2019 FAME winners announced

The 30th annual national FAME (Foodservice Achievement Management Excellence) awards have been announced by sponsor Basic American Foods, with the most prestigious honor, the Golden School Foodservice Director of the Year Award, going to School Nutrition Services Director Kevin Ponce of Oklahoma City Public Schools (OCPS). He was last year’s recipient of the Silver Leadership Award.

Ponce was hired by OCPS in 2014 after the district decided to terminate its contract with an outside management company and operate its school meal program in-house. Among his initiatives has been a free supper program pilot at a high-poverty high school in the district.

The other 2019 FAME Award winners are: 

Silver Leadership Award: Alyssia Wright, executive director of Fulton County Schools in Atlanta,

Silver Spirit Award: Amanda Musick, program manager of marketing & grants, Pasco County Food & Nutrition Services in Florida,

Silver Special Achievement Award: Carrie Woodruff, food service director for Lima City Schools in Ohio

Silver Rising Star Award: Scott Richardson, nutrition & food services director for Warren County Board of Education in Georgia.

Silver Friend of Child Nutrition: Patricia Montague, CEO of the School Nutrition Association (SNA).

The FAME Awards were launched 30 years ago to honor school nutrition professionals who raise industry standards by tackling challenges within their school districts and communities. The 2019 FAME Awards ceremony event is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2019 at the JW Marriott Austin in Austin, Texas, site of SNA’s 2019 School Nutrition Industry Conference.