Photo By Cpl. James Richardson | Army Sgt. 1st Class Myron Billingsley (right), the dining facility manager at the 10th...... read more read more
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FORT CARSON, Colo. - Food service specialists assigned to the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) celebrated excellence again this year as they accepted their fourth-straight award for the Fort Carson, garrison-level, Philip A. Connelly Award Aug. 19, here.
The Army's Food Service Program holds the annual competition to promote Army food service awareness by providing incentives and healthy competition among its units. The Department of the Army co-sponsors the program with the International Food Service Executives Association (IFSEA), while the Joint Culinary Center of Excellence (JCCoE), Army Center of Excellence, Subsistence Special Program Directorate (SPD) administers the program.
Named after Philip A. Connelly, an early 20th-century leader in Food Service Management, the award is earned by achieving high marks in a thoroughly-inspected list of overall dining facility procedures and operations. Supervision, administration, accounting procedures, food safety, command support, appearance and attitude of personnel, troop acceptability, equipment and facilities, and overall food preparation and quality are some of the categories evaluated by inspectors.
According to leaders of 10th Group's LaRochelle Dining Facility, the facility separates itself from the pack by providing affordable, civilian-like meals to service members and government employees.
"We like to think outside of the box," said Sgt. 1st Class Myron Billingsley, the LaRochelle Dining Facility's manager. "We don't like to do what every other dining facility is doing. We try to find things that our civilian counterparts are doing, that attract our Soldiers to eat there."
Billingsley said his dining facility can produce the same types and quality of food at a lower cost.
"We can provide the same quality of food for $5.55, where it can cost over $10 somewhere else," Billingsley said. "We look at it as we are not competing with any other dining facility. We are competing with the civilian market, because I don't think there is any other dining facility that compares to us."
The biggest key component in excellence for the facility is its personnel, said Billingsley.
"I tell everybody I've been blessed with a group of people who have a love for cooking and a willingness to learn," said Billingsley. "I have a lot of guys who come to work with new ideas which we implement on an ongoing basis, and I'm all about trying new things. It keeps us fresh, and keeps us on top."
Next up for the LaRochelle Dining Facility is the regional competition of the Philip A. Connelly Competition. If they win that level, the final echelon is the Department of the Army level, which will be awarded in early 2016.
The LaRochelle Dining Facility's recent accomplishments at higher levels include a runner-up finish in the Department of the Army competition in 2013 and the regional crown last year.
| Date Taken: | 08.19.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 09.14.2015 17:19 |
| Story ID: | 176018 |
| Location: | FORT CARSON, CO, US |
| Web Views: | 73 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, LaRochelle captures fourth straight Connelly award, by SFC Jeffrey Smith, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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