AF budget leader earns service's top management award Published July 1, 2008 RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Maj. Gen. Larry O. Spencer, deputy assistant secretary for budget, received the 2007 Eugene M. Zuckert Management Award during a ceremony recently at the Pentagon. "It is truly an honor to receive such a high-level award, but there are many people who deserve credit for it," said General Spencer. "The efforts of our Air Force's financial experts have been extraordinary as we continue to successfully take on the tough challenges we face in today's resource-constrained environment." The annual award recognizes outstanding achievements by a top-level Air Force manager in the ranks of brigadier through lieutenant general or civilian equivalents. It is named after Mr. Eugene M. Zuckert who served as secretary of the Air Force from January 1961 to September 1965. At the Pentagon, General Spencer was cited for his leadership on the fiscal 2008 President's Budget and for his expertise on 2007 and 2008 global war on terrorism supplementals. His efforts with Congress helped reverse a $750 million budget reduction and helped fill a $1 billion shortfall in Air Force funding. General Spencer is responsible for planning and directing annual Air Force budget formulations that total more than $136 billion. He leads a staff of civilian and military financial managers who develop, integrate and defend Air Force resource requests to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Office of Management and Budget and Congress. He also manages and executes funds that support military operations and Air Force priorities at the direction of the secretary of defense and Congress. For more information on Zuckert and other Air Force-level awards, visit Air Force Manpower Agency and click on "Air Force Organizational Performance Awards" under the AFMA Programs section.