Airmen receive Gen. Larry O. Spencer Innovation Award during AFA ceremony

Capt. Michael Kanaan, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance enterprise lead receives the Gen. Spencer Innovation Award - Individual from Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. David L. Goldfein, second from left, Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson, third from right, Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Kaleth Wright, second from right, Gen. (ret.) Larry Spencer, far right, and Whit Peters, Chairman of the Air Force Association Board, far left, during the AFA Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Md., Sept. 17, 2018. The award recognizes Kanaan in government, industry and academia as a thought leader in the digital field across all Air Force functions who demonstrably shapes the highest levels of operations, messaging and funding. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Rusty Frank)

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Airmen receive Gen. Larry O. Spencer Innovation Award during AFA ceremony

Master Sgt. Louis Lusco, third from left, and Senior Airman Dakota Williamson received the Gen. Spencer Innovation Award - Team from Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. David L. Goldfein, second from left, Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson, third from right, Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Kaleth Wright, second from right, Gen. (ret.) Larry Spencer, far right, and Whit Peters, Chairman of the Air Force Association Board, far left, during the AFA Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Md., Sept. 17, 2018. Lusco and Williamson are part of the maintenance Top Coat Team at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Rusty Frank)

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Airmen receive Gen. Larry O. Spencer Innovation Award during AFA ceremony

Published Sept. 27, 2018
By Staff Sgt. Victoria H. Taylor
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs

ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) -- Capt. Michael Kanaan, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance enterprise lead, was presented with the Gen. Larry O. Spencer Award during the Air Force Association Air, Space and Cyber Conference, Sept. 17, in National Harbor, Maryland.

The award, presented by Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson, Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. David L. Goldfein and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Kaleth O. Wright, recognizes Kanaan as a thought leader in the digital field across all Air Force functions, who noticeably shapes the highest levels of operations, messaging and funding.

Preceding the presentation of the individual award, Master Sgt. Louis Lusco and Senior Airman Dakota Williamson, accepting on behalf of their 17-person Maintenance Top Coat Team at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, were recognized in the team category.

The annual award, created in 2015, is named after former Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Larry O. Spencer, who helped create an innovative culture for Airmen to follow, and championed the “Every Dollar Counts” campaign along with the Airmen Powered by Innovation website.

"The real innovation is out in the field, and we need to cultivate those ideas and encourage those Airmen," Spencer said in 2015 during the unveiling of the award. "There are great ideas out there and we owe it to our Airmen to listen to them."