Vance enlisted appreciated at event

  • Published
  • By Frank McIntyre
  • Public Affairs
Vance Air Force Base, Okla. --  Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Andrew Cosma has a lot more reasons for being an appreciated member of the Team Vance enlisted force -- 1,000 reasons to be exact.
Petty Officer Cosma, a Navy liaison for the flying training squadrons at Vance, was one of the big winners of the enlisted appreciation night Saturday. He won $1,000 cash, a prize donated, ironically, by the local Air Force Association chapter.
More than 270 Vance enlisted members packed the Vance Club for the annual event sponsored by the Enid Chamber of Commerce. An evening of free food, drinks and games was capped off with drawings for more than $17,000 in cash and prizes donated by a variety of local businesses and organizations.
"I think it's awesome the way the Enid community supports our enlisted force," Petty Officer Cosma said. "This was the third time I've taken advantage of the opportunity to attend, because Vance is the only base I've been at that has such a show of appreciation."
Another highlight of the evening was a cash award made by the Vance fire chiefs in memory of Ron Diener, the late base fire chief, who served as co-chair of enlisted appreciation night for many years.
"I have to admit that moment made me a little teary eyed," said Richard Johndrow. "Ron left such an imprint on this event. He was one of the enlisted force's biggest supporters and worked tirelessly to raise the event to the stature it is today."
Mr. Johndrow, Computer Sciences Corporation civil engineers section, served as co-chair for many of those years with Chief Diener and was co-chair this year along with George Pankonin, Trend Western.
"Ron and Richard co-chaired the annual enlisted appreciation night at Vance since well before I became involved representing the AFA military affairs committee in 1993," said Mr. Pankonin. "Everyone on the committee pulls their fair share of the duties in preparation for this; but, I don't think any of us realized how many things Ron was doing personally to make all of the previous occurrences such a great success.
"He never looked for recognition for his efforts. Rather, he was the kind of silent hero who everyone admires and appreciates. There will never be an enlisted appreciation night at Vance that we won't all be thinking fondly of the great contributions made by our friend Ron Diener."
And those appreciation nights will continue for many years to come, according to the Enid Chamber of Commerce.
"The enlisted force at Vance is a large part of the base population that has such a tremendous impact on Enid's economy," said Ricki Crabtree, chamber director of membership and special events. "Through this event, our community is able to show our commitment and support to Vance and help acquaint military members with the Enid business community.
"This event that started in Enid has grown to be recognized by the Air Force as one of the country's finest gestures of appreciation for enlisted members. We hope this relationship and appreciation night continue for as long as Vance is part of our community -- and we expect that to be a very long time," said Ms. Crabtree.