For those of you who are members of CUB or are interested in the organization you may want to mark your calendars and save the date for the 2007 CUB retreat which is being planned for Friday, September 28, 2007 – Sunday, September 30, 2007 in Chicago at the McDonald’s corporate campus in Oak Brook, IL. This is 88 acres of forest with a lake and four miles of hiking trails and beautiful setting that is conducive to serenity.

The facility that will be utilized for the workshop sessions will be held at Hamburger University which is McDonald’s training facility. A block of rooms have been secured at the Hyatt Lodge which is on campus. A trolley is available through out the day to assist those who need a ride from the hotel to the training facility. The troll circles the campus through out the day. In addition to the trolley, the hotel provides a shuttle within a 5 mile radius of the campus. It is my understanding that this includes a mall, and many restaurants. Public transportation is also available via a commuter train line.

The hotel will be hosting two dinners which will be a part of the retreat.

The goal of the UCB retreat is to create an environment for renewal, devotion, healing, peace, and an escape from the pressures of everyday life. It is a time to come together with others who know and understand the challenges we face as members of the adoption triad. The CUB organization is in the process of putting together a program that supports this goal and will be available in the future when plans are more formal and finalized.

In 1961 Fred Turner, McDonald’s former senior chairman, and Ray Kroc’s first grillman, founded Hamburger University in the basement of a McDonalds restaurant in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.

The first class of 14 students graduated on February 24, 1961. Today there are more than 500,000 students attend Hamburger University each year. Since 1961 more than 80,000 restaurant managers, mid managers, and owner/operators have graduated from the facility.

In 1983 McDonald’s invested forty million dollars in Hamburger University. The University is a 130,000 square foot facility on an 80 acre campus located in Oak Brook, IL. This is approximately 25 minutes by car from the O’Hare or Midway airports and from the city of Chicago.

The facility includes 13 teaching rooms, a 300 seat auditorium, 12 interactive education team rooms, 3 kitchen labs, and state of the art service training labs. There are 22 regional training teams and additional Hamburger University campuses in Sydney, Munich, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Brazil.