Shull, Other Exchange Leaders Honor Fort Eisenhower Associates for Hurricane Helene Response

During a November ceremony, Exchange Director/CEO Tom Shull honored Fort Eisenhower Exchange General Manager LaToya Harris and eight other associates for going above and beyond in serving the community before, during and after Hurricane Helene.

“You are absolutely stunning in terms of what you did to support the community, putting your own personal safety aside,” Shull said. “You truly did the right thing at the right point, before, during and after the storm, taking care of the community. For that, we will always be grateful to you.”

Several military installations were affected when Hurricane Helene struck the southeastern United States. One of the hardest-hit was Fort Eisenhower, which was without power or water for several days. The Fort Eisenhower PX responded quickly: The storm hit on a weekend, and by Monday, Exchange food-truck vendors were at the post, serving appreciative customers.

Fort Eisenhower’s Garrison Commander, Col. Anthony Kazor, contacted the Exchange on Sept. 29 to expedite delivery of a mobile field Exchange as nearly 5,000 Advanced Individual Training (AIT) students and more than 7,000 family members on post went without power or water. Within four hours, an MFE was on the road from the Waco Distribution Center. It was set up at Fort Eisenhower by Oct. 1.

South East Regional Vice President Tony Pares, who was at Fort Eisenhower with the associates during the Nov. 8 ceremony, said that he was in continual communication with Harris before the storm, which at first was not expected to have a big effect on the installation.

“And then the hurricane just kept shifting and then shifting,” Pares said,  praising Harris and her team’s resilience and dedication. “Every one…in this room lost power, lost water—not for days, but for weeks, LaToya included. And all I kept hearing was, ‘Boss, we’ve got to get on post, they need us. We’ve got to get there. Can we get an MFE? Can we get generators?’ This group of people truly went above and beyond to do what’s right and to serve our family here at Fort Eisenhower.”

Shull presented his Director/CEO challenge coin to these associates:

Natasa Stroud, visual merchandiser, 11 years of Exchange service

Mirrissa Fisher, store manager, Gate 1 Express, seven years

Cindy Maynard, store manager, Gate 5 Express, 31 years

Carnetta Florence, food court manager, 34 years

Dorothy Bruton, computer operator, 16 years

DeShawn Whitaker, assistant main store manager, eight years

Julie Fuentes McVey, services operations assistant, 20 years

Carla Ray, vending operations assistant, 15 years

LaToya Harris, general manager, 20 years

Also on the call were Exchange Executive Vice President and President Jason Rosenberg, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Marla Randolph, Senior Enlisted Advisor Chief Master Sgt. Rich Martinez and Eastern Region Senior Vice President Bob White.

“We all know how devastating Helene was,” said Rosenberg, who also presented his coin to the associates. “Eastern Region deals with storms, but they’re not usually way up in Augusta, Georgia. You guys have never experienced anything like this. But you stepped up just like those do who go through it every year. In my view, it’s the closest thing to deployment.”

Randolph pointed out that nobody asked the associates to come to work after the storm—they just showed up.

“You’re a great team,” she said. “You were there for your teammates, you were there for your community, you were there for friends. In our book, you are heroes.”

Fort Eisenhower Garrison Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel R. Durette and retired Lt. Col Brian Barrett, husband of Lt. Gen. Maria Barrett, commanding general of U.S, Army Cyber Command at the post, were also at Fort Eisenhower with the associates.

“You personally sacrificed your own time,” said Durette, who handed each of the associates their Exchange certificates as well as presenting them with his own coin. “I heard how it was off post, with no traffic lights. But you guys sacrificed in order to come help our precious resources, the Soldiers and families at Fort Eisenhower.”

Front row, from left: Fort Eisenhower Garrison Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel R. Durette with Fort Eisenhower associates Julie Fuentes McVey, DeShawn Whitaker, Cindy Maynard, Carnetta Florence, General Manager LaToya Harris and Mirrissa Fisher. Back row, from left: Natasa Stroud, Dorothy Bruton and Carla Ray.

For individual photos from the recognition ceremony, check out this Flickr album.