LOSC: Mixing friendship with service

  • Published
  • By Photo and story by DEBORAH SILLIMAN WOLFE
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Rhonda Chozinski and Becky Messelheiser chat and tease each other like they have known each other since childhood. No one would ever know that they have known each other for less than two years, and according to Mrs. Chozinski, close friendships are one of the many benefits that go along with being a member of the Luke Air Force Base Officers' Spouses' Club. 

"The people are the best thing about the club," said Mrs. Chozinski, president of the LOSC and wife of Col. Joseph Chozinski, 56th Medical Group commander. "I have a wonderful board that is so easy to work with. They are so giving and caring. They are just fun to be around which makes everything work smoothly. We have a really good time." 

And besides having a good time together, the 100-plus members of the LOSC support the base and local community organizations. 

According to Mrs. Chozinski, since conception, the group has been a social and philanthropic organization. The members meet once a month for a social get-together, and the 25 members of the board meet monthly as well. Members of the LOSC also volunteer their time running the Luke Thrift Store, and all the money raised there goes directly into the Luke Officers' Welfare Fund, which is where all the scholarship and donation funds come out of. The members also gather together for a variety of fundraising and volunteering events throughout the year. 

One of those fundraising events is taking place today. The LOSC is holding the Denim and Diamonds Charity Auction at the Desert Star Club where a variety of items including spa packages, sports tickets, golf packages, plane tickets and a party at the Phoenix Zoo for 50 people will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. All the money raised at the event will go directly back to the base community, be it in the form of scholarships for spouses or funds donated to base organizations, like the Honor Guard. 

"The auction is our major event this year," Mrs. Chozinski said. "This is the first time in three years that we have done an auction. Last year we did a golf tournament that raised $10,000, all of which went right back to the base community." 

In addition to the auction, LOSC members will be sponsoring the Airmen cookie drive in December. 

"We ask for donations of homemade cookies from anyone in the base community," Mrs. Chozinski said. "Once we have the cookies, we form an assembly line in Club Thunderbolt to put together boxes of cookies and Christmas cards. The boxes are passed on to the first sergeants and they distribute them among Airmen on base." 

In 2006, more than 100,000 cookies were donated, which was enough that every unit on base received some of the sweet treats. 

From volunteering time at the thrift store, to fundraising and boxing cookies, the members of the LOSC give back to the base community in a variety of ways. Spouses of active-duty or retired officers are eligible for membership, as well as the spouses of student pilots training on base. 

"It's a great way to meet people and create friendships," said Mrs. Messelheiser, first vice president and wife of Col. Dean Messelheiser, 56th Medical Operations Squadron commander. "The military community has such a great support system. For instance, at one of our last meetings, I mentioned to two or three people that I needed to borrow a car seat in December. I ended up getting ten phone calls of people who wanted to help out. The LOSC is a tight group and we rely on each other." 

For those interested in joining, e-mail Liz Plaumann at eplaumann@cox.net.