The Military Family Day event in Lacey started small in 2003.

It began as a march attended by about 500 people. The celebration now boasts more than 3,000.

And nobody is happier about the growth than event director Andrew Oczkewicz, who has experienced it from the very beginning.

Oczkewicz calls the success of the event and the chance to show support to military members and their families one of his proudest professional moments.

He'll likely add several more of those proud moments to his resume in the coming years as the United Service Organization's McChord Center manager.

"I had to follow my passion," Oczkewicz said. "When I saw the manager position was open, I jumped on the opportunity right away."

Oczkewicz, who started the job Monday, brings to the table years of experience working with military support events through the Rotary Club of Hawks Prairie. The Saint Martin's University grad also built up years of experience managing volunteers through the university's alumni association. Those two aspects - along with his long list of connections within the local military and business community he brings to the position - made him the best candidate for the job, said Don Leingang, USO Puget Sound Area executive director.

"He's passionate about serving the military," Leingang said. "He was very excited about the opportunity to do that in this job."

While he's had to get used to working with military time ("I've been asking some of our Servicemembers about the times and they've been very helpful," he said with a laugh), one thing Oczkewicz has a firm grasp on is his vision for the center.

"I just want to be able to provide our customers with the best service we can provide, make (the McChord Center) a relaxing environment and really increase the exposure of the USO on and off the base," said Oczkewicz, a Lacey resident who's also been a member of the McChord Air Force Association chapter for three years.

Through his experience with the Rotary Club, Oczkewicz has also had the chance to work with many local businesses that support the military. He hopes to turn those relationships into something positive for the USO.

"I see there are certain companies that really hold the military close to their heart," he said. "They would like to contribute. A lot of them just need to be asked."

Oczkewicz already got a taste of serving military members during Air Mobility Command's Rodeo event last month. A foreign team asked if the USO could get them some jalapenos for their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

"We had some crazy requests," he said. "We try to meet each one."

And Oczkewicz knows that can only be accomplished with the help of a strong volunteer staff.

He's already set the wheels in motion to add more volunteers to the list. As soon as he was hired at the USO, his friends started asking questions.

"They came to me and said ‘How can we help?'" he said. "It's beautiful."