The award was named after its first recipient, Daniel “Spence” O’Brien. The award will be given at future conferences to honor those who go above and beyond in their dedication to MSCA and the service industry.

Stanley Berger, chairman of the MSCA board of managers, presented this year’s award and said, “Spence, for your years of dedication and contributions to MSCA, and the service industry, I am honored to present this award to you. As the namesake of this award, the vital role you have so generously played in the growth and improvement of our industry will never be forgotten.”

O’Brien, currently a member of MSCA’s education and labor relations committees, was also chairman of the MSCA board of managers for 12 years, and served on several other MSCA committees over the years.

Professionally, O’Brien has worked at Cal-Air, Inc., in Whittier, CA, where he began in 1966 as a regional sales manager. He became manager of the company’s Los Angeles Service Division in 1975, and was later elected company vice president and member of the Board of Directors.