’, my guts are telling me not to do that, but in fact to rally our village for some help. The power of the group will yield us a far better result. So, consider this.
This “vision” of bringing the restaurant industry to life began as a small twinkle in my eye and knowing me as you do, you know how I can take a single idea and grow it to something great just by shear strength of will.
Well, the thing is….. It’s big. Bigger than all of us. And to do it right, it needs support. So, to that end, I have decided to open up the opportunity to our entire community to help fund this very important project. The funding will go towards the film and all of the expenses required to produce it. All donations will be provided tax receipts through the NRAEF and funds will be earmarked for the production of Back To Basics – The future of the US restaurant industry in a global economy.
I hope you will join me on my mission to complete this project. Your donations will be managed by the NRAEF, through their 501(c)3. Also, you can reach Marla Topliff, the president of Rosati’s Pizza to learn more about the benefits of your financial support.
In conclusion, what started off as a tiny idea, has now blossomed into a wonderful hollywood opportunity and all the net proceeds of this film will be going to support Prostart in our community. Because of the size of this opportunity, I can’t do it alone. It takes a community. Please let me know if you or your company would be willing to help.
To get the ball rolling, Panera Bread, through the trust and kindness of Ron Shaich, has contributed $10,000 already and MonkeyMedia Software has contributed $5,000.
Send me a note at erle@monkeymediasoftware.com or call me at 604-831-7422 anytime if you have any questions or if you’d like more details. I hope you will consider helping us to bring this project to the finish line. Together we can achieve more.
Thanks for considering…..
