Lance Orton, CenterPoint Energy Efficiency Consultant; Karen Frank, Area Manager, and Dianna Nicks, Senior Marketing Consultant, joined ASU Mid-South Chancellor Dr. Debra West, Hospitality Management Lead Faculty Marjorie Gardner, and Delta Cuisine Executive Director John Auker for the presentation.
“CenterPoint Energy offers substantial rebates for high-efficiency natural gas equipment through a suite of Conservation Improvement Programs,” Orton said. “The rebates are designed to help alleviate the initial higher cost of energy-efficient appliances over standard models.”
ASU Mid-South purchased eleven pieces of ENERGY STAR-qualified commercial cooking equipment for the $2.2 million facility which features classrooms, a thermal bottling
2000 West Broadway | West Memphis, Arkansas, 72301 | (870) 733-6722 | www.asumidsouth.edu
laboratory, bakery and food service preparation rooms, a computer laboratory, receiving/multipurpose area, and freezer and dry storage areas.
“I am so excited that ASU Mid-South is participating in our rebate program,” Nicks said. “The Cleveland OGB 6.20 is the first Combi Oven we have rebated, so that’s very important. I’m really glad to see this kitchen in West Memphis; it’s a great facility.”
Auker said a design team that included college and Delta Cuisine representatives, the architect, and a kitchen consultant visited several Memphis-area facilities as well as Pulaski Technical College in Little Rock to determine what would work best for the West Memphis facility.
“We focused on equipment that would provide low cost of operation without compromising performance or function,” Auker said. “The result of the design process and selection was commercial-grade, energy-efficient equipment that will meet the requirements of ASU Mid-South and Delta Cuisine for many years.”
The college contacted CenterPoint Energy about the rebate program to find out if the purchases would qualify.
“We checked everything out, worked together, and made it happen,” Orton said.
Frank said CenterPoint Energy is proud to partner with ASU Mid-South.
“We support ASU Mid-South with annual sponsorship funds and through the rebate program,” she said. “This is another great opportunity for us to support the college.”
In addition to annual operating expense savings of $2,376, the ENERGY STAR equipment will conserve 5,280 therms. According to information on the Environmental Protection Agency’s website (http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html#results), the conservation effort will result in the reduction of annual greenhouse gas emissions equal to what would be produced by 5.9 passenger vehicles.
The Hospitality Center is named in honor of Jeremy M. Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Delaware North, the parent company of Southland Park Gaming and Racing. Southland and Delaware North are making a $1 million investment in ASU Mid-South’s hospitality program over a 10-year period.
Other key participants in the creation of the facility include the Arkansas Community Foundation, the Delta Regional Authority, local members of the Arkansas General Assembly (Sen. Ingram and Representatives Deborah Ferguson and Milton Nicks), the Assisi Foundation, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, the City of West Memphis, the Delta Cuisine Board of Directors, Fidelity National Bank, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
In addition to housing ASU Mid-South’s Associate of Science and Associate of Applied Science degrees and related certificate hospitality/food safety/culinary arts programs, the facility provides space for the Delta Cuisine Commercial Kitchen and Business Incubator.
Delta Cuisine is a non-profit West Memphis organization centered on a kitchen incubator that addresses both the competitive and productive workforce and sustainable communities’ goals for the region. The incubator assists the creation of businesses involving products and services in the food industry.
CenterPoint Energy, Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a domestic energy delivery company that includes electric transmission & distribution, natural gas distribution and energy services operations. The company serves more than five million metered customers primarily in Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas.
To find out more about education, training, and entrepreneurship opportunities available at ASU Mid-South, visit the campus at 2000 West Broadway in West Memphis, call (870) 733-6728, email admissions@midsouthcc.edu, or access the college’s website at www.midsouthcc.edu.
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