127 Years of Family Serving Family: Rochelle Tolentino, Store Manager, Puerto Rico Exchange

One in a series honoring the Exchange’s 127 years of family serving family.

Who she is: Rochelle Tolentino, main store manager, Fort Buchanan PX

Years with the Exchange: 28 years

What brought her to the Exchange: “After graduating from Old Dominion University with a bachelor of science in international business, I applied to the Exchange’s college trainee program,” Tolentino said.

Where she’s worked: Langley AFB; Dover AFB; Robinson and Patch Barracks at EUCOM HQ in Stuttgart, Germany; and Fort Buchanan PX since 2001.

What she did at first: College trainee at Langley AFB. “The college trainee position prepared me for entry-level management roles with the Exchange,” she said.

What she does now: “As the store manager, every day is a different challenge,” she said. “I just love seeing our customers, and I get to do this knowing our customers love us. I’ve been here so long that everyone knows who I am, so it feels like coming to see my family every day. I’ve seen kids grow up, people get married, get divorced. … I’ve experienced loss when a customer passes away. We’re really a family here.”

Memorable moment: Tolentino has experienced multiple natural disasters during her time in Puerto Rico, including Hurricane Fiona in September. “The challenges make us stronger. You don’t know what you can do until you’re facing difficulties,” she said. “My team always rose up and did what we had to do to support our customers. When Hurricane Maria hit [in 2017], it was very hard when our customers couldn’t come to the Exchange like they used to. When we reopened it was like a feeling of normalcy again.”

Military connections: “My father is retired Navy, so I was a military brat,” Tolentino said. “He retired in Norfolk where I consider to be home.” Tolentino is also the wife of Angel Torres, who has been with the Exchange for 36 years. Torres is the Exchange’s Puerto Rico Distribution Center Manager. They were married in 2012.

Family serving family: “I love our core value of ‘family serving family,’ she said. “I believe that is one of the most important aspects of our company.”

The Exchange team at Fort Buchanan has won numerous awards including the Commander’s Cup in 2009, Director/CEO Cup in 2016 and 2019, and the Family Serving Family Award in 2018. Fort Buchanan also won the Seven Seals Award by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve and the 2022 Excellence in Service Uniformed Services Public Service Award by the League of United Latin American Citizens in summer 2022.

“It’s a team effort! It’s great that we’re recognized,” she said. “We truly represent the ‘family serving family’ value for our customers.”