MacDill's Diner's Reef brings home the Hennessey award

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Tori Schultz
  • 6th Air Mobility Wing public affairs
MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., --  The results are in! MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, Diner's Reef dining facility won the 2015 Hennessy Trophy Award for their excellence in food service.

The John L. Hennessy Award is the oldest military food service award and is named after a hotel and restaurant executive who led a special Hoover Commission Task Group advisory to improve military food service.

The Hennessy Trophy has been awarded for 59 consecutive years to the teams presenting the best food service programs in the Air Force. The award is based on the entire scope of an installation's food service program.

MacDill competed amongst five other major command Food Transformation Initiative competitors. The DFAC was evaluated in five categories to include: Kitchen Operations, Serving and Dining Operations, Training Personnel and Readiness, Sanitation and Repair Maintenance, and Management.

"Unique to MacDill, and key to the winning package, included the joint Aramark and military teams' support to our many unique missions such as CORONA, numerous distinguished visitors, and community and cadet groups that frequent the facility throughout the year," said Senior Master Sgt. Deborah Parsons, 6th Force Support Squadron superintendent. "Our team excelled on and off duty; 68 percent scored excellent on physical training tests, several members earned awards, and three members scored over 90 percent on their career development course end of course exams."

Diner's Reef currently has 36 military members assigned and are led by SMSgt Marcus Watson, 6th FSS food service superintendent and Master Sgt. Demetria Washington, 6th FSS food service manager. Over 30 contractors are also assigned to the DFAC to cover for deployed personnel, cashiers, and to assist with keeping the facility sanitary.

"It is not every day that a dining facility wins this very prestigious award, many members go their entire career striving for this," said Parsons. "I know I speak for the entire Aramark and military leadership team when I say 'we could not be prouder of the Diner's Reef staff!'"