JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. – Joint Base Lewis-McChord military spouse River Lopez-Andress is on a roll, filling multiple roles at JBLM. On May 30, she graduated with a master’s degree in sociology at the JBLM Graduation Ceremony in Lacey. On May 22, she started her doctoral program in psychology. And on June 4, she was named JBLM’s volunteer of the year at the annual Volunteer Recognition Ceremony, held at the McChord Club on McChord Field.
“It’s been a crazy week,” she said.
At the Volunteer Recognition Ceremony, Lopez-Andress was honored along with the JBLM community volunteer of the year, Staff Sgt. Gretchen Munoz Soto; retiree volunteer of the year, Julie Martin; family of the year, the Stevenson family; and the active-duty volunteer of the year, Master Sgt. Michael Collum. Six adult volunteers of merit were also named, including Master Sgt. Julie Rice, Thomas Hayden, Larry Hargrove, Staff Sgt. Briana Antoine-Bazan, Ceasarae Galvan and Jamie Ziegler.
“Last year alone, more than 2,800 of you gave over 63,000 hours of your time,” said Lt. Gen. Matthew McFarlane, I Corps commanding general. “That’s the equivalent of more than 30 full-time employees working year-round to support our service members and their families. If you would put a dollar amount on your time, it would exceed $2.1 million – million – dollars.”
“But more importantly, those hours change lives,” he said. “Your contributions aren’t just statistics – they are the lifeblood of our mission here at this joint base.”
Lopez-Andress, a mother of five children – ages 11, 9, 8, 5 and 2 – has volunteered just over 4,500 hours since September of 2023, when she started recording her time.
Her volunteer roles have included serving as a Girl Scout troop leader for more than 30 girls, hosting events and acting as the troop’s cookie manager – counting, distributing and tracking more than 14,000 cookies. Additionally, she has served as the membership chair and president of the Community Club of Lewis-McChord, formerly known as the Spouses’ Club of Lewis-McChord.
The list goes on. Lopez-Andress was also a coach for the JBLM Special Olympics Track and Field Team and volunteered with “No Trainee Left Behind,” a group that sends letters to trainees.
How does she juggle everything?
“Honestly, it’s all about leading by example, right?” she said, explaining that her daughters wanted to participate in Girl Scouts, so she started the troop so she could do it with them. Additionally, her oldest daughter helps with the Community Club of Lewis-McChord.
Lopez-Andress’s drive was forged through difficult circumstances. Her brother died five days after she moved to JBLM, while her family of seven was living in a hotel.
“That big transitional period really took a lot out of me, and I knew that I needed to take that energy and put it back out into the community,” she said. “This isn’t a unique situation to just one person, and there are other people going through the same thing, so if I create that space, then it’s there for other people.”
Lopez-Andress hopes to use her doctoral degree – which focuses on industrial and organizational psychology – in nonprofits, “and keep doing what I’m doing,” she said.
She encourages those wanting to volunteer on base “just to take the leap and do it.”
“There’s a space for you, no matter how much time you have to give,” she said. “If it’s just two hours or 200 hours or 2,000 hours, it’s worth it and it all has an impact.”
To learn more about volunteering at JBLM, call the central office for volunteer information at 253-967-2324.
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