Airman 1st Class Rachel Jarrett, TV reporter with American Forces Network Okinawa, reacts to having a pie smeared in her face Wednesday. She was one of 10 Air Force service members who received pies as part of a fundraiser for the Air Force Ball. She came in third in the rankings with 180 votes, with votes being a dollar each. (Fred Zimmerman / S&S)
Airman 1st Class Rachel Jarrett, TV reporter with American Forces Network Okinawa, reacts to having a pie smeared in her face Wednesday. She was one of 10 Air Force service members who received pies as part of a fundraiser for the Air Force Ball. She came in third in the rankings with 180 votes, with votes being a dollar each. (Fred Zimmerman / S&S)
Senior Airman Doug Flowers, 18th Logistics Readiness Squadron, smears a whipped cream pie in the face of the 18th Wing Commander, Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Remington. The two were the top vote-getters in the pie-in-the-face fundraiser for the Air Force Ball with 196 votes each. Flowers paid $205, $100 which was his own and the rest donated, to have the honor of smearing the pie in Remington's face. (Fred Zimmerman / S&S)
KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa — Ten Air Force servicemembers were attacked in Marek Park on Wednesday.
But instead of licking their wounds, they licked whipped-cream pie off their faces.
The 10 were the top vote-getters at Kadena’s pie-in-the-face fund-raiser for the Air Force Ball, set for Sept. 20.
According to Chief Master Sgt. Denise Alexander, the ball’s co-chairwoman, one vote cost $1.
The finalists ranged from Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Remington, the 18th Wing commander, to Airman 1st Class Rachel Jarrett, a TV reporter with American Forces Network.
Some of the enlisted servicemembers were surprised to see their name on the list.
“I bet on my chief,” said Senior Airman Doug Flowers of the 18th Logistics Readiness Squadron. “Then yesterday during stand-up, he told everyone to get me on the list. Between 10 [a.m.] and 2 [p.m.], I was on the top of the list.”
Flowers tied as the top vote-getter, along with Remington, at 196 each.
After the nominees gathered, more money was raised when Alexander kicked off bidding to see who would have the privilege of smearing the pie on the faces of the winners.
It started out slow, but quickly picked up pace and once again Remington and Flowers brought in the most money with $205 and $100, respectively.
There were a few surprises during the bidding.
Remington outbid everyone, forking out $40 to plant a pie in the face of Col. H. Brent Baker Sr., the 18th Support Group commander.
Frenzied bidding took place when it came to Remington and Flowers came out on top after a little help.
“I put in $100 of my own money,” Flowers said of the $205 it took to get a shot at Remington. “Giving was better than receiving, because everyone around here was collecting to help me put a pie in the general’s face. The general told me I better not hold back, I better go all out.”
Once bidding closed, the fees were paid and those on the receiving end of the whipped cream pie donned garbage bags over their uniforms.
Some chose to go bagless.
The 10 pie recipients were given one last reprieve. They were given the opportunity to buy their way out by matching their vote total, dollar for dollar.
None chose to do so.
“I’ll take it like a man,” Remington said.
The day’s real fun began when one by one, the 10 submitted to their attackers.
“There was a lot of enthusiasm and a little trepidation of the folks who showed up on the list,” Alexander said. “They either loved it or wished someone else would get their pie. But the leaders have been good sports and supported this all the way.”
Alexander said the event’s proceeds benefit the Air Force Ball, set for Sept. 20 at Kadena’s Enlisted Club.
In addition to this fund-raiser, which brought in more than $2,100, the committee held car washes and a golf tournament, gathering an additional $2,500 toward the ball.
