Former cop, now instructor, is base's nominee for award Published Oct. 11, 2007 81st Training Wing Public Affairs KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- An Airman Leadership School instructor is Keesler's nominee for the Thomas V. Fredian Award. The winner will be announced during the Salute to the Military, 6 p.m. Oct. 16, at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. Tech, Sgt. Ezra Khan's community involvement includes Adopt-A-Highway, Mississippi Gulf Coast Cleanup, Special Olympics and fundraisers for disadvantaged families. The former 81st Security Forces Squadron member volunteered more than 100 hours to lead a team in rebuilding a playground destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The award recognizes community leadership. It is named for a former Navy member and public affairs officer at Stennis Space Center who died in 1999. Petty Officer 1st Class John Runyan, Naval Oceanographic Office, Stennis Space enter, won the award in 2006. Kesler's nominee was Tech. Sgt. Jason Byrd, then 81st Communications Squadron assistant noncommissioned officer in charge of airfield systems. Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter is the featured speaker for the event sponsored by the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce. Other expected guests include Sen. Thad Cochran, Rep. Gene Taylor of the Mississippi congressional delegation and Gov. Haley Barbour. The Air Force Reserve Band provides music. Tickets are $40 per person or $400 for a table of 10. They're available at the 81st Training Wing Public Affairs Office, Room 113, Taylor Logistics Center.