127 Years of Family Serving Family: Denise Gumbert, VP of Services, Health, Wellness and Telecom, HQ

One in a series honoring the Exchange’s 127 years of family serving family

Who she is: Denise Gumbert, Vice President, Services, Health, Wellness and Telecom

Years with the Exchange:  37, which will end with her retirement on June 30.

Denise Gumbert with her brother Rick and parents Paul and Thelma Gumbert. Gumbert’s father is an Air Force Veteran and her mother and brother both worked for the Exchange.

What brought her to the Exchange: “I was in the United Kingdom at the time. That’s where I was born. It was a true military brat story. My mother and father met over there. He was a Vietnam Veteran and a U.S. Air Force career chief. He retired in the U.K. and when I grew up, there was a choice between American employers and British employers. I came to the Exchange and started stocking shelves at a Shoppette at RAF Upper Heyford in the U.K.”

Early Exchange memories:  “When we were stationed at Camp New Amsterdam in  Soesterberg, Holland,  I was 10 and used to work with the school and set up tables selling PTSA merchandise in the hallway of a Foodland (pre- Shoppette and pre- Express… that must have had some early influence on my Exchange experience!) I started with AAFES straight out of high school. I didn’t think it was going to become a career. I liked the camaraderie. My mother worked in the BX for 10 years and so I decided, ‘I’ll go check this out.’ I was an intermittent initially, and I was just going there for a little bit to fill in jobs before I decided what I wanted to do with my life. My choice kind of became, ‘AAFES is the employer for me.’ ”

Where she’s worked: “I started in Shoppettes, as they were known at the time, now known as Express stores. After I started as an intermittent shelf stocker, my first bosses, recognized that I was doing OK and said, ‘You should get promoted.’ I got a full-time job as a shelf stocker. Then I moved up the ladder to become a supervisor of a Shoppette. I was moved to the RAF Bicester Shoppette, and I worked in the Shoppette arena for about a year and a half.

“Then I transitioned to the glorious world of services. There was a general manager who came in and said that there was an opening in services at RAF Upper Heyford, and he said ‘Tag, you’re it—Denise, we need you to be a great SBM.’ So I became a services business manager at RAF Upper Heyford. Then I moved to RAF Lakenheath, and then I became responsible for all of the U.K. as an SBM. I kept getting promoted, through hard work and dedication and some very special supervisors who recognized potential in me and started to mentor me.

“I moved from there to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio in 1995. That was my first U.S. assignment. I was promoted out of Lackland after opening a new mall at that location. I moved into a regional job at Eastern Region. That was an eye-opening experience because then I got to explore the world of the Exchange and see all the different installations while traveling weekly.

“I went from there to HQ in Dallas, which is where I met my husband Ed. He had no exposure to the Exchange and the military but has adapted and adopted into being a part of the Exchange life! Since being at HQ, I’ve held just about every job in the services group, which I wouldn’t change for anything!”

Denise Gumbert’s father served in the U.S. Air Force for 30 years.

Military connections: Her father retired from the Air Force after a 30-year career in which he receives three Meritorious Service medals, four Air Force commendation medals and an Air Force achievement medal. “He taught me to value service members from around the world. When I got assigned to Lackland, the place I used as an office was where he attended basic training. It was a whole new world for me when I got to a trainee base. It was a great experience working with trainees and knowing that my father went through that in his career.”

Exchange connections: “My mother also worked for AAFES in Upper Heyford. My brother also worked for the Exchange for 4 years and now holds a job supporting the US Military through a British firm. Through my father and his military career, we all were introduced to AAFES. My parents are still married after 63 years, and the Exchange has been there for them everywhere in the world they’ve traveled in their military career.”

What she loves about what she does now: “I love the fact that the Exchange grows small-business entrepreneurs, established businesses, name brands and supports veteran owned business. The Services & Food division ‘talks the talk and walks the walk’ in ‘Taking Care of Business,’ along with the regions, HQ support groups and field operations. We get to create excitement for our customers. There is so much we can all do to make a difference even if it is in one person’s life. Every day in services is different. There are never two days the same. The fact that you’re growing the entrepreneurial spirit while supporting the best customers in the world—and getting paid to do it…you can’t beat that!”

Most memorable moments: “Everything I’ve done has been memorable. It sounds cliché, but every interaction I’ve had has truly been memorable. From the business side, the fact that I get to delve into so many different categories from dentistry to optometry to souvenirs,  jewelry stores and gift shops. Tattoos, pet grooming, the list goes on —learning bits and pieces of all those businesses, writing contract masters for those businesses, establishing policy. … You couldn’t ask for a better job! The people you meet and work with are amazing and all have a part to play in our professional lives, there are just so many stories of joy.”

Denise Gumbert with her husband, Ed.

What “family serving family means” to her: “It’s serving others who are having the same experiences as you did when you were introduced to the military. I think it takes special people to figure out what it’s like to live the military life. You aren’t really ever settled. You aren’t really the same as your civilian counterparts, because you have all these experiences. But I do know I’ve become a much better and more enriched person for it, recognizing a bigger tapestry of diversity. So for me, it’s the diversity, it’s the cultures, it’s the broadening of my horizons.”

Plans for retirement: Before going after a second career, “The first step is going to be taking care of my parents because they looked after my brother and I. I think that’s where ‘family serving family’ continues. The cycles of life continue. THANK YOU AAFES/EXCHANGE for a wonderful career!”