Youth hosts dinner for Moody families

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jamal Sutter
  • 23d Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  The Liberty Moody Keystone Club hosted a Deployed Spouses Dinner March 26 for families with loved ones currently downrange.

The Keystone Club is a teen-run leadership and service group with goals of influencing the community through positive programs.

"All of the deployed spouses do so much for Moody," said Chasity Cagle, Keystone president. "We wanted to give back to them, so it was a good idea."

The dinner, which hosted 47 adults and 55 children, provided families a free meal without the hassle of preparing it themselves and gave them a chance to interact with each other. Many of the teens who helped run the event have had parents deployed and used the dinner as a way to show support for their Air Force family.

"I wanted to give back, because I know my dad had been deployed, and I know how hard it was," said Kristin Ramer, Keystone treasurer. "I had been through it, and I wanted to help other people who were going through the same thing."

The dinner was the first of its kind planned and organized entirely by the Keystone Club. Twelve of the group's members and three preteen Torch Club members put the event together with help from the Moody Spouses Club who donated funds and Protestant Women of the Chapel who donated food.

In addition to meals, the event included face painting, crafts and other activities for children. U.S. Air Force Col. Billy Thompson, 23d Wing commander, and Col. Steven Ramer, 23d WG vice commander, made appearances with some words of encouragement for the families and to help with raffle drawings.

Representatives from the Integrated Delivery System (IDS) also attended and set up booths for individuals interested in learning more about their programs.

The dinner took place on the same day as Moody's most recent large-scale deployment departure, which was convenient for those who wanted to enroll in various IDS programs after seeing their family member leave.

"For some of them, it was the same day their spouses deployed," said Sandra Sadler, Keystone advisor. "It was great, because they were [signing up for] their deployment benefits, since we had all the IDS agencies right there. Some of them were going out and signing up for their Play Passes and finding out what was going to go on while their husband was deployed."

The Keystone Club is looking to hold more events for Moody families, especially throughout the summer, to continue to show their support, said Ramer.

"We're appreciative of all the parents out there," Cagle added. "We're definitely appreciative of all the deployed members and their families. We're willing to give back and be active in our community."