FSS gears up for Hennessy competition Published March 30, 2017 By 934th Force Support Squadron 934th Airlift Wing MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL AIR RESERVE STATION -- During the April UTA the 934th Force Support Squadron will be competing for the Hennessy Trophy which is awarded to the best food service team in the Air Force Reserve Command. As part of the competition, Force Support members will be setting up and operating the SPEK (Single Pallet Expeditionary Kitchen) outside the dining facility. Leading up to the UTA, FSS team members worked to reduce their setup time and increase efficiency in running the kitchen. All 934th members are encouraged to visit the kitchen for lunch on Saturday. Leadership lunch is from 1100-1130, and all others 1130-1300. The Hennessy award has a rich history behind it. President Eisenhower established the Hoover Commission to study ways to improve the efficiency of government agencies. One such agency was the Department of Defense. One task group was charged with making improvements to commissary (principally the troop element as opposed to the retail stores) and troop feeding programs. Among other recommendations, the task group suggested that services initiate a competition among food service operations that would identify and reward the best ones. The Air Force was the first to implement the recommendation and establish a program that would become known as the Hennessy Trophy Awards Program. The program was named in honor of John L. Hennessy who was a member of the task group. John L. Hennessy - Recognized by US presidents as a leader in his field, John Lawrence Hennessy was one of the nation's most capable and respected hotel and restaurant executives. Born in Angola, New York, in 1886, he began working in hotels as a freight elevator operator. He worked his way up through the ranks to become Vice President of Statler Hotels in 1928 and the Chairman of the Board before World War II. When Hilton Hotels Corporation absorbed Statler Hotels, he became Vice President of Hilton, the largest hotel corporation in the world at that time. When we entered World War II, mobilization efforts presented many challenges. In 1943, President Roosevelt appointed Mr. Hennessy as Chairman of the War Food Committee to develop food service systems capable of sustaining millions of military personnel. He became the Special Food Consultant to the Secretary of War and was a member of the National Meat Board, controlling meat production and processing during the war. As a member of the Restaurant Industry Advisory Commission to the Office of Price Administration, his expertise was used during food rationing due to wartime needs. In 1946, he engaged in fund-raising activities in the hotel industry, supporting Disabled American Veterans. In 1952, with the advent of the Nuclear Age, Mr. Hennessy served as a special food consultant to the Atomic Energy Commission at Los Alamos, New Mexico. He evaluated the impact of nuclear radiation on food products. He was appointed to the Hoover Commission. Their tasks included improving military food service operations. One of Mr. Hennessy’s recommendations was to encourage the military services to adopt a program of food service competition and inspire better management and command support of food service. Mr. Hennessy did not live to see his recommendation in action. At the time of his death, he was working on the design of the cadet dining hall at the Air Force Academy. The memory of John Lawrence Hennessy lives on in the annual Air Force Hennessy competition—a testimonial to his efforts in the food service field.