128 Years of Family Serving Family: Ryan Bolles, Camp Foster

One in a series honoring the Exchange’s 128 years of family serving family.

Who he is: Ryan Bolles, Camp Foster Customer Experience Associate

Years with the Exchange: One

What brought him to the Exchange: “I worked at Target prior to working at the Exchange, and I knew at a younger age that I wanted to work for the Exchange.”

What he did at first: “I started working for the Exchange at Camp Foster’s Loss Prevention. I asked for a transfer because I wanted to be around our customers and help them.”

What he does now: “I work at the customer service desk, and I love what I do. I get to ask our customers how they are doing and if I can help them, I have done my job.”

Memorable moment: “There was a time I talked to corporal in the Marine Corps who was thinking about getting out. We ended up talking about how the military offers educational opportunities and how transitioning from the military to the civilian sector is difficult. The corporal ended up re-enlisting and later he came up to me and thanked me for my advice.”

Military connection: “My father, Jeff, served in the Marine Corps for four years and my brother, Sho, is a corporal in the Marine Corps; he re-enlisted to come to Okinawa. I love that I get to see him almost every weekend.”

Exchange connection: “My mother, Shinobu Agarie, is the IT Pacific field support manager. She has been with the Exchange for 25 years.”

Family serving family: “I feel like in our store, we are a family within a family. That is special because there is no other retail store like us; that is what makes our store unique and why I am proud to work for the Exchange.”