New club packs punch

  • Published
  • By Deborah Silliman Wolfe
  • Thunderbolt staff writer
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  An expanded menu, updated décor, extended hours and a wide variety of new activities are just a few of the things members of the Luke Air Force Base community can look forward to when a new collocated club opens its doors in October. 

"The quality of our two clubs is currently not where we want it to be," said Louella Anderson, 56th Force Support Squadron deputy commander. "Our members deserve a high-quality product and right now what we are trying to do with one manager is not producing the quality our members deserve. By collocating the two clubs, management and oversight will be significantly increased. There will be an overall improvement in the menus to the quality of food to the programs offered." 

Currently, there are two clubs on base, Club Thunderbolt and the Desert Star Club. The new, combined club will be located in the building where the Desert Star Club is currently located, but Mrs. Anderson says 'renovations galore' will be taking place in the next few months and the new club will have a totally new look. 

"There will be more of a heritage look and feel," said Maj. Rodney Nichols, 56th Force Support Squadron commander. "Members are going to feel like this is history around me when they walk in." 

According to Major Nichols, the new look is going to be different than what many of the Air Force clubs look like today. As far as ambiance goes, customers will see a mix of Air Force and 56th Fighter Wing history and memorabilia including photos of every plane flown at Luke. 

"I think some of our members are concerned that the existing heritage over at say, Club Thunderbolt, is going away," Major Nichols said. "That's not true. We're taking that heritage with us. The Goldwater Room, for example, is coming over to the new facility, and a lot of other memorabilia as well. I think there is some uncertainty, and that is hopefully what the town hall meetings are going to help eliminate." 

There will be two town hall meetings open to the Luke community at 6 p.m. Wednesday and 6 p.m. Sept. 29 at the base theater. 

"The biggest challenge we are facing is the acceptance from our club membership and the populous in general and we hope to resolve that at our town hall meetings," Mrs. Anderson said. "We are going to blow members away -- we know they are going to love what they see." 

Some of what club members can expect to see is newly established breakfast service, waitresses in the bar area taking customer orders, and a wider and more consistent array of events. 

"Every Friday or Saturday night there will be a major event at the club, which doesn't happen right now," Mrs. Anderson said. "Now, we do something major quarterly." 

Mrs. Anderson said the club will offer membership appreciation dinners monthly, instead of quarterly, and weekend events will rotate between a variety of acts including comedy, jazz, hard rock and more. Also, 56th FSS will be keeping most of the programs they already offer, such as boss and buddy night and free taco Thursdays. 

Major Nichols stressed feedback and input is highly encouraged, and the 56th FSS will take every piece of input into account. 

"We want folks to see that we take seriously what they want to see in their club," he said.
"I think Colonel [Pete] Schaub [56th Operations Group commander] said it best, 'the club is not just a facility. If someone wants to come to a facility then that is one thing. But club membership means so much more. Members should not think about where it is located, but about the camaraderie -- the esprit de corps is what people should be going to the club for,'" Mrs. Anderson said. 

There is an Air Force-wide club membership drive taking place now and will continue for the next three months. The drive will be extended an additional three months at Luke to help boost membership here.