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HENNESSY/DISNEY AWARDS

together elite culinary specialists from the Air Force, Air Na- to come,” said Rob Gifford, executive vice president, NRAEF.
tional Guard, Army, Navy and Marine Corps to develop their “With the restaurant industry thriving, these culinary edu-
food service management skills, as well as earn certification cational sessions will help our servicemen and women build
that can be applied to a career in the hospitality industry. rewarding careers during and after their service to the nation.”
Much of the Forum is devoted to full-day culinary train- This year, about 46 outstanding military culinary specialists
ing at the Culinary Institute of America. There are four are invited to and expected to attend the Forum. Participation
consecutive days of training from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, in the Forum rises each year; last year 41 culinary specialists
July 31, through Thursday, August 3. attended, up from 36 in 2015, 32 in 2014 and 25 in 2013.
Key events are the Leadership Panel and Mentoring Among the group invited to attend this year’s Forum are
Roundtables on Friday, August 4. In the Leadership Panel, 10 culinary specialists from the Air Force and three from the
participants have career-focused question-and-answer ses- Air National Guard. At the end of the training program, out
sions with all students. The Mentoring Roundtables are of these 13 nominees, the Air Force selects the HTA Award
smaller, group discussions with the students on specific of Excellence winner and the Air National Guard names its
industry-related topics. Disney Food Service Excellence Award winner.
“The Armed Forces Forum for Culinary Excellence fills Each year the Hennessy evaluators select nominees for the
a crucial gap by providing our military food service profes- HTA Award of Excellence while completing inspections for
sionals with the necessary skills to succeed not only in their the culinary team awards. This year, there are four nominees
current roles, but in restaurant and industry careers for years from Region 1 (Eastern Hemisphere) and four in Region 2

SENIOR AIRMAN DIANA SMOAK, has opened my eyes to a lot, and I have learned
LITTLE ROCK AFB, ARK. so much. When I won the award I was in shock,
“Winning is such an honor. Being awarded but I also knew I had a great chance of winning
the 2017 John L. Hennessy Award means that because I worked so hard for it. I am thankful
our continuous strive for excellence in food service that I had the opportunity to embark on the
was recognized. Our personnel (military and journey from start to finish and have seen the
civilian) are hard working and very deserving. great things that came out of it.”
Although, we remain humble — we are proud
to be called the “Best of the Best.’” SENIOR AIRMAN KELLI JOHNSON,
DAVIS-MONTHAN AFB, ARIZ.
NOMINEES FOR THE HTA AWARD OF EXCEL- “To be nominated for the Hennessy Award
LENCE IN REGION 2 (WESTERN HEMISPHERE): of Excellence, in addition to having my culinary
skills recognized, is the greatest feeling. In the
SENIOR AIRMAN AMANDA WILLIAMS, beginning of my career, I had some medical issues
ELLSWORTH AFB, S.D. that placed me out of my job for six months.
“Being nominated played a huge role on During that time, I vowed that I would work as
proving that this career field is not just a dream, hard as I could when I returned to duty. Receiving
but now a reality. Now I feel that I am good this nomination reassures me that I did just that.”
enough and looking forward to moving onward
to becoming a chef.” AIRMAN 1ST CLASS NATALIA MORRIS,
CANNON AFB, N.M.
STAFF SGT. EUGENE GALLOWAY, “I am pleased, honored and humbled to ac-
PETERSON AFB, COLO. cept this award, and am looking forward to the
“I’m very excited to have this opportunity, trip to California. A very special thanks to the
so I can expand my culinary skills and pass Hennessy Evaluation Team for selecting me.
on my knowledge to my airmen. It feels unreal Being selected for this award means I will need
because I really wanted my airmen to win, but to lead by example. I have to win and retain
I’m looking forward to the experience and the their respect; not just for my position, but for me
opportunity it brings. as a person, for my experience, skills and competence. In leadership,
I feel so fortunate because I understand people and relationships are more important than tasks. Tasks do
the incredible effort and time that everyone in our operation puts matter, but the main role of a good leader is to motivate and inspire
forward to accomplish the mission, so it’s an honor to be chosen to other people to do the tasks well. And I plan on doing just that.”
represent the Aragon Dining Facility and Peterson Air Force Base.
My goal is to absorb as much knowledge as I can, so I can share STAFF SGT. JESSE TUCKER,
it with my colleagues here at Peterson, and I look forward to network- EIELSON AFB, ALASKA
ing with the different chefs there.” “It’s a great honor to be nominated and
recognized for this award. I have such a strong
SENIOR AIRMAN SHAON MORRIS, TRAVIS AFB, CALIF. supportive team who made this opportunity
“To be nominated as the Hennessy Traveler is an honor. Cooking possible for me.”
wasn’t my first love, but over the years I grew to love it. Being at
Travis AFB in an FTI [Food Transformation Initiative] environment

38 GOVERNMENT FOOD SERVICE • JULY 2017