126 Years of Family Serving Family – Wendy Shickles, Fort Leonard Wood
One in a series honoring the Exchange’s 126 years of family serving family
Wendy Shickles is a living embodiment of the Exchange’s “family serving family” core value.
Shickles started working at the Exchange food court at the now-closed Fort McClellan, where her husband, who served in the Army, was assigned. In 2014, Shickles joined the Exchange store at Fort Leonard Wood.
Wendy Shickles manages the Exchange 43rd AG Battalion Reception Troop store at Fort Leonard Wood’s reception facilities, which serve Soldiers in-processing to the Army. She has been with the Exchange 29 years.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Shickles’ store typically served around 200 to 450 new Soldiers and recruits daily.
“We see Soldiers coming in who are away from home for the first time and they’re homesick,” Shickles said. “We do what we can to make them feel at home.”
In 2020, Soldiers were met with another challenge: a global pandemic. When they first arrived at Fort Leonard Wood, new Soldiers and recruits were required to spend two weeks in isolation. Shickles realized immediately that the Exchange had to change its way of doing business to meet the needs of the newest members of the military community.
After a meeting with General Manager Beth Pritchard, Shickles and her teammates decided to distribute hygiene bags to help new Soldiers and recruits get through the isolation period.
“Wendy’s insight and direction influenced the decision to make hygiene bags to support the new Soldiers and recruits during such a challenging time,” Pritchard said.
The bags were filled with razors, shaving cream, deodorant, toothbrushes, soap holders and other hygiene products, with Shickles and her team creating 800 to 1,200 bags every week.
Under Shickles’ direction, the Exchange team ordered pallets of products, housed the shipments at the furniture store and made their first round of hygiene bags. A military point of contact picked up the bags to deliver them to the Soldiers.
“Everyone who could help out did,” Shickles said. “It was so nice to have the help of teammates from other Exchange facilities around post.”
The team still distributes the hygiene bags each week to incoming Soldiers.
“We’re keeping a conscientious heart of knowing what the Soldiers’ immediate needs are and getting those taken care of,” she said.
Because of Shickles’ leadership and initiative in supporting the military community during the pandemic, she was recognized as a “Hero on the Battlefield” and given a coin by Gen. Paul Funk, commanding general of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.
“I feel very honored,” Shickles said.
She cites the people she works with and serves as the best part of her experience with the Exchange and credits the circumstances of the pandemic for her personal growth and newfound confidence in her role as a store manager.
“I grew a lot with how I look at things,” she said.
