JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska —
The Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Exchange team celebrated a huge win May 7, 2019, when they were selected Best Large Exchange Program worldwide at the 2019 Main Store Managers/General Managers conference, in Frisco, Texas.
Winning the 2019 Director/CEO’s Cup was no small feat, as they competed first against other Large exchanges within the Pacific region and then worldwide.
Competition was based on things such as customer experiences – which includes surveys and staff recognition; leadership – which involves staff attending professional development, business results and marketing efforts; and community support initiatives.
“Leadership from each region selects an Exchange from each of the four categories, small, medium, large and super-large,” said Raymond S. Stewart III, JBER Southern Alaska Exchange general manager. “Once the selections have been made from all five regions, senior leaders then make the final determinations and announce the winners on the first day of the conference.”
The conference is both a training and expo of sorts, highlighting and celebrating the Exchange program’s efforts in serving the military community over the previous year while looking forward to the priorities of the coming year.
“The JBER Exchange team is second to none; I wasn’t surprised when they won the Director/CEO’s Cup,” said. U.S. Air Force Col. John T. Carranta III, 673d Mission Support Group commander. “Their dedication to supporting and serving our community is what sets them apart from the other bases and what tipped the scale in their favor. This was evident after the November 30 earthquake. The team worked tirelessly to ensure their services were available to the community as quickly as possible. They were key to returning normalcy to the JBER community.”
Although the team’s quick response after the earthquake significantly contributed to the win, the JBER Exchange also sponsored many community-support activities, including the partnering with other organizations such as the Commissary, Military Family Readiness Center by contributing $893,287 last year.