One in a series honoring the Exchange’s 130 years of family serving family
Who she is: Jada Jones, social media analyst, HQ
Years with the Exchange: Jones joined the social media team about seven months ago, but it’s not her first time at the Exchange. From 2017 to 2019, she worked at the Ramstein AB/Kaiserslautern Military Community Exchange in Germany.
While she was in Germany, she started college with the University of Maryland Global Campus at Ramstein, then transferred to the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in multidisciplinary studies with focus areas in communication, psychology and sociology, and then a master’s degree in communication.
“I essentially left the Exchange but came back with social media expertise,” she said.
Military connections: Jones’ father, Ronald Phillips, retired as an Army E-8 and mother, Jeanette Phillips, retired as a sergeant first class. Ramstein was their last duty station.
Going where the parents go: “I was born at Fort Riley in Kansas, then we moved to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, then Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Fort Benning, Georgia; Fort Lewis, Washington; and then Kaiserslautern in Germany,” Jones said. “So we moved six times, and I think I attended nine schools total.
“Even though moving was difficult, it was also really cool—the different experiences, getting to interact with people who spoke different languages. It’s really nice being able to connect with people who understand. There was the tax-free shopping at the PX and then being able to travel a lot as well.”
Exchange memories: “We went to the PX every Saturday,” she said. “It was a family event for sure, because it was the one day of the week that my parents weren’t at work and we were all home. I would always beg for a new Barbie doll or the newest Sims game or something like that.
“I have very fond memories of the Exchange, especially with my grandmother. She would take me shopping. She’d use her MILITARY STAR card and afterward we’d go to Charleys in the food court. The Exchange was a huge part of my childhood.”
Making—and keeping— friends: “When I was younger, I didn’t really care that much. Moving away from friends, and friends moving away, didn’t start affecting me really until I became a teenager. That’s when it became hard because when we moved to Fort Lewis, we were there for several years. I think we moved there when I was 12 and we left a month before my 17th birthday. That was a very hard goodbye because I practically grew up with my friends there.
“Saying goodbye to other military kids was confusing when I was younger. I didn’t fully understand why people were just like leaving school all the time until I got older. But it was always weird saying goodbye. It was hard and it completely shaped the way that I cherish friendships now. Making meaningful connections in a short amount of time was really important to me.”
Why she joined the Exchange: “It was just a natural fit. It was important for me to find a job on post that I could relate to and connect with. And that’s what really brought me to the Exchange.
“At Ramstein, I had a few positions. I started as a food service work then worked in the stockroom. My biggest job was as a customer service associate in the jewelry department. It’s the biggest Exchange in the world and I enjoyed interacting with people from literally all over the world, different cultures, different personalities.”
What she does now: “I make sure that the Exchange brand is being represented on social media. I post products and create a lot of relevancy posts, I post Flashback Fridays on social media. I collect analytics at the end of each week to see how the posts performed and see what customers want to see from us. It’s part of building that connection between the military and the Exchange.
“Social media is my bread and butter. I’ve been doing it for five years and I’ve done social media for other brands, so it’s really fun to take what I’ve learned over the years and give it back. It almost feels like I’m pouring back into the military community my experience as a military child and then my experience working in social media.
Family serving family: “My mom and dad served and, of course, they’re my family. But I also feel like everyone who serves is part of my family. That connection that I have with the military just feels natural. Customers are not just customers to me, they’re family. Being able to pour back my experiences into them the way that they’ve poured back into my role as a U.S. citizen, protecting my life, is what family serving family means to me. It’s building that connection, keeping it strong and reinforcing our mission of taking care of each other.”
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