CHICAGO— Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) kicked off its annual Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC) today at the McCormick Place here. HITEC 2002, which runs from June 25 – 27, 2002, features an exhibit floor with more than 600 booths dedicated to the newest hospitality technology products and services. In addition, this year’s conference also has a special exhibit called Restaurant Rows, which focuses on the latest technology in the restaurant industry. Speakers at HITEC include football player and Fox NFL Sunday sports commentator, Terry Bradshaw; one of the worlds leading technology forecasters, Daniel Burrus; and author, columnist and editor, John Dvorak. The show’s education sessions are covering topics such as high speed Internet, hackers, wireless, hotel technology investments, telecom, point-of-sale systems and many more technology-related issues.