A&FRC cuts ribbon to open new location

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By 2nd Lt. Jason Gabrick

50th Space Wing Public Affairs

The Schriever Airman and Family Readiness Center held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Nov. 20 and opened the doors to its new location adjacent to Ent Federal Credit Union here.

During the opening remarks, William Sokolis, A&FRC chief, said it’s been a long time since A&FRC began offering services for Team Schriever.

“Ten years ago, the Schriever Air Force Base Airman and Family Readiness Center stood up in a temporary facility on the outskirts of the base,” said Sokolis. “We’re happy to finally have a place we can call home for the time being where we can help Airmen and their families.”

The new location offers a more permanent solution to the old temporary trailers. Before the move began, a complete renovation of the former bagel restaurant gave way to a refurbished interior space and new walls for offices and storage space.

The move, which took approximately one month, was a joint effort.

“We had hired movers to do the heavy lifting but unpacking and setup were up to us,” said Andrea Hernandez, A&FRC community relations consultant. “It’s all a blur now but we’re thankful to the 50th Civil Engineer Squadron for sending so many volunteers to help us as well as other organizations on base.”

The new location will offer better visibility because of its position between the 50th Space Wing headquarters building and the most populated area on base. The hours of operation will remain the same but Tech. Sgt. Tina Johnson, readiness NCO, said the demand will increase.

“Being within walking distance from most of the squadrons on base, I think more people will use our services,” said Johnson. “We’re fully operational and now it’s back to business as usual.”

Although the new facility is open, the previous facility, Building T-65, will remain open on an as-needed basis for the loan locker until it is moved to T-135 adjacent to the main fitness center.

“If individuals are interested in using the loan locker, they can call 567-3920 to setup an appointment for us to open the old facility up,” said Mary Barkley, Airman and Family Services Flight chief.

Col. James Ross, 50 SW commander, said a few words just before cutting the blue and silver ribbon to open the new facility.

“The Schriever Airman and Family Readiness Center comes from humble beginnings,” he said. “When it first opened nearly 10 years ago, it was more of a liaison with the Peterson Family Services Center. But, now that we have 242 homes up on the hill, it’s important to have this solid facility around a very solid team here at Schriever.”