Fifth Grader’s Letter Scores Lunch With PAC Senior Leadership

No matter their age or who they are, the Army & Air Force Exchange Service offers a listening ear to feedback from service members and their families.

Nii Borketey, a fifth grader at Yokota West Elementary School, wrote a letter with questions and feedback about the school meal program at Yokota Air Base in Japan. Borketey noted that he noticed his classmates, whom he affectionately called his “platoon,” were not eating their school-provided lunches.

He linked students’ enjoying a healthy lunch to reduced tardiness, improved test scores and fewer disciplinary office referrals, providing statistical evidence sourced from the Food Research and Action Center. He then invited senior leadership to dine with him and his classmates to experience their school meal program and better understand student preferences.

Air Force Col. Jason L. Beck, the Exchange’s Pacific Region commander; and Army Sgt. Maj. Thomas Terry, the Pacific Region senior enlisted advisor; were impressed by the note and decided to make a stop on their trip to Yokota to spend some time with Borketey and his classmates.

“He took it upon himself to express his thoughts through a very well-written letter that was three pages long; that acumen was light-years ahead of where I was as a fifth grader,” Beck said. “The visit was great. The school staff, including the principal, Dr. Rebecca Villagomez, welcomed and thanked us for making time for the visit. We had an opportunity to meet not only Borketey, but his friends, who also had questions about life in the military and what we do for the Exchange.”

Yokota Exchange General Manager Andrew Defelice accompanied Beck and Terry to the school, where he and the region leaders ate lunch with the students.

“The moment that Col. Beck and Sgt. Maj. Terry walked out for recess, there was a sense of glee from the students seeing the command team and having lunch with them,” Defelice said. “Our cafeteria team was amazed to see us, as leaders, going through the process of selecting which meals we would like for lunch. It was a great experience for all of us to time-warp back to our days as young students; one fifth grader even shared his cookies with us. Also, hearing the students’ feedback firsthand about the program gave us real insight.”

Beck took an extra step to recognize Borketey by presenting him with the Pacific Region commander challenge coin.

“He was in awe to receive a coin from Col. Beck and realize that his comments were heard,” Defelice said “Borketey doing his research and articulating his concerns illustrates that no matter what age, you do have a voice to champion new ideas and provide feedback.”

Beck, whose children attend DoDEA schools, was particularly in tune with the meal program and how important is it to listen to the feedback from students.

“While my two boys would love to have chicken and waffles or cheeseburgers every day, they understand the importance of mixing it up and trying new things, something the folks that run school meal program are great at doing, within the bounds of the approved menu items,” Beck said.

“Providing a taste of home is a big part of what the Exchange focuses on, especially in overseas environments like Japan,” Beck continued. “Family serving family is more than just a slogan. Many of our associates are mothers and fathers of the kids the program serves in the school cafeterias.”

Defelice reflected on how this interaction reinforces how the Exchange exemplifies the core value.

“Borketey wants to make a difference not only for his fellow classmates, but also for his community,” Defelice said. “That community interaction and spirit reminded me, as an Exchange associate, especially overseas, that family is important and these moments of taking care of our Warfighters’ families are invaluable.”

For more photos from the leaders’ visit, go here.