The show’s milestone 30th makeover featured Justin and Kristie Ziegler and their family. Justin and Kristie are Air Force veterans, childhood sweethearts from south Florida, who both deployed to Afghanistan. The show was taped in March and can be viewed on the Military Makeover website or on YouTube.
DeCA Director and CEO Bill Moore and his senior enlisted adviser, Marine Sgt. Maj. Michael R. Saucedo, traveled to Jupiter, Florida, where they stocked the Ziegler’s pantry with $500 worth of groceries donated from EURPAC, a distribution group that delivers products to the military supply channel.
“What an experience this has been with the cameras, the soundmen, the director – just wrapped up on the set of ‘Military Makeover,’ delivering groceries to the Ziegler family, a family of veterans,” said Moore at the Ziegler home.
“The show has a noble track record of supporting deserving military veterans, and we saw this season as an opportunity to help two deserving veterans, Justin and Kristie Ziegler, and their family,” Moore added. “It’s an added bonus that we can also use this show as a platform to help spread the word to other disabled veterans that they are authorized to use the commissary, a benefit they’ve earned through their selfless service.”
During the show’s production, DeCA worked with the Zieglers to place an order for their groceries through Commissary CLICK2GO, the agency’s online ordering/curbside pickup service. They ordered products from the nearest commissary at Patrick Space Force Base near Cocoa Beach, Florida, and store associates there picked the products and processed their order for pickup. DeCA’s audio-visual team, on site to film the agency’s role with Makeover, picked up the groceries from Patrick and delivered them to the Ziegler home.
“This is just an example of the daily collaboration we have with our suppliers, manufacturers and vendors who work with us to provide quality groceries in commissaries worldwide at significant savings to our patrons,” Moore said.
DeCA views the “Military Makeover” show and other events as prime opportunities to help ensure many eligible patrons like the Zieglers are aware of the 20 to 25 percent savings available at their commissary along with the benefits of dietitian-approved meal solutions, and free online order and pickup services.
“The Zieglers are typical of most commissary patrons,” Saucedo said. “They served their country with honor. Both Justin and Kristie deployed to Afghanistan. They survived a traumatic ordeal over there and went on to build a loving home with their two children. We are proud to help connect them with their commissary benefit.”
“This is a day full of goodness,” Saucedo added. “Being able to educate our veterans about the newly authorized benefit is just fantastic. I’m looking forward to getting out in communities just like this, more frequently, and educating veterans about this benefit.”
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