Airport, military thank volunteers who comfort traveling service members
Representatives of the Yuma County Airport Authority, Yuma International Airport, the Yuma Proving Ground and Marine Corps Air Station Yuma thanked the 38 volunteers who help run the Military Comfort Center (MCC) in the Yuma International Airport at a volunteer recognition ceremony at Yuma International Airport on Dec. 10.
The Military Comfort Center is a cozy room on the first floor of the airport equipped with La-Z-Boy chairs, hot coffee and cookies where active service military members and veterans can pass time.
The 38 volunteers have donated 51,627 hours of their time since the MCC opened in July 2010, doing everything from brewing fresh coffee to listening if a guest needs a person to talk to.
Command Sgt. Maj. Jamathon Nelson from YPG and Col. David Suggs from the Marine Corps Air Station were on hand to express their personal gratitude to the volunteers they said help their servicemen relax.
“Thank you. You’ve given a lot of your time. That’s one of the things that’s unique to Yuma,” Nelson said to the volunteers who were present.
“I’ve never lived anywhere like Yuma, where people go out of their way to make sure the military is taken care of.”
“I have a young base age-wise. I have 2,000 single Marines, every one of them is not from Yuma. They’re traveling, and they’re teenagers,” said Suggs to the volunteers. “You all understand: 18 years old, traveling, away from home for the first time. That these Marines can come to a place like this to reflect and take a moment to themselves means a lot.”
Airport Director Gladys Brown also thanked the volunteers.
“We really appreciate everything you do,” she said. “Without what you do, we couldn’t do a lot of the things that make this airport special.’
Many of the volunteers said they enjoy the work they do because they love their interactions with the military. For many of them, the reason they volunteered was to pay back the service that the Armed Forces performs for them.
Volunteer Patricia Smith said that she was in Chicago O’Hare Airport in 1966 when she realized that she wanted to do the kind of volunteering she would end up doing 53 years later.
“I saw uniformed men coming in and out of the terminal, and they just looked exhausted,” she said. “At the time, they were coming in and out of ‘Nam. They just needed comfort, and I wanted to do a little bit to help, so I decided I would when I retire.”
Now, Smith has been volunteering her time at the MCC for a year, and her favorite part is the stories that she hears from both veterans and active duty servicemen.
Juanita Nelson, who has been volunteering at MCC for 8 months, said that she had two sons who served in the military, and she loved seeing kindness displayed toward them.
“It was so nice whenever someone showed some kind of kindness,” she said. “This is a way for me to say ‘Thank you for your service’ because I know it means a lot.”
Volunteer John Franco said that he wakes up every day at 5 to come to the airport early and give his time to help servicemen. For him, the best part is interacting with a group that is always kind to him.
“Every time I say ‘Thank you for your service,’ they say, right back, ‘Thank you for volunteering,’” he said.
Anyone interested in volunteering with MCC can do so by going to the Yuma International Airport website or contact the airport by phone.