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Match Up game kicks off

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Connie L. Bias
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  It's your chance to win big--big like a car, a cruise or cash.

These are just a few of the 12,000-plus prizes Air Mobility Command is handing out to this year's MatchUP game winners. The annual game, which runs June 1 through Aug. 31, is an AMC Services awareness event, and 92nd Services Squadron personnel are taking full advantage of the awareness opportunity.

"Everyone is so busy and the operations tempo is so high - we want to reach out to people so they know that we're here to support them," said Amanda Kraus, services marketing, adding that she particularly wants deployed active-duty personnel to know the services available to their family members. "We offer programs like Give Parents a Break, Parents' Night Out, respite care and others. We're here for you, and it's important for us to get that message across."

And there will be a lot of fun involved in getting that message across, Ms. Kraus added. MatchUp kicks off June 1with the Wing Picnic at Miller Park, noon - 3 p.m. Along with the usual picnic food, displays and booths, services is giving away two cash prizes, $150 and $350. The commissary is also hosting a Price Is Right game and giving away free groceries, and picnic attendees can sign up for their first MatchUP game pieces right at the park, where services will have a computer bank set up.

MatchUP prizes from AMC include a Saab 9-3 Arrow, Carnival Cruise Line vacations packages, a $1,000 and $500 winner at each AMC base, and four weekly $25 winners at each base.

"Here at Fairchild, because of local sponsorship, we're also going to be able to add a $100 winner every Friday, June 8 through Aug. 10," said Ms. Kraus. "On Aug. 10 we're going to give $1,000 away at the UCI burger burn."

That's a lot of prize money, and anyone with a DoD ID card is eligible to play. That includes, along with active-duty members, dependents of any age, retirees and civilian employees.

The game works like this - once you receive game pieces (which you'll pick up at the Wing Picnic and at services events throughout the summer), log onto www.amcmatchup.com. After your initial full registration, you'll have a login ID and password, and you can start entering your game piece numbers. For each number, you get to play MatchUP, a board game for which you use your mouse to flip cards and make matches.

Every time you get a new game piece and play the game, you have another entry for the AMC prizes and Fairchild has another entry for base prizes.

"Every AMC base competes for the most registered players," said Ms. Kraus. "AMC has money set aside that goes to the top four registered bases. In the past, every base would receive a prize if they met a pre-set goal, but this year the base won't get anything unless we're in that top four."

For local prizes, awarded every Friday, services is taking a mobile MatchUP board game on the road. Services representatives will travel to various base locations (the club, a commander's call, squadron picnics, etc.) and award prizes on the spot to present personnel.

"There really is no gimmick - we want every eligible person to play," said Ms. Kraus, adding again that the main goal is to raise awareness for services activities, programs and special events.

The Wing Picnic is an alternate duty location, and civilian clothes are authorized for attendees. The Warrior Dining Facility, Club Fairchild and the Funspot will be closed during lunch hours June 1 in support of the picnic.