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Awardees will be honored August 7 - 9th in Orlando at the 2023 AHF Annual Conference

Each year AHF is pleased to highlight the best of the self-operated foodservice industry in senior living and healthcare. AHF awards operators and business partners for their contributions across multiple awards. And the 2023 awardees are....

Lifetime Achievement Award
Awarded to: Mary Cooley & Tom Cooley
AHF’s Lifetime Achievement Award is our Association’s highest honor awarded to our members. This award celebrates the leadership and spirit of Jacques Bloch and Angelo Gagliano, our legacy co-founders. The 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to Mary Cooley and Tom Cooley. A unique submission, this husband-and-wife team have been relentless in their work for AHF and as an advocate for self-operated foodservice as the greatest value to our healthcare organizations. Read more...

Making a Difference Award
Awarded to: Karen Horsley
Sr. Director for Healthcare & Nutrition Marketing, Sysco
This important distinction is given to an individual in honor and memory of the beloved John Cabot and is the association’s top honor for both business partners and media. Karen has been a longtime, steadfast, member of AHF, beginning her membership with AHF’s legacy associations the American Society for Healthcare Foodservice Administrators (ASHFSA) and National Society for Healthcare Foodservice Management (HFM). Karen is more than simply a member of the IAB. She has been a friend and mentor to so many AHF members, both operators and vendors, throughout the years. Learn more...

Exemplary Leadership Award
Awarded to: Ryan Conklin
UNC Rex Healthcare
This award will be bestowed upon the operator member who best reflects the commitment to operational excellence that Don Marsh brought to healthcare foodservice. Ryan has a burning passion and drive to make healthcare foodservice better in hospitals and soon discovered early in his career that he wanted to mentor, and lead based on his experience of people and organizations that supported him along the way to achieve his career goals. Continue Reading...

Future Horizon Award
Awarded to: Christopher Voorman
The House of the Good Shepherd at Riverwalk Village
This award recognizes operator members who are new to management (less than 5 years) and demonstrate a desire for future growth through contributions to their hospitals or community. When Christopher started in his current position, his employer was beginning the process of leaving a food management company and becoming a self-operated facility. Working as a change agent in his organization, Christopher has truly embraced the spirit of self-operated foodservice and has led his employer on an impressive journey to the operation they have today .Read more...

Partnership in Leadership Award
Awarded to: Dave Reeves & Armando Llecho
Lee Memorial Health System
This award recognizes an operator member's facility that demonstrate a strong commitment to self-operation and currently supports the foodservice director or foodservice administrative director. “The partnership of the Lee Health FSD, Dave Reeves, and COO, Armando Llechu, proved to be a bond that category-four hurricane force winds could not sever. Armando and Dave built their relationship on mutual respect and trust before the crisis. This relationship was critical to how well the Lee Health System could weather the storm.” Learn more...

Spotlight Award
Awarded to: Caroline Parcel
Hunterdon Health
This award recognizes operator members who have enhanced operations through new ideas and industry trends. The COVID-19 pandemic challenged healthcare foodservice operators in ways they never imagined, including how to provide much needed nutrition to staff who were working long hours in stressful conditions. Solving this challenge requires empathy for staff, creativity and applying technology in a thoughtful way. Caroline Parcel and the Hunterdon Medical team checked all these boxes, and more, with their innovative approach in developing the “E-Cafe2U” app through the CBORD GET Program.
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Sustainability Award
Awarded to: Lisa Yeung
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
This award recognizes operator members who implemented or continuously improved and expanded foodservice waste reduction programs on the path to sustainability. Lisa Yueng and the sustainability initiatives at Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Center extend beyond just waste reduction. Lisa’s programs are large in scope and range from special plant-based menus to large-scale measurements of waste to assist with facility-wide reduction of carbon footprint. The program has been a multi-year process, and the Food & Nutrition department has partnered with other departments in the hospital to create a culture of sustainability. Read More...

Benchmarking Award of Excellence
Awarded to: Julie Meddles
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
This award recognizes a healthcare facility who has used AHF Benchmarking EXPRESS™ consistently, showed improvement in KPI’s and utilized data to improve their operations. Julie Meddles and Benchmarking go hand-in-hand. Since beginning her Benchmarking journey, she has served as the AHF Benchmarking Committee Chair, generously mentored benchmarkers, presented benchmarking tutorials at conference and virtually, and built out AHF Benchmarking Express materials. If there was a book to be written on benchmarking (and free time to do it…!), Julie would be the lead author. Continue Reading...

Presidential Service Awards
The AHF President Leadership Awards are special honors given by the AHF President to AHF leaders who have above and beyond in their service to the Association and the self-operated industry.

Presidential Service Award
Awarded to: Ami Patel
UCSF Medical Center, Mission Bay
Ami was selected for a Presidential Service Award by AHF President Robert Darrah for her critical contributions to AHF’s growing knowledge base. Her technical expertise in multiple areas of self-operation foodservice have been a key asset to the Association. She has served on multiple committees throughout her time with AHF, but most notably has been an important member of the Self-Operated Project Committee. As a member of the committee, she assisted in the development, authoring, and review of several of AHF’s keystone publications. Continue Reading...

Presidential Service Award
Awarded to: Sergio Alonso
Lee Memorial Health System
Sergio Alonso was selected for a Presidential Service Award for his early contributions during his first year as a member of AHF. A newer member to AHF, Sergio joined AHF’s Conference Planning Committee (CPC) immediately providing creative ideas and endless enthusiasm. He worked with local vendors and contacts to help AHF build connections in the local Southeast region ahead of the annual conference. He has been a great asset and AHF is excited for him grow further in the AHF community. Read More...

Chapter of the Year Award
AHF New York Chapter
This award recognizes an AHF Local Chapter that promotes the overall Association's mission. The Association for Healthcare Foodservice (AHF) New York Chapter has been hard at work supporting its members, vendors and AHF national. Since the pandemic the chapter has been working to increase membership and has seen a steady increase year over year. During the pandemic the chapter offered all members free membership during times of hardship. Learn more...