Snowball Express VIII: Bringing Smiles to Little Heroes' Faces
• DALLAS — This year's annual “Snowball Express” event, which honors the children of fallen U.S. military heroes who have died since Sept. 11, 2001, is expected to generate the largest attendance in the event's remarkable eight-year history.
Nearly 1,800 children and each child's parent will be flown to Dallas for this year's Dec. 12-16 gathering. From all around the nation they will come together and catch up with friends from previous years' events, make new friends — and most importantly, have some fun.
The numbers of children and spouses of fallen heroes at Snowball Express has been growing. “Our mission is to never forget them,” said Snowball Express Executive Director Francis “Buck” Kern. “We must remember that many families will never be reunited with their hero. Many soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and their children will never be reunited with their dad or mom.” ...
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DeCA Board Chairman Interview:
The Commissary: A Benefit 'Worth Fighting For'
Lt. Gen. William M. Faulkner, USMC, Deputy Commandant, Installations and Logistics (I&L)
• Marine Corps Deputy Commandant, Installations and Logistics (I&L), Lt. Gen. William M. Faulkner, the current chairman of the Defense Commissary Agency
(DeCA) Board of Directors, has viewed the commissary as a valued benefit ever since he was a child growing up in a Marine Corps family. Through the decades, including 30-plus years as an officer, and with a family of his own, Faulkner’s belief in this bedrock benefit has never wavered.
In this exclusive interview with E and C News, Faulkner extols the important role commissaries play in the lives of servicemembers, their families, and U.S. military installations that are fortunate enough to be home to such stores, and gives his thoughtful perspective on why today's commissary system must endure, even amid ever-tightening budget constraints. ...
E and C News: When you hear the word “commissary,” what is the first thing that comes to mind?
Faulkner: I think of a benefit that's always been there for me. When I was a child growing up in a Marine Corps family, it was groceries from the base commissary that made it to our breakfast and dinner table. When I carried my lunch to grade school, the sandwiches and snacks came from the commissary. When I received my commission in 1982, and for the next 30-plus years as an officer with my own family, I've depended on the commissary benefit to help feed my family. So when you say “commissary,” it is a word that is very familiar to me. ...
Read the complete WILLIAM M. FAULKNER INTERVIEW ...NEWSMAKERS:
GNC Promotes Hmel To Director of Military Markets
• PITTSBURGH, PA. — General Nutrition Corporation (GNC) has announced the promotion of Lauri L. Hmel to the position of Director of Military Markets. GNC said Hmel's performance in sales and relationship servicing has been instrumental in the growth of the company's military business for the last 10 years. It also recognized her efforts and dedication to both the company and her business segment. ...
Virginia Governor Appoints Gordy To Veterans Services Foundation
• RICHMOND, VA. — Tom Gordy, president of the Armed Forces Marketing Council (AFMC), has been appointed to serve on the board of the Virginia Veterans Services Foundation, an independent state agency that supports the more than 800,000 Virginia veterans and their families. ...
Monster Energy Launches 'Call of Duty: Ghosts' Promotion in Exchanges
• CORONA, CALIF. — Monster Energy is teaming up with Activision to kick off a major new Call of Duty: Ghosts promotion — a campaign that tied in with the Nov. 5 launch of the highly popular new Activision Publishing Inc. video game — at military exchanges. A Monster Energy spokesman said about 60 exchanges worldwide would take part in the introduction. ...
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DeCA Candy: 'All Hands on Deck' for End-of-Year Candy Sales
Fort Belvoir, Va., Candy Department; Store Director Troy Collins
The Fort Belvoir, Va., Commissary, which features one of the Defense Commissary Agency's (DeCA) top candy departments, is resolute in its focus on providing the strongest benefit possible to service members and their families. ...
“The vendor community is important to maintaining an efficient flow of product through identifying changes in the required stock assortment and managing supply line issues with our distributors. Truly, every available resource is needed to manage an operation the size of Fort Belvoir. We have anticipated and geared up for the seasonal customer traffic and stock assortment, and look forward to breaking more sales records!”…
“Staffing considerations for the holiday season
began early in the year through proper leave management,”
he said. “Although
we understand that our employees
want to spend more time
with their loved ones during the
holiday season, it is important
to manage unused leave toward
the end of the leave year, which
coincides with the busy holiday
season. We do our best to maintain
an 'all-hands-on-deck' posture
during these peak times.”
— Fort Belvoir, Va., Candy Department; Store Director Troy Collins
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AAFES Big Game Promotions: Scoring a Touchdown
Vicki Venables, senior buyer for non-alcoholic beverages, said that through mid-September, the exchange service was still in the planning stages and formulating the details for its Big Game promotions for the upcoming Super Bowl celebrations in CONUS and OCONUS.
“The promotional plans for Super Bowl XLVIII will be similar to what we did for the prior Big Game,” she said. “We will continue to offer a savings to military shoppers on their favorite beverages and have creative store displays to help create excitement.” ...
Bridget MacFawn, Consumables Division divisional merchandise manager (DMM) overseeing beverages, said a joint effort among several category areas is necessary to build this multi-week period into a sales success. “Guidance messages and joint promotions between beer, non-alcoholic beverages and snack suppliers are very common during the Super Bowl,” she noted. “Our stores are asked to create displays for all three categories to produce a 'themed event' at store level.” ...
