, NAS Whiting Field hosted Military Appreciation Day with grilled hamburgers , the band Crosstown performing, and activities and jumping castles for the kids. Paul Kim, crime prevention coordinator with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office flipped burgers over a flame, he said, along with several detention officers. This was no small event. Multiple grills cooked enough burgers and hotdogs to feed an army. Food service lines took up the entire pavilion while families ate at picnic tables under a few large tents.
Several services for the military were present like the Fleet Family Support Center. Eugene Jackson, financial educator with the FFSC, said, "We're here for families with counselors on staff of all kinds." Jackson said FFSC offers counselors for families and individuals, spouses looking for work when moving to new bases, financial counseling, and the mandatory counseling for transitioning from military to civilian life.
P.A.C.E. Dance Studio, Lowe's, PenAir Federal Credit Union, Covenant Hospice, and Henry Company Homes also served at the event.
Jonathan Ringdahl, in the service for 10 years and currently in flight school said, "It means something. It shows me we're appreciated. I feel honored to serve the country the way we do."
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Military appreciated with massive picnic