WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio – The 88th Air Base Wing Annual Awards, held Jan. 27 at the Wright-Patt Club, featured draft pick party-style suspense, food, live music, custom jerseys and more. But behind the scenes, an event committee, tasked less than two months beforehand, worked hard up until the end of the event to ensure its success.
Many attendees may not know what goes into making events like the annual awards ceremony happen. But event committees are what find the funding, coordinate the location, plan the order of events, ensure there will be food, organize meetings with leadership, find creative solutions for decorating and narrate as hosts for the event.
“I think it really benefits the Airmen to see the inner workings of the committees and how much time and effort goes into ceremonies like this,” said Master Sgt. Megan Schaab, 88th Air Base Wing inspector general superintendent.
Volunteering for an event committee offers opportunities to Airmen, too. Some volunteer for the new experience, to use on an annual report, to get their names out there or to network, but Senior Master Sgt. Stephanie Zengerle, 88th Force Support Squadron installation airmen development advisor, uses it as an opportunity to meet new people.
“Making friends as a grown-up is hard, but you can’t do it if you don’t get out there and try,” said Zengerle. “We learned from the pandemic that life can be lonely without each other, and volunteering to come together and working towards a common goal gives me a sense of pride. And I like making new friends!”
Event committees are broken down into smaller sub-committees by leads so that it’s less overwhelming for volunteers to tackle all the tasks. For this committee, there were seven sub-committees that focused on administrative tasks, guest relations and manpower, media and public affairs, reservations, on-site tasks, decorations and fundraising. All these sub-committees come together in the end to produce a successful event.
“The admin sub-committee handles the formal portion of the ceremony, manpower takes care of parking signs and things like that, and reservations will reserve the club, the Honor Guard, a chaplain and the Air Force Band of Flight,” said Schaab. “We even had a sub-committee for the swag bags.”
With any event, volunteers need to be ready to adapt and pivot if necessary.
“That’s one of the things you learn as you go,” said Schaab. “You can plan everything, but there are always changes.”
Having to adapt at the last minute can be stressful, but it brought volunteers together, and they still found ways to have fun.
“You make time for the things that bring you joy,” Zengerle said. “I work hard to prioritize so that the mission never fails.”
The average committee starts planning for their event about three to five months in advance, giving everyone enough time to obtain funding and plan carefully. But this event only gave committee members a month and a half of prep time. Managing time with a quick turnaround like that means juggling the mission, personal life and volunteering.
“I’m grateful that my leadership was very supportive with letting me take this on and then giving me more time for it,” Schaab said. “It’s a lot of support from leadership helping you invest time into a project like this.”
Master Sgt. Brittany Metcalfe, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center requirements manager, painted and detailed recycled pilot helmets that AFLCMC donated to be used as centerpieces for tables at the event.
“You learn a lot about all kinds of things. In this case, people didn’t know I like to paint in my spare time,” said Metcalfe. “It’s really cool getting to meet new people, and I think that’s one of the really big benefits of volunteering.”
It took the whole team to figure out how to make a dream become a reality.
“It’s great learning leadership’s intent and then taking that vision and putting together a team to make it happen,” said Schaab.
Volunteers like Schaab and Zengerle found the whole experience to be rewarding.
“When it’s all said and done and the ceremony actually plays out, just seeing all the pieces fall in order is a huge achievement,” said Schaab.
Members of the committee also found satisfaction in creating a positive atmosphere for Airmen.
“Things like this bring joy, we created a significant emotional event for our award winners and our nominees,” said Zengerle. “Somebody’s got to do it.”
Volunteering can prepare Airmen for busier times in their careers, help them network and learn from other Airmen from all over the base and give them a sense of accomplishment once the event is over.
"As we're coming out of the pandemic and getting back to real life, I think some of us may have lost our purpose or sense of belonging," said Zengerle. "This is an opportunity to connect as a team and remind the 88 ABW about how to bring strength through support. I hope this event gives everyone a sense of pride in our mission."