National Restaurant Association Military Foundation and partners award foodservice excellence

Offutt Air Force Base, Air Command, 55th Force Support Squadron in Omaha, Neb. and Edwards Air Force Base, Air Force Material Command, 412th Force Support Squadron in California were recognized with the 2014 John L. Hennessy Award for Excellence in U.S. Air Force Food Service Operations by the National Restaurant Association Military Foundation (NRAMF) during the 2014 National Restaurant Association, Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show, in Chicago. The Hennessey Awards are sponsored by the NRAMF, the Society for Hospitality and Foodservice Management (SHFM), the International Food Service Executives Association (IFSEA) and the Hennessy Travelers Association (HTA).

Receiving the John L. Hennessey Award for Excellence in Food Service in the U.S. National Guard were Senior Airman Audrey Manis, 134 Force Support Squadron, McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Tenn.; Airman First Class Amanda Gill, 1855 Force Support Squadron, Sioux City, Iowa; and Airman Ashlee Barkeloo, 182 Force Support Squadron, Peoria, Ill.

In 2008, the NRAMF awards program was expanded to include the Major General W.P.T. Hill Memorial Awards for Foodservice Excellence and the Capitan Edward F. Ney Memorial Awards to similarly honor foodservice personnel and operations within the Marine Corps and the Navy, respectively. Each winter, representatives from the NRA, the IFSEA and SHFM travel to Air Force, Air National Guard, Naval and Marine Corps bases to evaluate foodservice operations and determine award nominations.

“The National Restaurant Association is committed to our men and women in uniform, and we are extraordinarily grateful for all they do for our country,” said Dawn Sweeney, president and CEO of the NRA, in a press release. “We are proud to honor these truly deserving winners and thank them for their service.”

Winners of the 2014 General W.P.T Hill Memorial Awards included Garrison Mess Hall at Camp Kinser on Marine Corps Base S.D. Butler, in Okinawa, Japan, for best military/contractor, and Combat Logistics Regiment 17, 1st Marine Logistics Group, Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton, Calif., for best active field mess.

The 2014 U.S. Navy Captain Edward F. Ney Memorial Awards were given to aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77), large afloat USS Makin Island (LHD 8), medium afloat USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53), small afloat USS Rentz (FFG 46), submarine USS City of Corpus Christi (705), small ashore Naval Air Station Point Mugu and large ashore Naval Base Katsap.