Lt. Frank Fuller '92

In 1999, just eight months from full retirement, after twenty years of active duty, Lt. Frank Fuller got a call from the Bureau of Naval Personnel, nominating him for the position of a lifetime.  After a rigorous interview process, Fuller received the coveted title of Director of Presidential Food Service, where he would be heading up all food service operations for the West Wing, the Oval Office, and the Cabinet room.    
 
Working under the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, Fuller managed arguably the world’s most demanding restaurant and catering service.  “We’re here, but not seen.  That was the mission,” says Fuller, referring to his all-Navy staff of 50, who were in charge of food service security wherever the president traveled.
     
The idea of receiving a culinary education came mid way through Lt. Fuller’s career.  Fresh out of high school in Scranton, PA, Fuller enlisted into the United States Navy.  “The Navy always interested me because I love the water,” says Fuller.  It wasn’t until after sailing through such ports as the Mediterranean, Egypt, France, Greece, Morocco, and the North Atlantic that Fuller decided to enroll at J&W’s Providence campus.  Fuller, ever mindful of broader horizons, knew what a difference a college degree would make for his career.  “I knew I needed a degree and I chased it down.”

After graduating with his A.S. in Culinary Arts in 1986, Fuller was reassigned to the USS Oliver Hazard Perry out of Philadelphia. Here, he supervised a kitchen feeding a crew of 200, while running up and down the East Coast chasing drug runners in the Caribbean.  Finally ashore in 1989, Fuller came back to J&W’s Providence campus to obtain his B.S. in Food Service Management.  Graduating in 1992, Fuller took another assignment with the USS Emory S. Land, in charge of foodservice for the entire submarine.  Lt. Fuller is now retired from active duty, and is Employed by the Hobart Corporation.  As Territory Sales Manager, Fuller oversees Hobart's business in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virgina, and Washington DC.