Early on April 6, 2010, shoppers began lining up to become the first patrons of a new state-of-the-art Exchange at Keesler AFB.
But this wasn’t just any grand opening. Nearly five years earlier, on Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. Nine feet of water and high winds struck the base, located on the Mississippi Coast, where more than 300 associates worked for the Exchange.
The main BX, which was only five years old when Katrina hit, suffered major damage. An area manager who drove from Pensacola to Keesler found the Exchange still standing, but the front doors had been blown in and diapers, shaving cream and CDs had floated into the parking lot. The store lost $10 million in inventory.
Damage to the Kessler Exchange was assessed at $4 million, and a new store had to be built. From 2005 to April 2010, shoppers went to a 31,500-square-foot temporary facility. They welcomed the $40 million shopping center that opened in 2010 and featured an Exchange and a DeCA commissary.
“It’s great to have our store back,” Susan Wright, a Keesler computer operator, told the Exchange Post. “There is some closure in knowing that things are getting back to normal. We’ll never forget what happened during Katrina, the lives and homes lost, the devastation and shock, but life goes on, Keesler AFB goes on and AAFES goes on. And that is how we survive, closer and stronger than before—together.”
Shoppers also thought it was great to have their store back—especially since the 171,000-square-foot main store was more than five times as large as the temporary store.
“Were all very excited about this new store,” a retired senior master sergeant told the Exchange Post. “We’ve been waiting for this since Katrina. The other store was pretty small and it was difficult for it to have what everyone needed, but this one is great.”
Many associates had lost everything in the storm—but maintained their passion for serving those who serve and have served.
“This closes the chapter for a lot of people, especially those who stayed from 2005 until now,” said then-Fort Hood General Manager Danny Schmidt, who was the Keesler BX manager when Katrina hit. “Seventeen employees lost everything and many of them stayed, which really reflects the spirit of AAFES associates.”
SOURCE: Exchange Post archives
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