FORT CARSON, Colo. -- Balancing free cups of coffee in one hand and tote bags filled with information in the other, Soldiers and Family members turned out in droves for Destination Fort Carson at the Special Events Center Jan. 30.
"They have a lot of information here," said Sgt. Christ Angelos, 62nd Sapper Company, 4th Engineer Battalion. "They have answers to everything."
Featuring 45 agencies from the Pikes Peak region in addition to Fort Carson services and facilities, nearly 4,000 members of the community learned about everything from deployment child care benefits to using the G.I. Bill at local educational institutions.
"We didn't know what would be here," said Spc. April Clark, 4th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.
"I'm glad we stayed," said fellow 4th BSB Soldier Sgt. Angelina Castro, who was exploring the event with Clark. Both are preparing to deploy.
"I have a daughter, so it's hard," Castro admitted, but was excited to discover how to create a keepsake for her daughter to have during her deployment.
"I found this awesome place where they record books," Castro said. "I was able to set up an appointment."
The anticipation of what was available inside the SEC had community members lining up more than an hour before the doors opened.
"We had a crowd at 8 o'clock but we weren't scheduled to open until nine," said Ann Edinger, chief of Events and Entertainment, Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation .
"We've had a larger turnout (this time) due to unit deployment support," she said comparing the turnout to the August Destination Fort Carson event.
DFMWR staff coordinated the event in partnership with Army Community Service.
Destination Fort Carson serves as a "one stop shop" for the community, Edinger said. The event featured Family readiness support assistants providing Family members an opportunity to sign up for their Family readiness groups; Child, Youth and School Services scheduling appointments for central registration; information from local businesses; and more.
"There is so much good, free information about services available to Families as Soldiers prepare to leave," she said.
Intermingling fun with information, each attendee received a Destination Fort Carson "passport" as they entered the event. Listing phone numbers and social media sites for Fort Carson services, the passport also provided space for individuals to provide feedback on the event and collect up to 10 stamps from different agencies. Completed stamped portions of the passport could be submitted as an entry into a drawing for an iPad and other prizes.
"Hopefully this is of value when they leave here," said Edinger of the reference portion of the passport.
The ACS area also combined fun and learning with displays featuring services offered surrounding a seating area overflowing with Soldiers and Family members concentrating on bingo cards.
"We've been holding bingo every five minutes," said Jean McClintock, ACS Client Operations and Relocation Readiness Program manager. While drawing a crowd with the game and prizes, McClintock said the ACS corner was able to field a large number of inquiries.
"Deployment and employment information have been the top two things everyone's been asking about," she said.
At another ACS booth, Joey Bautista, mayoral manager, focused on getting the word out to spouses about the Fort Carson mayoral program.
"If their Soldier is deployed and they need some help, they need to know their mayors," said Bautista, who had been briefing groups of spouses almost continuously since the event began. "They need to know who they are so they can go to them for quality of life issues."
Since all Fort Carson neighborhood mayors and deputy mayors are volunteers, spouses were also encouraged to seek volunteer opportunities, said Bautista, who is also the ACS volunteer coordinator.
Army spouse Felicia Johnson said she benefited from the wide range of information available.
"I usually come to these events to learn about things I don't already know about, and figure out what I can participate in," she said. "It's an easy way to find information in one place."
Johnson found time to enjoy some freebies as well.
"It's fun because there's chocolate," she said.
Social Sharing