#FlashbackFriday: The Exchange Has Had a Lot of Heart on Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day falls on a Friday this year, so Flashback Friday is taking a heartfelt look at some of the ways the Exchange has celebrated the day in the past.
In this photo strip from the March 1956 Exchange Post, Soldiers and Airmen shop for Valentine’s Day gifts at, from left, the Fairchild Air Force Base Exchange in Washington, McGhee Tyson Air Force Base in Tennessee, the Bay Area Exchange in California, and Fort Lewis in Washington.
1957: A Fort Hamilton PX associate helps an Airman with her Valentine’s purchase.
1991: LTG James McCall, a senior member of the Exchange Board of Directors at the time, and Fort Stewart General Manager Don Emmons (right) and Main Store Manager Glenn Schubert looks over Valentine cards donated by American Greetings for military communities to send to units assigned to Saudi Arabia.
Other Exchanges have worked on similar collaborations. In 1993, the Spangdahlem Exchange in Germany was approached by the director of the Red Cross for help in obtaining blank cards to be sent to soldiers in Somalia. The Exchange enlisted Hallmark’s help. The Red Cross only had $50 to spend on cards, but Hallmark donated $200 worth of cards. Spangdahlem management contributed an additional $80, making it possible for more than 200 cards to be sent to Somalia in time for the Soldiers to mail them to their loved ones back home.
On Valentine’s Day 1992, Keesler AFB visual merchandiser Joerg Neumann, custodial foreman Bobby Buell and manager trainee Cheryl Rendon visited the children’s and maternity wards at Keesler Medical Center to distribute teddy bears. (Pictured above is Rendon and a young patient, in a photo taken by Neumann.) Overall, the trio handed out 20 bears. After leaving the hospital, Buell and Rendon delivered Valentine candy and other treats to people living or working on Keesler.
2017: Exchange associate Lori Gillespy, left, provides encouragement to a military spouse during a “Sending Love to Your Love” Valentine’s Day social media event at the Fort Riley Exchange. The two-day event was tailored to reach thousands of service members from Fort Riley serving in Korea, Afghanistan and Iraq. The first event, on Feb. 13, was timed to reach troops in Korea on Valentine’s Day morning. The second event, on Feb. 14 focused on troops downrange. A photo booth was set up for the Fort Riley community took photos to send love via an album shared on the Exchange Facebook page. A Facebook Live video feed was streamed as well. Gillespy, a social media analyst in 2017, is now an IT service specialist.
2023: The Joint Base Lewis-McChord Starbucks team set up a surprise Valentine’s Day date for regulars Joe and Claire. The couple walked into Starbucks on Feb. 14 and spotted their table adorned with red and pink Valentine’s décor, a special card from each associate and a sign that read, “Happy Valentine’s Day Joe and Claire.” In keeping with their routine, the couple completed a crossword puzzle together over breakfast, then read love notes from the Starbucks team and took photos with associates.
