Members of the Fort McPherson and Fort Gillem community were given an opportunity to take a part of both installations with them during the "cash and carry" sale held Jan. 17 through 19.
The sale, which took place at the Fort Gillem Getaway club, allowed individuals to purchase non-appropriated fund items housed in the building, as well as those in adjoining Taylor Suites.
The sale was open to authorized ID card holders (active duty military, Civilian employees, retirees and Family members) on the first day, with the general community invited on the second and third. Mike Wooditch, chief of business programs, U.S. Army Garrison (USAG) Directorate of Family Morale, Welfare and Recreation (DFMWR), said the sale was a chance to sell off assets and raise money for DFMWR.
All the money raised, he added, would go back to Soldiers through the DFMWR. As of Wednesday morning, Wooditch said about $6,000 was raised through the event. Toshiko Williams, wife of George Williams, retired master sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, and her daughter, Nina, contributed more than $100 to the fund, having purchased four tables and eight chairs.
"We were grocery shopping and decided to stop by," Nina said. "We got all (that) we wanted." All for a reasonable price, Toshiko added.
Getting everything they wanted was a problem for some of the later attendees, mainly due to the success of the event.
Wooditch said about 95 percent of things for sale, such as tables, chairs, paintings, pool tables, end and sofa tables, bar stools, plates and silverware from the Getaway club were sold in the first few hours of the first day, with all the goods from the Taylor Suite Army lodge being purchased the first day.
Pat Bitjoka, a retired Army staff sergeant, said she was looking to get some of the paintings displayed in the club, but wasn't able to get the ones she wanted.
Still, Bitjorka said she walked away with a wooden dresser, some plates, bar stools and other memorabilia, all at a reasonable price.
The base will continue to have future cash and carry sales, said Patrick Gould, chief of USAG DFMWR, adding such non appropriated fund item sales have always been used by DFMWR to help generate revenue.
Future sales scheduled include the Fort McPherson golf course at the end of May and the bowling alley and The Commons on Fort McPherson in mid-July, Wooditch said.
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