SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. --
More than 3,000 Schriever Airmen and their families beat the heat and attended the annual Summer Slam Base Picnic hosted by the 50th Force Support Squadron at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, July 20.
“This is something that’s very specific to Schriever,” said Master Sgt. Janelle Amador, career assistance advisor with the 50th FSS. “I’ve only seen an event of this capacity at Schriever.”
“The food was a big hit,” she said. “We ordered more than 1,000 of each type of meat, and the spicy Italian sausage ran out fast, but we had more than enough food and drinks for everyone.”
According to Amador, crowd favorites included animal rides and caricatures.
“My favorite part was definitely seeing how excited everyone was for all the activities,” said 2nd Lt. Curtis Lingenfelter, student with the 50th Operations Support Squadron. “People had an absolute blast at the picnic.”
Additionally, Colorado Renaissance Fair actors and jugglers went out of their way to accommodate guests by traveling around the picnic to entertain everyone.
“Food lines moved quickly, and commanders and command chiefs happily served their Airmen and saw firsthand how much their Airmen enjoyed the picnic,” Amador said.
Amador enjoyed the entire picnic, and loved seeing Airmen and their families interact with others.
“When I walked around and saw kids on the animals, that was amazing,” she added.
Amador praised the 110 volunteers that helped with the event, and emphasized the event would not have happened without them.
“My set-up crew was amazing,” she said. “You’re planning for at least 3,500 people, and without my POCs and my leads, we couldn’t get this accomplished. Without my volunteers and sponsors, we couldn’t get this accomplished. I definitely got the help I needed and am so thankful.”
Next year, Amador will teach the lead picnic coordinator, and is excited to show them the ropes so they can take over.
Although Amador will miss being the lead picnic coordinator, she is excited to see what the next person will do, and offered them advice, stressing the importance of organization and pre-planning.
“It’s an honor to be the person that gets to coordinate the event,” she said. “ It’s a humbling experience and it’s fun. I think you have to have the right personality for it because it can get overwhelming. You have to be organized. You have to start planning a year in advance, and once you hit the three to four month out mark, you really have to hit the ground running.”
Amador explained the event was a teaching experience, and would have changed minor things to enhance the picnic even more.
“I’m always looking for areas of improvement, so if I had to do anything differently, I would have the event catered instead of having to make shopping trips. This would have saved man hours and vehicle trips.”
Taking care of our Airmen and their families always, one of the 50th Space Wing priorities, rang true during the picnic.
“The fact that everybody comes together as a community to put this on for Schriever personnel is amazing and is something that will stay with me for the rest of my life,” Amador said.
Lingenfelter agreed.
“It brings the base together and promotes the community and family feel we strive for,” he said. “The 50th has done a great job promoting that kind of atmosphere and events like this are an integral part of that.”