Hennessy Award team visits base next week Published Feb. 4, 2010 81st Force Support Squadron KEESLER AFB, Ms. -- Keesler is this year's Air Education and Training Command nominee for the John L. Hennessy Award as the top food service operation in the Air Force in the multiple facility category. The Hennessy Award is based on the entire scope of the food service program. Keesler has won the award five times, most recently in 2004. An evaluation team representing the Air Force Services Agency and the food service industry arrives at Keesler Wednesday. The evaluation begins with a 7:30 a.m. in-briefing Feb. 11 at the Roberts Building and wraps up Feb 12. The team leader is Capt. Anquenetta Blount; Air Force Services Agency services strategic plans chief. Team members are Master Sgt. Guadalupe Rodriguez-Valdez, AFSVA food and beverage manager; Roy Watson, National Restaurant Association, and Stanley Gibson, International Food Service Executives Association. "'Feed Them Right...Fit to Fight,' focusing on building a mentally and physically strong Air Force through nutrition, is the theme for the evaluation team's site visit," said Lt. Col Richard Cole, 81st Force Support Squadron commander. "Our promise has always been to meet, if not exceed, our customers' expectations in providing the best service possible." The dining facilities serve about 2 million meals annually -- about 6,500 a day. The three facilities -- Azalea, Live Oak, and Magnolia -- offer daily snack specials, world cuisine lunches, "grab-and-go" meals, signature sandwiches and vegetarian items. Azalea opened in 2001 in the Triangle Area for non-prior service students and can feed 1,500 people per meal. The facility houses the flight kitchen which prepares more than 250 meals per month and the central preparation kitchen where over 350,000 pounds of produce and 125,000 servings of various meat items are processed and prepared annually. Magnolia opened in 1995 and hosts the monthly birthday celebrations for junior enlisted people and serves a midnight meal Monday-Friday. This facility can serve 1,500 customers per meal. Live Oak opened in 1986 and has a rated capacity of 800 customers per meal. It supports permanent party personnel, temporary duty personnel and nonprior service personnel attending classes on base. The facility also serves personnel of the 403rd Wing and is the training facility for the wing during unit training assembly weekends. Keesler's dining facilities play a vital role within the Keesler community providing essential mission support on a daily basis as well as special community events. In 2009, Keesler fed athletes from seven countries during the 5th Annual Conseil International Du Sport Militaire Women's Soccer Championship; served over 1,500 athletes, coaches and volunteers during the Mississippi Special Olympics and provided more than 1,200 flight and ground support meals during the Keesler Thunder on the Bay Air Show. Food service has an active recognition program offering monthly dining facility, customer service and employee awards. Menus are published weekly in the Keesler News, featured on a daily menu hotline at 377-3463 and at the Services Web site, www.keeslerservices.us. Customers can rate the dining facilities by completing comment cards at the cashier's station or by logging on to the Services Web site and clicking on the interactive customer evaluation icon.