Annual base picnic brings in large crowd

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Katrina Heikkinen
  • 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  Team Malmstrom members came out to Sun Plaza Park to enjoy a free lunch, vendors and games at the annual military appreciation picnic on Aug. 24.

Co-sponsored by the 341st Force Support Squadron, Military Affairs Committee of the Great Falls Chamber of Commerce and other local businesses, each year the picnic is held to show the thanks Great Falls has for Malmstrom personnel and their families.

"We put this on for our troops and it is a thank you for all the hard work they do all year," said Katrina Cichosz, 341st FSS commercial sponsorship coordinator.

Hotdogs, hamburgers and bratwurst were on the menu, with enough to feed more than 2,500 people. Carnival games, prizes, as well as face paint and a simulated deployment line were available for children of all ages.

While some members in attendance were being entertained by a 341st Security Forces Squadron military working dog's controlled aggression, others were peeking inside a 1971 Pontiac GTO at the car show.

But this year was a little different on the scale of things, as more than 15 vendors and 19 sponsors made for the biggest picnic yet.

Volunteers from all around base, including Airmen and Family Readiness Center, active-duty Airmen, as well as MAC members are crucial to making the event possible year-after-year.

"We wouldn't be able to do the base picnic without the help of 100 volunteers, and we get those volunteers from around the base and from members of the MAC," Cichosz said.

"It's a pleasure for the Military Affairs Committee to come out, cook and give a little back to all the great men and women who serve so selflessly at Malmstrom Air Force Base," said Steve Grooms, MAC board member. "They're doing a fantastic mission day-in-and day-out as they're in the missile complex and it's nice that we can show our appreciation in a small way."