129 Years of Family Serving Family: Mary Trujillo-Gaiter, HQ
One in a series honoring the Exchange’s 129 years of family serving family.
Who she is: Mary Trujillo-Gaiter, Motion Picture/Senior Restaurant Program Planner, HQ
Years with the Exchange: 20
Military connections: Trujillo-Gaiter’s husband, Terry, is a retired Marine Corps master sergeant. Her military ties run deep in her family, with her father-in-law, brothers, son, grandson, cousins, nieces and nephews also serving or having served in the Army, Air Force, Space Force, National Guard, Marines and attending West Point.
What she did at first: She started “serving our tiny customers” as an intermittent associate for the school meal program in Okinawa in March 2004.
What brought her to the Exchange: “My husband and I were stationed in Okinawa, and that was the first duty station where I was able to shop at the Exchange.
“I was looking for something that I could do when my children were in school, and I had no idea that the Exchange served the school meals in DoDEA schools. When I went to register my kids in school, I overheard someone saying they needed help in the cafeteria, so I applied.”
Restaurant management: After PCS’ing to Hawaii with her husband in 2007, she was transferred to food court foreman, working as a manager for Subway at Bellows Air Force Station for a year and Starbucks at Schofield Barracks for two years.
“I had worked my way up to food foreman with the school meal program in Okinawa, so I transferred in the same role when we moved to Hawaii,” she said.
She went on to hold restaurant manager positions for Starbucks, Charleys Philly Steaks and Burger King along with food court manager and trainer roles in Texas and New Mexico before coming to HQ in 2021.
“These brands are very dear to my heart, especially seeing the Starbucks at Fort Liberty be recognized as the first Military Family Store on a military installation,” she said
“That is a true example of family serving family—knowing that retirees like my husband and Soldiers like my son and grandson have a place like that to come to and feel at home is awesome.”
Movie magic: Motion pictures came into her area of responsibility when she started as restaurant program manager at HQ. She oversees more than 30 Reel Time Theaters worldwide.
“It was obviously new to me, and it’s an exciting piece of what we do. There’s a lot that’s involved communicating with the studios, making sure our theaters worldwide have all the equipment they need and negotiating what the studios can offer us,” she said.
Especially in more austere locations, hosting a screening without the typical equipment found at a brick-and-mortar movie theater brings more challenges.
“There are many places overseas where they might not have a theater, but we want to put on a show there. So, we’re either in a gym or a tent of some kind to make it happen after working with the studio, leadership and command to get everything approved,” she said.
“We might be somewhere where you can’t just run to the store to get something if anything breaks down. Making sure that the picture and sound is up to our standard can be a challenge, but moviegoers are always appreciative just to have an event like that to enjoy.”
Memorable moments: Trujillo-Gaiter recently traveled to Romania and Lithuania for the advance screening of “Deadpool & Wolverine” at MK Air Base and Pabradė Training Area.
“What was really special was how the service members responded—they were very excited and some of them thought it was somebody pulling their leg, that it couldn’t be real.
“When we got there with almost two hours to go to showtime, we already saw a line forming up. I couldn’t believe their faces and reactions, just enjoying the movie. It warmed my heart to know I was a part of sharing this with them.”
Family serving family: “The work we do totally highlights that there’s no greater honor than serving those who serve. As a spouse and a mom, shopping at the Exchange was always one of the things we did as a family.
“Just knowing that you can bring a little bit of home and see their smiling faces letting go for just a few minutes at a restaurant, or an hour or two for a movie, is just an awesome feeling.”
