photo by Adam Skoczylas Chef William Gonzales concocts a stir fry of green beans, tomatoes, onions and pasta for a lunchtime crowd at the award-winning Fort Myer Officers’ Club.

Azeb Aweke, the manager of the Fort Myer Officers’ Club, has won the 2007 James A. Carroll, Jr., Award for Excellence in Club Management⁄Food, Beverage and Entertainment Facilities. Aweke won the award for the fiscal years 2003 and 2005.

Carroll Award winners aren’t allowed to enter the competition the year after they win, meaning Aweke and her club have won every year they’ve been able to enter.

‘‘We never lose,” she said. ‘‘Every time we submit, we win.”

Mark Cauthers, the director of business operations for Morale, Welfare and Recreation, credits Aweke and her staff’s success to their willingness to adapt and change. The Officer’s Club is always working to stay a step ahead of everyone else, he said, rather than resting on their laurels.

‘‘We have to evolve,” he said. ‘‘We’re always looking to improve. The minute you start thinking, ‘Oh, we’re so great,’ you’re going to fail.”

Cauthers explained that there are certain benchmarks to be met simply to be worthy of nomination for the awards. Fort Myer’s Officers’ Club easily surpassed them, he said, especially the financial goals. The club’s award was in the category for venues that earned over $1 million in revenue for the year.

But when it comes to running the club, it’s not all dollars and cents. In fact, Cauthers said, money is the last thing on his and Aweke’s minds.

‘‘We take care of each day as a new day,” he said. ‘‘We don’t spend all of our time looking at the bottom line, cutting this or that service to balance the books at the end of the day. If we focus on the customers and our service, the bottom line will be there.”

Because the officer’s club is operated as a business, it benefits from its own success. About 70 percent of the club’s profits go back to the club; the rest is used for morale support programs. As a result, the clay courts at the post tennis club have been resurfaced, the kitchen equipment was upgraded, the club’s pool area is being renovated and the club building is getting new audio-visual equipment this year. And, of course, they’ve implemented a new customer service training program for the employees.

Cauthers estimated that the club has a service success rate approaching 99 percent. He said that the club serves, on average, 400 to 500 people daily. Last year, he said, there were only a handful of complaints, and they were about a broken heater.

‘‘Our service has helped bring back a lot of repeat customers; now we’re known worldwide” he said. ‘‘We field a lot of calls from other clubs throughout the military, asking how we do things here.”

In addition to regular club operating hours, the club staff also caters parties, cocktail hours and various receptions for club members. Membership ranges from retired World War II veterans to the chiefs of staff and the secretary of the Army. The club hosts functions for every major holiday, so the staff never gets holidays like Thanksgiving, Easter or Mother’s Day off.

Their tireless work is the basis for Aweke’s success in the Carroll Awards.

‘‘I couldn’t do what I do without them,” she said. ‘‘The work they do, their teamwork, is incredible. They’re not just a staff of employees, they’re a family.”

Though the exact number of clubs competing for awards in each category isn’t released, Cauthers said, each garrison submits nominees from which one is chosen at the regional level. The managers of the clubs, bowling centers, golf courses and recycling centers from each region then face each other. The best of each category is given the award.

The nomination process requires that a packet be submitted outlining the club’s activities and events throughout the year as well as photos of each event, the staff and management. Cauthers said that the book he ultimately submitted to Garrison Commander Col. Laura Richardson nominating Aweke took about two months to complete and was at least two inches thick.

‘‘We do a lot,” Cauthers said, ‘‘but it’s key for us to have command backing and support. Col. Richardson and Command Sgt. Maj.Varner have been huge supporters of what we do at MWR.”

The Carroll Award was established in 1976 as a tribute to James Carroll, Jr., a leader in the civilian and military hospitality field, who passed away in 1975. In 1991 the awards expanded to recognize managers of golf, bowling, leisure travel and recycling operations. The awards now also recognize multi-facility managers, business managers and ‘‘most improved” facilities.