KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany - The shopping cart clattered as Diane Isla raced to the frozen food section, her first stop during a two-and-a-half minute shopping spree at Vogelweh's commissary.
Isla, 36, a U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern volunteer, won the free trip through the grocery store - recognition for her work as a volunteer at Army Community Service. The event, supported by the Defense Commissary Agency, was part of U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern's volunteer recognition.
The April 29 spree began by the front entrance. Friends and coworkers ran behind Isla with cameras in hand. Earlier, Isla and her husband, Sgt. 1st Class George Isla, a noncommissioned officer from the 21st Theater Sustainment Command, scouted the aisles and planned her strategy.
"I'm going to start at frozen and work my way down, crab legs and lobsters are my go to," Isla said.
After that, she was going for paper products and then Duraflame logs. If time permitted, her husband asked for her to grab cans of Monster drink.
A West Palm Beach, Fla.-native, Isla knew her husband since high school. They've been married 15 years. During his overseas postings, to include a previous tour in Germany and in Okinawa, Isla would volunteer her time within their military community, to include supporting ACS program such as Army Family Team Building and the Army Family Action Plan.
Kristin James, the garrison's Army volunteer corps coordinator, said Isla's volunteer service is invaluable. Among other things, Isla helps coordinate recognition activities for other volunteers, James said.
"She was just awarded the lifetime service award for the president's volunteer service medal," James said.
But she never won anything like a free shopping spree before, Isla said. During the rush, her husband ran alongside, motivating Isla and passing her new baskets.
"She deserves to be in the spotlight," her husband said. "This is a great opportunity for her."
Cold air filled Isla's lungs as she plunged into commissary freezers, tossing icy seafood into her carriage. She could get three of each item, only groceries - no fresh meat or rationed items. She flipped in paper towel multi-packs before lugging heavy boxes of fire logs into a carriage. As staff counted down her last ten seconds, she grabbed armfuls of shampoo.
When it was over, she wiped her brow and caught her breath. The cashier ringing up her haul gasped at her total, $944. As the loot was loaded into bags, a left-behind cart was brought forward with the fire logs and rung up. The final total - $1,001.58.
"She did very good," said Joe Warwick, a store administrator, who's seen dozens of these events over the past 20 years. Warwick said that S&K Sales, a broker that provides many brand name products to DeCA Europe's military commissaries, picked up the tab.
Afterward, as the Islas loaded their pickup truck with grocery bags, they wondered how they would organize their pantry and deep freezer. Maybe, they would grill shrimp and invite over some friends, Diane Isla said.
"It was awesome," she said. "It's one the most fun things I've ever done."
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