ALTUS - The Armed Services YMCA at Altus Air Force Base has been selected as the organization which will benefit from the proceeds of the upcoming "Soldier's Tribute - A Freedom Benefit Concert" to be held at the Altus City Auditorium on Saturday, June 10 at 7 p.m.

The concert is a message of appreciation for our military soldiers and their families. Dedicated to soldiers past, present and future, the concert is free to the public, and there will be a designated location at the concert where donations will be accepted.

“This event will be a celebration of freedom and a reminder to our military community of our deep appreciation for their sacrifice,” said Joan Wilcoxen, executive director of the Altus Armed Services YMCA. 

Wilcoxen said the ASYMCA offers programs and services that strengthen families and encourage individuals to achieve their fullest potential. The Altus Armed Services YMCA is a unique collaboration between the AAFB and the Armed Services YMCA, a 501(c)3 agency, that assists military families stationed here by serving their charitable, educational, social, recreational and inspirational needs. The first priority is to offer assistance and information to our new junior enlisted families.  For many of these young people, it is the first time that they have been stationed away from their parents and extended families.  They arrive here and often feel isolated and need a little help finding all the wonderful resources we have in our community.  That's where the ASYMCA comes into the picture, offering programs, classes and support specific to the financial constraints experienced by the junior enlisted airmen, including those with spouses and children. Those of us who have chosen Altus as our permanent home chose it because of the many positive opportunities and values here, and through the Altus ASYMCA we extend our southwestern hospitality to these new families. The AASYMCA Director takes information about the many resources offered to our junior enlisted personnel plus maps of Altus and Oklahoma to the homes of junior enlisted families at AAFB.  People are happy to get information and a friendly home visit, and they also enjoy getting the brochures and information about many of our community events and resources.

Another popular program is the monthly free lunch, "Lunch Bunch" featuring a home cooked meal served for the junior enlisted military and their spouses and children.  The Altus ASYMCA serves lunch to at least twenty people each month, and the program is a great place to meet other young families with similar interests.  The children play together while the adults enjoy a great meal, and the ASYMCA volunteers do the serving and clean up. This provides a great forum to spread the word about the other programs the ASYMCA offers each month, in a setting that is relaxed and lots of fun.

The Altus ASYMCA also provides a monthly coffee break for spouses new to Altus to meet and enjoy some adult conversation with other spouses with children.  There are activities for the children, and coffee, tea, and cakes and pies for refreshments. This provides a forum for finding out about upcoming activities and day retreats, and for developing friendships.

The Airmen Against Drunk Driving is a volunteer group of junior enlisted military troops who donate their weekend evenings as designated drivers to provide shuttle service to airmen who have been drinking and need a ride home. The Altus ASYMCA provides the van and gasoline so they can offer this service. Since its inception, these sober young troops have provided over 4084 rides and their volunteer efforts have been cited by the wing commander as "outstanding".

Christmas at Altus Air Force Base was extra special when Woman's Day Magazine teamed up with the National Armed Services YMCA to provide funding for Holiday Gift Baskets and toys for the military families at Altus. Spouses and families of deployed airmen also enjoyed holiday food baskets featuring fresh turkey with "all the fixings"!  "Woman's Day" readers funded the Altus ASYMCA so we could show our military families the gratitude in all of our hearts for the wonderful job our military troops and their families perform for all of us in America.

Inspired by the classic song, "Send me the Pillow that you Dream On", this program is the creation of Altus ASYMCA Director Joan Wilcoxen. The Altus ASYMCA has made and mailed dozens of pillowcases to deployed airmen, each pillowcase bearing handprints and loving messages painted on them with fabric paint by their spouses and children. Attached by a yellow ribbon to the pillowcase is a laminated photograph that shows the airman's family at home making the pillowcase. This was selected as a U.S. Air Force Best Practice Award in 2006.

The Altus Armed Services YMCA has created a "Warrior's for Freedom" Quilt on display at the Community Center on Altus Air Force Base as a visible reminder to keep our deployed airmen in our thoughts and prayers.

The activities of the Altus Armed Services YMCA are now included in the Family Support Center's monthly Newsletter distributed to each household at the base, allowing everyone to know what programs the Altus ASYMCA has available to benefit the junior enlisted families.  This is a win-win scenario, and base leadership and their spouses are very supportive in helping our programs to grow. Many of the base leaders volunteer to bring food for the activities, serve as mentors, and spread the word about the exciting opportunities available. 

Inspired by the hymn, "Blessed Be the Ties That Bind", the quilt features a picture of each deployed airman laminated and suspended by a yellow ribbon on the "Deployed Warriors for Freedom Quilt". The photos depict the airmen in all aspects of their lives; some in the desert in tents, others in full military dress uniform, and some depict earlier happy days at home during times shared with their family. When the airmen are welcomed home, they untie the yellow ribbon and make room for the photo of the next airman.

to deploy. This was selected as a Best Practice Award in January 2006.

Another program, Washers and Dryers for Airmen is a unique collaboration between the Altus Armed Services YMCA and the Family Support Center's Family Services at AAFB.  Many people in the Altus community, both on the base and in the civilian community, have donated their used, but serviceable, washers and dryers to this program to place them in the homes of young families who have no laundry facilities.  The Altus ASYMCA solicits donations for repairs, and provides the Altus ASYMCA van with trailer hitch for transport of the machines. Always actively seeking more machines, we urge people who have purchased new laundry machines to donate their old ones to help the young families. Since this began the Altus ASYMCA delivered over seventy washers and dryers to the junior enlisted people at Altus. This was also selected as a Best Practice Award.

The Armed Services YMCA annually seeks readers who can write about why they love to read for its contest to promote reading among children and teens of active duty or retired military families.  The Altus Armed Services YMCA has expanded the concept to publicly praise and recognizes the achievements of those military children who spend the time writing an essay to enter this nationwide contest, and awards local prizes for all students who enter, encouraging our local students to believe and succeed,  as well as awarding them the distinguished certificate naming them as a "Reader of Today" wherein they are recognized as "Today's Reader - Tomorrow's Leader!"

Day Trips are scheduled monthly, and grew from discussions about places to see in the area to monthly trips now provided in our ASYMCA van.  Some recent destinations have focused on places of historical significance in southwestern Oklahoma, with its colorful Native American history.  Featured attractions include the buffalo auction at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge; Quanah Texas to see the courthouse, old jail, Railroad Station and museum; and mineral deposits and gypsum as an Indian "healing dust" and as an essential ingredient in the manufacture of wallboard for homes around the world.  The ASYMCA includes a personalized tour of Quanah Parker's original "Star House", visits to Geronimo's grave and the Ft. Sill museum, Copper Breaks, Texas State Park, and picnics at the beautiful new world class facility at Quartz Mountain.  The ASYMCA visits farms in the area featuring greyhounds, llamas, peanuts, cotton, wheat, cattle, horses, vineyards, and Christmas trees, and shares diverse farming information with people who are eager to learn about our historical role in American history and the impact that our climate has on the local economy.  Man made lakes and sparse rainfall in SW Oklahoma are quite different from what many people have grown up with, and they appreciate the innovative uses of our land. The merchants near the downtown square have hosted the group, and really rolled out the red carpets.  Main Street Altus presents a history session, complete with wonderful photos of early life on the prairie, and includes going upstairs above the historical buildings, and meeting the people who own them and work there. These trips make families comfortable venturing downtown off the base with happy memories to take when they eventually move from Altus, and the day trips are lots of fun!

Altus ASYMCA hosts a reception for incoming First Term Airmen every month, too, where the new military members are welcomed to their first duty station here in a reception with refreshments immediately following their graduation from training.  The ASYMCA prints a program for the graduates to serve as a memento of their success here at Altus AFB, and for the families back home to share in their achievements. The introduction to the people with whom they will work at this award assembly creates a team building environment and removes much of the stress of the first day on the new job.

Pipeline Student Team-Building Day in 2006 was augmented by the Altus ASYMCA.  These team building days begin with early morning Open Ranks Inspections, room inspections, marching competitions, large-formation marching practice and field competitions.  This is all designed to instill unit pride and cohesiveness as well as to reinforce a sense of military heritage. The activities take-up most of the day, and when the students are finished they wrap-up the day with a BBQ.  Through the Altus ASYMCA they enjoy a BBQ with hamburgers, hot dogs, buns, chips, and soda for the Air Force's newest Airmen.