Big, big, big changes are in store for the Kadena Officers’ Open Mess...
• Platters is adding Gyros and Sliders to their menu.
• Café Latte now has a Starbucks and will be receiving a facelift (floors, walls, etc.) with a new menu.
• Mike’s is moving to the O’Club. No date has been set as yet. Mike’s will replace the two large meeting rooms across the hall from the ballroom. The restaurant will have its own entrance, more seating, and an updated menu.
• As you might imagine, the lunch buffet currently held in the ballroom will be eliminated.
• “What do you like or dislike about Mike’s?” Let the managers know either through I.C.E. or in person. Tell them what you want them to keep and what you can live without.
• O’Club membership tally is 1744 members, 4% higher than the average of all Air Force bases.
• AAFES is putting a Wing Street and Popeye’s at the Olympic Mall.
• Please pay attention to all of the events the O’Club is hosting specifically for spouses and families. Go to http://kadenaservices.com/clubs/oclub/oclub.htm for current information.
Going Green…
• Commissaries and AAFES stores worldwide are now stocking fluorescent lightbulbs.
• The commissary’s green recyclable cloth bags are back... and you are encouraged to bring your own totes.
Meet Your Store Managers
DECA and AAFES are combining their advisory council meetings. These meetings are open to concerned consumers. Please contact me at memberatlarge@kadenaosc.org if you’d like to attend the next meeting.
In the Flyer Rack at AAFES
Look in the flyer rack at both entrances to Kadena’s BX for more information on the following:
• “Free Meal” or “Free Haircut” coupon for every seven taxi receipts you turn in. There’s no time limit…collect them over a week or a year, it’s up to you.
• Star Card Rewards are coming to our area later this year.
• Mystery Shopper Program – become a Mystery Shopper and receive a $30 gift certificate and 2 movie passes to include your popcorn and drinks.
• Large item special order program. (Note: free shipping on items ordered through this program)
• “Take It Home Today” program for items $299 or more.
Note: If you cannot find the information you’re seeking, please go directly to the manager’s office. The staff there is eager to help you.
Living “without” while Overseas
AAFES is doing what it can to address every size, shape, and/or special need you may require when it comes to apparel or anything else they carry. Kadena BX Manager, Mrs. Erika Pfauntsch, told me that she has nine conveyor belts moving nothing but clothing all day long.
When living overseas, you’ll want to use several different sources to fulfill your needs, i.e., the Internet, AAFES catalog shopping, and friends or relatives back home, in addition to our island AAFES stores. Contact me at memberatlarge@kadenaosc.org if you’d like specialized assistance with a problem. I’ll be more than happy to accompany any KOSC member when meeting with the managers and/or department associates.
Effective Problem Solving
Several steps can be taken for effective problem solving such as (1) tell an associate immediately; (2) use I.C.E.; (3) fill out a customer satisfaction survey; (4) go to aafes.com and send an e-mail to our General Manager, Mr. Jerry Broccoli.
I.C.E. can be accessed via this link: https://ice.disa.mil/index.cfm?fa=site&site_id=12
Tours are available at these facilities:
• Commissary. Contact Mr. Barcega for more information ernesto.barcega@deca.mil
• BX. Contact Mrs. Erika Pfauntsch for more information Pfauntsch@aafes.com
• AAFES Bakery, located at Camp Kinser. Mrs. Pfauntsch can supply you with contact information for this tour.
While on Okinawa…
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and
B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Bags!)
Okinawa’s supermarkets and other major stores may soon introduce a charge for the plastic bags used to bag customers’ purchases.
Recently, six supermarkets conducted a study from September through November—charging 2 to 5 yen per plastic bag. The study resulted in 85 percent of shoppers bringing their own bags; previously, less than 17 percent did so.
In just three months, these six stores alone saved about 1.87 million bags, according to an article in the Stars & Stripes. “The total weight of the saved bags was 10.87 tons, saving the 5,254 gallons of petroleum that would have been used to make the bags. Also, 65.22 tons of carbon dioxide emissions were reduced, representing what would have been used in making and then burning the bags,” according to the chief of Naha’s Zero Emissions Promotion Office.
DeCA commissaries across the island are now selling sturdy canvas bags for 70 cents each. The reusable bags are strong enough to hold 30 pounds of groceries, are machine washable, and can be recycled when no longer usable.
In fiscal 2007, commissaries spent over 20 million dollars on plastic and paper bags. If just one-tenth of all commissary shoppers switched to reusable bags, the agency would save more than 2 million dollars annually. **
The bags are convenient to keep in your car and use whenever you’re shopping on- or off- base in order to help with Okinawa’s mission to reduce trash and pollution on the island.
