Spotlight!
USO Okinawa Staff Spotlight: Linda Beaulieu
By
USO Okinawa October 2, 2024
Linda Beaulieu and Meghann Blochowski
USO Okinawa October 2, 2024
Linda Beaulieu (USO Okinawa)
Linda is the Center Operations Coordinator for USO Camp Foster and takes great pride in being part of the USO mission. Originally from Connecticut, Linda grew up close to her Italian family, learning how to make various Italian dishes and sharing them with others. She took her family’s cooking lessons and morphed them into one of her favorite hobbies—cooking! Prior to joining the USO Okinawa team, Linda worked in the school system in Okinawa as a paraprofessional, where she and her wife, an active-duty Marine and high school sweetheart, have lived for the past three years. Linda is also a proud fur mom to her adorable cat, Pudding, and Border Collie, Scout. A lover of books and her Kindle, Linda enjoys spending her free time diving into the world of fiction and making memories with her family.
1. Why do you love working at the USO?
I love working at the USO because of family environment our team has created at our center! Staff, volunteers, and patrons can establish connections and form a sense of community— which is important as most of us are thousands of miles from our stateside family and friends. I also love being able to see the smiles our USO community produces and witness the impact we make on service members and their families, even in the simplest of ways. The impact we have becomes extremely evident when volunteers and patrons ask us to attend their different ceremonies from promotions to reenlistments to course graduations—it solidifies our mission!
2. What is your favorite memory of working at the USO?
My favorite memory of working at the USO was over this summer. Yumi, our COS, and I went around to different units on Camp Foster and delivered popsicles. We had the music playing in the car and were able to talk to the different Marines and learn about them, their job, etc. They were all extremely grateful for what we were doing and enjoyed the break on a very hot day. Their smiles and laughs made my day.
FEATURED PROGRAM:
USO Camp Foster has a new program “DIY Delights” which will be a craft open to anyone. The first one will be October 16th from 1730-1900 and we will be making sharpie mugs! Check us out on Facebook at USO Camp Foster!