128 Years of Family Serving Family: Joanne Scott, MacDill Air Force Base

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

Who she is: Joanne Scott, main store manager, MacDill Air Force Base

Years with the Exchange: 37 years

What brought her to the Exchange: Scott met her Airman husband in England before the family PCS’d to Hickam AFB in Hawaii. While she had shopped at the BX in England, she first heard about working for the Exchange from other military spouses at Hickam.

Military connections: Scott’s son Jared is a master sergeant in the Air Force, currently at Nellis AFB. “My daughter was born at Hickam, my son at Elmendorf AFB in Alaska and my other son at Wright-Patterson AFB—all of them at military hospitals. They were born and raised around the Exchange. I’d make them come to the store and participate in the fashion shows.”

What she did at first: Scott began as a temporary holiday hire in the sewing department at the Hickam Exchange.

Where she’s worked: After the Hickam sewing department, Scott was an on-call cashier for the Class Six before the family PCS’d to Sheppard AFB, where she served as a Troop Store supervisor and a softlines sales area manager. She kept that same role at her next stop at the JBER Elmendorf main store. She spent time at Wright-Patterson as retail point-of-sale operator, end user computer technician, operations manager and sales and merchandising manager. Scott then managed the main store at Patrick SFB for several years before moving into her current role in January.

Bringing the Exchange online: Scott was a key player in ASAP, the AAFES Store Automation Project, which took on transitioning the organization worldwide from pen-and-paper to computers in the ’90s. “It was an absolutely monumental project, a huge undertaking. It touched every aspect of the business.” Nearly all associates were sent to one of a handful of “ASAP Universities” at certain locations to be trained on the transition.

Scott was one of about 10 associates who would travel to stores across CONUS to show associates how to use the computers. “Most people did not even have access to a computer and had never used a keyboard. That was one of the most difficult parts—teaching associates on how to use a keyboard.”

Memorable moment: In 2014, actor Robert Downey Jr. came to surprise the troops at Wright-Patterson for the release of his new movie “The Judge.” “The Exchange staff knew ahead of time, but we had to keep it secret. All the military members and families got free tickets, and they had no idea. To see their faces when he came out—people were going crazy—it was so cool. It was an amazing moment for everyone.”

Best part of working for the Exchange: “I love our military families. I enjoy meeting people, listening to the stories and making that connection. Coming to work is working with family every day. I love it.”

Family serving family: “Family serving family is the best core value. I could not think of a better place to work. I am truly grateful, and it is an honor to serve the great men and women and their families who are protecting us daily.”