300 executives from more than 100 companies were on hand to applaud the winners of the 2007 People Report Best Practices awards for excellence in people practices at the 12th annual conference on November 14 and 15, 2007. This year's event, aptly themed, "Tone at the Top," was chaired by Jim Vinz, President and Denise Clemens, Vice President of Human Resources for Corner Bakery Cafe.

People Report presented the Heart of the Workplace Award to Legal Sea Foods in recognition of the company's commitment to investing in both their employees and community. Pizza Properties (Burger King) received the Catalyst Award, honoring their significant advances and sustained results on the people side of the P & L over the past two years.

The 2007 Best People Practices Awards were bestowed upon Panda Express (Segment A-Limited Service/Fast Casual/Family Dining), Longhorn Steakhouse (Segment B--Full Service Casual Dining), The Capital Grille (Segment C-Casual Dining Plus/Fine Dining) and White Castle (Segment Q-Quick Service). The 2007 award was the second time that The Capital Grille and White Castle have both achieved the top results. The Best Practices Award is given in recognition of an organization's achievements in management retention, employee retention and composite diversity, which is a measure of the presence of women and diverse individuals in management.

The 3rd Annual Workplace Legacy Award was given to James Broadhurst, the Chairman of Eat 'N Park Hospitality Group, whose leadership and commitment to the industry and community have established Eat 'N Park as a regional staple. "Jim built Eat 'N Park into a viable company and managed to keep the family feeling imbedded deep in the roots of its culture," said Joni Thomas Doolin, CEO and founder of People Report. "His commitment to putting people first is evident in the strong employee loyalty at Eat 'N Park and he has personally been an exceptional role model in the local and national community raising millions of dollars for multiple organizations."

Other highlights of the two day symposium included Doolin's presentation of the hard facts our industry is facing in the next few years. She left the audience with a hyper focus on sustainability, not just in terms of "greening" business, but in perpetuating the purpose of our work throughout the workplace. Teresa Siriani, President of People Report and Ron Paul, President of Technomic provided a tag team look at the strong connection between workplace and consumer trends in building a lasting brand.

Keynote speakers such as Rand Stagen, Tamar Jacoby, Dr. Tedd Mitchell, Susan Steinbrecher, Bruce Tulgan, Penelope Trunk and Oren Harari, along with expert panels, shared the Tone at the Top in providing an in-depth look at what the workplace of the next century and the leadership and personal commitments we will have to make to excel in it..

"There is clearly a challenging road ahead for the foodservice industry," states Doolin. "Our intent with this conference is always to tackle the tough issues like immigration, sustainable culture and leadership legacy head on. I am confident participants left heads spinning with new, creative information as well as directly actionable insight."

People Report is also proud to announce the dates for next year's Best Practices Conference, November 12 & 13, 2007 in Dallas, TX. Robert Ott, CEO and Bill Story, Vice President of Training and Development with Claim Jumper Restaurants have been named conference chairs and Dan Sanders, author of "Built to Serve" will be a keynote speaker.

Platinum sponsors of the event included American Express, Batrus Hollweg International, Coca-Cola, Cigna Health Care, Kronos, and Service Management Group.

For more information about the awards, the conference or People Report, contact Kacy Oden at 972-733-6822 or .

Thank You to Our 2007 Sponsors