Saving Nearly $400,000: Associates Win Awards for Protecting Exchange Earnings

Lisa Leonard loves keeping an eye on the Exchange.

“I’m very passionate about protecting our assets because I know that the Exchange gives back to the military for Quality-of-Life programs,” said Leonard, loss prevention manager at Fort Leonard Wood. “When you steal some of those assets, that doesn’t sit well with me.”

Leonard was one of 18 associates who won FY 2019 LP Productivity Awards for keeping at losses at a minimum and protecting Exchange earnings. They saved the Exchange nearly $400,000 in losses last year from employee theft, customer shoplifting and unrecorded concession sales.

Each winner received a $500 monetary award, a certificate and challenge coin from Steve Boyd, vice president of the Loss Prevention Directorate.

Leonard received a special shout-out from LP managers for a clean sweep of similar-sized stores. She saved the Exchange more than $30,000 by deterring employee theft and shoplifting and finding unrecorded concession sales.

“Our winners put our directorate’s motto, ‘Maximize Earnings by Reducing Losses,’ into practice every day,” Boyd said. “These associates are passionate about keeping the benefit strong for Soldiers, Airmen and their families.”

In 2019, loss prevention experts saved the Exchange nearly $36 million, Boyd said.

The winners and dollar amounts each saved the Exchange are listed below. The categories range from small stores (Category A) to the largest (Category M).

Category A

• • Ken Randell, Baumholder, employee theft and unrecorded concession sales, $40,865.
  • Michael Holmes, March ARB, shoplifting, $3,538

Category B

• • Benjamin Cruz, S. Military Academy, employee theft, $16,511
  • Travis Kincaid, Fort Leavenworth, shoplifting, $5,178
  • Francisco “Tony” Rodriguez, Barksdale AFB, unrecorded concession sales, $191

Category C

• • Lisa Leonard, Fort Leonard Wood, employee theft, shoplifting, and unrecorded concession sales, $30,029

Category D

• • Lucille Campbell, Fort Jackson, employee theft and unrecorded concession sales, $55,380
  • Jeffrey Begun, JB Andrews, shoplifting, $19, 629

Category E

• • Charles King, Fort Belvoir, employee theft, $1,263
  • Karen Bye, Fort Belvoir, shoplifting, $18,505
  • Alixandria Ellis, Grafenwoehr, unrecorded concession sales, $2,350

Category M

• • Karina Moukhtar, Fort Bragg, employee theft, $4,230
  • Jason Deweese, Fort Carson, shoplifting, $3,515
  • Dwight Dunston, Fort Bragg, unrecorded concession sales, $437

Contingency

• • Pradeep Kumar, Kuwait, employee theft, $39,916
  • Virginia Shelton, Saudi Arabia/Qatar, shoplifting, $930
  • Fred Killinger, Iraq, unrecorded concession sales, $150, 476

Logistics

• • Maria Banales, West Coast DC, for conducting safety talks for 340 associates, 68 vehicle inspections, more than 3,800 e-com quality control spot checks, among other safety and security duties. Her award is based on the number of safety meetings and inspections she conducted.