One in a series honoring the Exchange’s 131 years of family serving family
Who she is: Alexandra Dewberry, Fort Bragg Exchange General Manager Administrator
Years at the Exchange: 15
Military connections: “My husband served nearly 17 years in the military. My son is in the Navy. He is currently deployed in the Persian Gulf. He has been in the military for 14 years. My two daughters also work for the Fort Bragg Exchange.”
Early Exchange memories: “We lived on a smaller base in Germany. I think the biggest Exchange that I’ve ever went to was in K-Town (Kaiserslautern Military Community Center). When I saw the PX, I almost fainted.”
What brought her to the Exchange: “We spent most years in Germany during my husband’s military career. In 2008, we finally came to the United States. Our first duty station was Picatinny Arsenal. New Jersey was not a place I wanted to live. I knew the United States from TV shows and from the news, which 90% of the time was not good. I had a lot of fear. My paperwork wasn’t completely finished at the time, so I couldn’t come over and just dive in. I was locked in the house, so to speak.
“That all changed when we came to Fort Bragg. North Carolina, in general, is a totally different atmosphere, but because of the fears I had, I wanted to be behind the gates because I knew the military had always protected us. That’s when I applied for the Exchange.”
Her Exchange career: Dewberry started at the Honeycutt Express on Fort Bragg as a store worker. A short time later, she applied for the general manager’s administrator position.
“I took any job there was. I did not want to be picky because I just wanted to work. I come from a background of administration and believe it or not, after 20 years of administrative work, I loved the job. It was a totally different flair from the interactions with customers. I tried very hard to get into a regular part-time position, but there were so many people ahead of me who’ve been there before.
“Then the general manager’s secretary job was posted. With my background, I was like, ‘You know what? Let’s try.’ I had no hopes—none, zero. But I got an interview, I was selected and I’ve been here ever since.”
Memorable moments: “The Exchange has given me that jumping board to get back to who I was in Germany. That’s the way I look at it. The more I went to work, the more secure I felt. And the more stories I heard of other people going through this adjustment, I just felt much safer.
“There really are so many moments I’ve had that I wouldn’t be able to pinpoint a single one. That’s how many good things we do here. And it’s not even the big events—it’s the smallest interactions that stuck with me. I have a lot of favorite people, too.
“One of my favorites, however, is usually the All American Run on Fort Bragg. That’s a 1.8 mile run with 15,000 Soldiers with helicopters above you. We come to work at 3 a.m. Everyone has colors on their face. We put on our red, white and blue shirts and have our Exchange stuff on. Command is there. We, as the Exchange, stand there to hand out water to them as they cross the finish line. It’s such a privilege.”
As an admin: “I’ve always had great leadership. That is the one thing that is very important as a GM secretary. If you don’t have the support from your general manager to allow you to do things, be creative and actively get involved, the job just can’t be done. To have a general manager sitting behind me who cheers me on, it means the world. I invest a lot of time in our admins in our Central Eastern Region. I’m always trying to help my girls out and really take the time to teach them or guide them in the right direction. You have to pass on what you know.”
Family Serving Family: “If you are not here to serve the family like you would serve your own family, then you’re in the wrong job. Everybody here has a job. Everybody here is important. People pay attention to who is standing there at 3 a.m. It shows them that we’re there for all of them all the time. And they smile when they see us.”
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