2011 Distinguished Alumnus
Joseph A. DiBernardo
AOS Culinary, 1988
"Joey D" is the owner of two family restaurants, "Joe's Diners," in North Naples, Florida. Since 2001, he has also been the General Manager of Food Service for the Collier County School District in Naples, Florida. He began there as a "Roving Manager," supporting 26 schools, from preschool to high school. He was the school district's food service troubleshooter and designed the district's salad bar menu.
For two years, Joey managed the food service at the district's Gulfview Middle School and tripled the à la carte and lunch sales in the first year.
Since 2004, he has managed the "Cougar Café" at Barron Collier High School, serving over 2,100 students and managing 20 employees with two assistants. He is dedicated to in-service training programs for his staff. He markets menu and a la carte items by means of planned promotions, tasting parties, and point-of-sale marketing. He employs centralized menus, standardized recipes, and effective meal production and batch cooking techniques. As he puts it, he assures that the last student has as many food choices as the first student.
Joey was also the founder and president of the National Wheelchair Sports Awareness Program to deal with "post-injury" accomplishments and teach students how to embrace diversity, to believe in themselves, and to treat people with and without disabilities with respect and dignity. The program featured four "Wheelie Teams" in Florida, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
