130 Years of Family Serving Family: Jan Avila, Fort Buchanan

One in a series honoring the Exchange’s 130 years of family serving family.

Who he is: Jan Avila, Fort Buchanan Exchange technician/assembler

Years with the Exchange: 18 years.

His military connections: Avila’s father, brother and grandfather served in the Army. His father and grandfather were helicopter pilots. His brother is a helicopter mechanic.

What brought him to the Exchange: “My father was in the military, and we got to Fort Buchanan when I was finishing up high school. I was looking for a job, then I applied.”

Earliest Exchange memories: “When I was getting out of school, I’d go to the food court and stay there, waiting for my mom. She was an accountant.”

What he does: “When I first applied here, I was working in the ODL [outdoor living] department. I was asked to apply for the assembler position. Now I’m working in my area of the stockroom, but I still assist on the floor in any department. I assemble bikes, grills and other furniture. I’m a forklift driver too, so I also unload containers. I do a little of everything.”

Memorable moments: “When I started, we used to have a lot of inventory for bikes. During the Christmas season, I’d have to assemble a lot of them—maybe 150 to 200 bikes. We sell a lot now, but don’t stock like we had before.”

While working at he Exchange, he also met his wife—Elienid Diaz, office technician.

“We have a wonderful 14-year-old daughter together and we’ve been together for 17 years now.”

Family Serving Family: “Working here is like serving my brother and my father. … I like to assist the customers a lot. I can help all the customers with what they need and what they need to know, so they can be satisfied with their purchases.”