PRESIDIO OF MONTEREY, Calif. -- The Presidio's Belas Hall Dining Facility was visited by representatives of the International Food Service Executives Association on Oct. 19 to perform an evaluation after designating the dining facility a finalist in the Garrison "Civilian-Operated" category to receive the 2013 Philip A. Connelly Award for Excellence in Food Service.
Belas Hall won the Connelly Award in 2010 for the Small Garrison category and was also a finalist in 2011.
After the evaluation, Belas employees were given certificates during a presentation by the IFSEA Evaluation Team in honor of their finalist status for the Connelly Award. Four employees were also recognized for going "above and beyond," during the evaluation; Angel Mompar, Elizabeth Bonilla, Maria Melendez, and Helen Harper.
Presidio of Monterey Garrison Commander Col. Joel Clark was on hand for the post-evaluation award presentation and lauded the Belas employees' hard work and dedication. This is "something to be pretty proud of," he said.
Belas Hall is named after Sgt. Lee Arthur Belas who was killed in action in Iraq Feb. 27, 1991. Belas was a linguist and Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center graduate, fluent in French and Russian. He was conversant in German and Dutch and was learning Arabic at the time of his death.
The Connelly program is named in honor of Philip A. Connelly, past president of the International Food Service Executives Association, highly regarded as the driving force behind obtaining IFSEA sponsorship for the Department of the Army's recognition of excellence in Army food service.
The Connelly Award winners are expected to be announced in December or January.
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