FORT LEE, Va., 2016-Nov-12 — /EPR Retail News/ — Michelle Frost has been named director of the Defense Commissary Agency’s West Area. She is expected to begin her new job in January. Frost will be filling a position previously held by Terry Batenhorst who lost a battle with cancer in July.
The West Area encompasses 60 commissaries in 15 states from southeast Texas to eastern Washington. The area’s annual sales total $1.33 billion.
Frost has served as director of the agency’s East Area since June 13 and had previously served as a supervisory category manager in the agency’s Sales Directorate. A successor for the East Area director position has not been named.
“Michelle has been a terrific asset to DeCA as East Area director,” said Keith C. Hagenbuch, DeCA’s executive director of Store Operations. “She’s brought great insight to the position and helped our commissaries in the East provide the highest level of service to our patrons.
“She’s returning to the West where she once served as DeCA West’s director of operations,” he added. “I know she will bring the same high-level of energy, dedication and decision-making to the West Area that she has incorporated into every job she’s held with DeCA.”
Frost has been employed in various capacities within the commissary system since 1986. Prior to serving as East Area director, overseeing 48 stores with annual sales of $1.35 billion, she worked for eight years at DeCA Headquarters on assignments dealing with promotions, sales and marketing. From 2013 to June 2016 she was the supervisory category manager for shelf stable beverages, responsible for the pricing, promotion and placement of those products, with annual sales of $500 million.
Frost began her commissary career with the Air Force Commissary Service as an intern at Mountain Home Air Force Base Commissary, Idaho. She worked eight years as store director of the Malmstrom Air Force Base Commissary, Montana, and two years as store director of the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Commissary, California, before becoming zone manager of DeCA’s Zone 15, with her office at Travis Air Force Base, California. She subsequently served four years as DeCA West’s director of operations at McClellan, California, before taking on the DeCA Headquarters assignments.
Her educational accomplishments include a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Montana State University and a Master of Business Administration with honors from University of Phoenix.
About DeCA: The Defense Commissary Agency operates a worldwide chain of commissaries providing groceries to military personnel, retirees and their families in a safe and secure shopping environment. Commissaries provide a military benefit and make no profit on the sale of merchandise. Authorized patrons purchase items at cost plus a 5-percent surcharge, which covers the costs of building new commissaries and modernizing existing ones. By shopping regularly in the commissary, patrons save thousands of dollars annually. A core military family support element, and a valued part of military pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance the quality of life for America’s military and their families, and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve their country.
Media Contact:
Kevin L. Robinson
(804) 734-8000, Ext. 4-8773
kevin.robinson@deca.mil
Source: The Defense Commissary Agency