ANDREWS AFB, Md. –
More than 4300 military, civilian, family attend annual event
The base was treated to a day of food and fun for the entire family at the 2008 Team Andrews base-wide Family Fun Day Picnic at the West Fitness Center and surrounding area last Friday.
"This event is held annually to thank base employees and their families for their dedication and hard work throughout the year," said Col. Stewart Price, 316th Mission Support Group commander. "We've got a great crowd out here today enjoying the delicious food prepared by our first shirts, we've got great fun for the kids and we have music, too -- it's a great time for the whole family."
Judee Sanders, 316th Services Squadron director agreed. "It's an awesome turnout." "Today, we're serving 1,500 pounds of barbeque chicken, we've got 650 pounds of hot dogs and 650 pounds of hamburgers. We're also serving baked beans, chips, and cotton candy. We think by the end of the day, we'll serve over 4,000 military members, civilians, and their families out here today."
After the picnic, Ms. Sanders estimated that more than 4,300 people attended the picnic.
Ms. Sanders said, "Last year, we got feedback and we made sure we made some changes to accommodate folks. As a result, we have more seating available and put the tables for families and kids under the shade. We have lots of activities for kids to do this year like the rock wall and a trackless train--we have a little something for kids of all ages to do to make sure everyone enjoys themselves."
After the picnic, Ms. Sanders said she received a lot of positive feedback. "We received a lot of e-mails with great ideas to make next year's Team Andrews Family Fun Day Picnic even more family-friendly and make more improvements, like contests for folks to enter and four lines for food instead of two. Overall, we're very pleased with the way everything went," said Ms. Sanders. We couldn't have done this without the help of the 744th Communications Squadron, 316th Civil Engineering Squadron, 316th Security Forces Squadron, and 1st Helicopter Squadron taking photos -- everyone was so very cooperative. It was a great time for the entire base to come together and make it happen--it was a great, great time!"