The Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) Commissary team is ecstatic to be selected for a second year in a row as one of the best small commissaries of 2023.
The award is known as the U.S. Best Small Commissary —Richard Paget Award. The awards, given out by the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA), are named after government officials who protected commissary benefits and supported quality-of-life issues for the military.
YPG’s Commissary earned the title of second place in the category: coincidently enough, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma’s Commissary placed first, both earning the same titles as the previous year —a first in DeCA history.
Store Manager Reba Maxwell said, “We are excited, and I think it really is a big deal.”
The team planned to celebrate with a potluck and was presented with a trophy to display alongside last year’s.
Maxwell remarked that even though they did not win first place again, standing out among commissaries nationwide is a win.
“We only have 10 employees: we have to do everything in our store alone, and when you think about the other 52 stores they are probably in a town, and we are more remote and we still won that, being where we are, with the small number of customers. To me that is something big.”
The commissary averages about 100 customers per day, which are made up of active-duty military and retirees residing at YPG or nearby.
It’s not hard to see why the supermarket gets high marks: Walking into the commissary, patrons will find spotless glass doors and floors, perfectly arranged fully stocked aisles, colorful produce, and friendly staff.
Those are only some of things looked at during the selection process.
In a press release, DeCA detailed how commissaries were judged. “Nominations were judged on tangible and intangible qualities such as a friendly environment, a well-run store, a good work ethic and a sense of a cohesive team. Tangible qualities include sales, commissary customer service survey, organization, cleanliness, and visual appeal. Safety, accountability, photo portfolio, display contests and special events.
The YPG Commissary team is huge on community outreach: they speak at the community town halls and participate in all the Child and Youth Services events like Month of the Military Child, Fall Festival, and parades.
“Anything they are doing for the community; we are always a part of to reach out to our community.”
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