Fort Leonard Wood PX, in ‘Middle of Everywhere,’ is at Top of 2022 Global Connection Contest

Located in the Ozarks in the center of Missouri, Fort Leonard Wood has been dubbed “The Middle of Everywhere.” It’s a large installation that trains more than 95,000 service members annually.

“I’d never been anywhere with so many young troops,” said Donald Cantwell, general manager of the Fort Leonard Wood Exchange. “You’re seeing kids coming in at 18 years old, their first experience with the Army. We’re their first experience with the Exchange, so we try to make sure that we get them started out right with the Exchange, provide them with interesting things to do and see.”

The Fort Leonard Wood team organizes events for every special emphasis month and most holidays, providing diverse entertainment. Their efforts earned the Fort Leonard Wood Exchange the worldwide grand prize in this year’s Global Connection contest.

Col. Aaron Pitney, commander of General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital, speaks with Beth Pritchard, then-Fort Leonard Wood Exchange general manager, in 2021 at the opening of the COVID-19 vaccination clinic in the Fort Leonard Wood main PX. (Photo by Chad Ashe, General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital Public Affairs)

Sponsored by the Equal Employment Opportunity Diversity & Inclusion (EEODI) directorate, the Global Connection contest celebrates the Exchange’s support of inclusive environments in which diverse skills, perspectives and backgrounds are valued.

In its entry submission, Fort Leonard Wood listed several events, activities and more:

• Celebrating Military Spouse Appreciation Day, during which the team presented a certificate and a wooden rose to all military spouses and discussed employment opportunities with them.
• Partnering with General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital leaders to offer a free COVID-19 vaccination clinic inside the Exchange.
• Hand-assembling more than 75,000 bags with hygiene items for quarantined troops that has just arrived at the installation.
• Upgrading its Pizza Hut to make it more accessible to people with disabilities.
• Hosting a Breast Cancer Warrior Recognition Event for women with breast cancer.
• Participating in a Share Our Culture Event with the installation and several other community partners. Each entity chose a heritage/culture/community to represent. The PX chose LGBTQIA+ because an increasing number of associates identify as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community.
• Hosting drive-through events for Month of the Military Child and for Halloween, handing out more than 700 goodies bags during the latter despite rain and near-freezing temperatures.
• Presenting, with help from several vendor partners, its first-ever Annual Father’s Day Community Car Show.

Military Clothing store Shift Manager Tatiana Havlin was recognized for the exemplary efforts the team put forth to ensure troops were continually uniformed during the pandemic.

In addition, Troop Store 744 Manager Angela Richards and her team were recognized multiple times for their support throughout the pandemic, including special after-hours appointments and other efforts to support the social distancing and quarantine requirements of the troops.

Military Clothing store Shift Manager Tatiana Havlin was recognized for the exemplary efforts the team put forth to ensure troops were continually uniformed during the pandemic.

And Barber Shops owner Stefanie Griffin and her team were recognized for their troop support during the pandemic, operating five separate store fronts to meet the Soldiers’ needs.

Cantwell, who PCS’d to Fort Leonard Wood from Little Rock Air Force Base last year, says he was lucky enough to submit the winning entry but he gave the credit for the win to the associates.

“They’re the ones out there doing this, putting events together, taking care of things on a day-to-day basis,” Cantwell said. “And it’s not just the associates. We have a lot of vendor partners who work with us as well. We couldn’t do a lot of these things without our vendor partners.”

More than 50% of the Fort Leonard Wood Exchange workforce is made up of military spouses, Veterans, dependents, active-duty troops and reservists. More than 5% are associates with disabilities. Women make up more than 95% of the management team.

For its Global Connection grand prize, the Fort Leonard Wood Exchange received $500 for a team social event. Runners-up in other regions received $100 for a team event. Regional winners were:

Eastern Region: Joint Base Langley-Eustis

Western Region: Edwards Air Force Base Exchange

Pacific Region: Okinawa Exchange

Europe Region: Kaiserlautern Military Community Exchange

“It’s nice to win,” Cantwell said, “but our main goals are, ‘What can we do for the community? What can we do for the customer?’ Our goal is to take care of these young kids. Many of them are away from home for the first time. Most of the basic trainees do not get to leave the installation at all. We like to put something out there for every customer.”