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Briggs Selected for U.S. Air Force John L. Hennessy Awards Team

Lianne BriggsFerris State University Hospitality Management faculty member Lianne Briggs is on a mission to find outstanding military food-service facilities as a member of the 2012 U.S. Air Force John L. Hennessy Awards Team.

Briggs, a professor in the College of Business, teaches courses in Restaurant and Food Industry, Private Club and Hotel Management, and World Cuisines, among others. She has worked at Ferris since 1988.

Established in 1957, the Hennessy Awards are named for the late John Hennessy, a hotel and restaurant executive who served on advisory boards to improve military food service. Award categories include single- and multiple-unit facilities and the Air Force Reserve.  

The award is based on the entire scope of an installation’s food-service program. The winners display excellence in management effectiveness, force readiness support, food quality, employee and customer relations, resource conservation, training and safety awareness.

The Hennessy Award teams are comprised of military and civilian evaluators. Briggs traveled with multiple unit teams as a civilian volunteer representing the International Food Service Executives Association. The team includes Air Force Master Sergeant Nichelle Jenkins and David Stockman, senior vice president of operations for Lawry’s Restaurant Inc.   

After several days of training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, Briggs departed on the inspection tour that that ran Feb. 2 through March 3.  

Finalists for the award are: Kadena Air Force Base (AFB), Japan; Moody AFB, Ga.; Keesler AFB, Miss.; Eglin AFB, Fla.; Hurlburt Field, Fla.; Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.; and Royal Air Force Base Mildenhall, England. 

The prestigious awards will be presented during the annual National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel show May 5-8 in Chicago. The show attracts thousands of industry professionals from more than 100 countries.