Fort Stewart/HAAF reopen Bingo Halls and Marne Bowling Center

Photo By Sgt. Reva Catholic | A Family bowls at the Marne Bowling Center June 25, 2020 at Fort Stewart, Georgia. The bowling center reopened its doors after closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Reva Catholic)  

FORT STEWART, GA, UNITED STATES

06.25.2020

Story by Sgt. Reva Catholic 

50th Public Affairs Detachment

Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation efforts were energized during the month of June as the installations reopened bingo halls along with the Marne Bowling Center.
“We reopened June 11th,” said Carolyn Lewis, assistant manager of the Fort Stewart bingo hall. “The Colonel came by to look at it and was very pleased. We also had the Center of Disease Control come over to make sure our spacing was correct, and they gave us the approval to open.”
The Marne Bowling Center opened on June 24th to Department of Defense card holders with COVID-19 risk mitigation measures of reduced capacity and hours of operation.
Both bingo halls and the Marne Bowling Center have implemented Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 guidelines to ensure patrons have a safe experience.
Yvette Shepard, assistant manager with Hunter Bingo, at HAAF, said before the bingo hall opened, it had to be prepped in accordance with the command safety requirements, to include placing plexiglass in front of the registers to maintain social distancing.
“The [Morale, Welfare and Recreation] went above and beyond in their efforts to make the customer’s bowling experience safe,” said Andrea Gulley, operations assistant for the Marne Bowling Center.
People can expect safety precautions are taken at each establishment.
“Masks are highly encouraged. Sanitizing stations are placed at the entrance. There’s proper distance between the lanes, and we clean the areas where the customers are before and after they come in,” said Gulley.
With social distancing in effect, Hunter Bingo took an expansive approach to utilizing their extra space.
“We took our smoking room and turned it into an overflow room, so there is no smoking in the building anymore,” said Shepard. “Currently we can seat 65 people and with the overflow room, we can add an additional 25.”
Employees at each establishment expressed what reopening means to them.
Lewis said she is happy things are opening back up, and customers are glad to get out of the house, and she is glad to be back at work.
“I have mixed feelings about reopening because of my age and health risk,” Gulley said. “I believe we should all follow the safety requirements, although masks are optional, everybody should remain conscience of what’s going on and be considerate of other people.”
Considering the pandemic, people have participated in the activities and the employees encourage more people to join.
Shepard said the bingo hall has great programs and chances for people to win money. The proceeds go back into the MWR fund to pay for operations and programs for Soldiers and their Families.
“We’ve seen a lot of kids that were excited to bowl,” said Gulley. “With our ‘Kids Bowl Free’ program, the children get to have an outlet, which is something they’ve been looking forward to.”
For more information on these MWR services, call Stewart Bingo at 912-767-4200 or Hunter Bingo at 912-767-4606, and the Marne Bowling Center at 912-767-4866.

• Date Taken: 06.25.2020
• Date Posted: 06.29.2020 13:27
• Story ID: 373017
• Location: FORT STEWART, GA, US