Marine Corporal Daniel S. Russo to Receive 2013 Food Service Specialist of the Year Award

(St. Helena, CA)- Marine Corporal Daniel Russo will be recognized as the 2013 Food Service Specialist of the Year by the Major General Hill Awards Program this Thursday November, 21st at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, CA. The award will be presented during this week’s Armed Forces Forum for Culinary Excellence hosted by the National Restaurant Association Military Foundation. This year thirty military personnel including Airmen, Marines and Navy personnel are being provided a week of culinary training to further enhance their military food service expertise. “The National Restaurant Association is proud to support our active servicemen and women and military veterans and help shape them into future restaurant leaders,” said Art Myers, National Restaurant Association Military Foundation board member. “The military community is a vital part of the restaurant industry and the Major Gen. W.P.T. Hill Awards is our way of honoring Cpl. Russo and the men and women before him who have been shining examples of excellence in foodservice.” Cpl. Russo originally from Watertown, MA, has been an active member of the USMC since January 2011. Over the past year Russo has been assigned to the 25th Marine Regiment, HQ CO Mess Chief where he supervises over 13,800 meals being prepared for all drill and annual events. During his unit’s annual training exorcise, Russo established a field mess and led 15 marines in support of 8,400 meals and supported the July 4th holiday meal for all elements of the operation. The ceremony will take place Thursday November 21st at 11am ET via Skype as Cpr. Russo is currently serving in Afghanistan. The National Restaurant Association Military Foundation grew from the NRA’s decades-long partnership with the Hennessy Travelers Awards program. Established in 1956, the program honors the dedication, pride and fellowship of the military foodservice personnel. More than 250,000 military veterans are employed in the restaurant industry. In the next five years, the NRA projects the number of additional employment opportunities to increase by 25,000.