MILTON — Naval Air Station Whiting Field recently earned the Defense Commissary Agency’s recognition as having the top small commissary in the United States.
The Richard M. Paget Award honors the best small commissary in the armed forces across a selection of grading criteria — customer satisfaction, sales, safety and more.
Commissary Director Joseph H. Jeu praised the team for their superior performance.
“Considering the hard work you put forth to achieve this award, your efforts are truly commendable,” he said in his letter congratulating the staff. “Thank you for all you do on a daily basis to ensure the military community in your area receives the highest quality service from the commissary benefit.”
The crystal trophy will maintain a place of honor in the commissary in the trophy case next to the exit. Additionally, next to the display behind Register One the commissary staff will post the congratulatory letter from Jeu.
Receiving the award was bittersweet due to the recent death of the store manager under whose leadership the award was earned. The commissary staff created a display of photographs to honor Kristen Linn’s memory, and will keep the letter with the display to recognize her dedicated leadership.
“It is very exciting for the store to earn the award,” Grocery Department Manager Dawn Schultz stated. “The saddest part is that it would have been great to celebrate with [Kristen]. She did a lot of work to prepare the award.”
The commissary last earned the Paget Award in 2004.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: NAS’s commissary among top in the country