Close to 25 volunteers descended on NAS Whidbey Island’s Skywarrior Theater Dec. 20 to remove chairs in preparation for installation of 491 new recliner seats before the first show, scheduled for 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

“I can’t believe how fast the First Class Petty Officers’ Association volunteers were,” said Deb Brockway, Fleet & Family Readiness project manager, who had estimated it would take about five hours but hoped they could do it in three. “They had every chair in the theater out in about two hours and we were able to turn the project over to the installer early.”

The renovation of the theater is a direct result of the air station receiving second place in the 2010 Commander in Chief’s Installation Excellence Award competition. Along with bragging rights, the base received $250,000. Capt. Gerral David, former base commanding officer, tasked the Quality of Life committee to come up with best proposal for getting the most “bang for the buck” out of the prize money. Renovating the theater won, hands down.

Master-at-Arms 1st Class Brian Booth took this on as a project for the First Class Petty Officers’ Association (FCPOA). He was able to pool volunteers from across the base to help out. He said they had volunteers from VAQ-133, VP-40, Security and NAS Operations who worked alongside civilians from the Gallery Golf Course, the CPO Club and the Whidbey Island Navy Flying Club and, of course, the guys with forklifts.

According to Brockway, it would have cost $6,754 to have the contractor do what the FCPOA did. Avoiding that cost allowed them to include carpet replacement.

The theater renovation is not only good for the movie program, but benefits any command who reserved the theater for a meeting, safety stand-down, Family Readiness Group meeting, Admiral’s Call or a change of command. It also benefits the Sailors and their families every day, seven days a week in some way.

“It’s been nice to see everyone come together to make the CO’s project happen,” said Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Cody Abernathy. “The theater is a great morale builder. I’m going to bring my family to the movies more often.”

The digital projector with 3-D lens is already installed and receiving rave reviews. In fact, the Skywarrior is the first Navy motion picture theater to boast this high-tech projection equipment. 

The theater chairs are from Greystone Intl. out of Grand Rapids, Mich. One of the company representatives was on hand to train and certify people in how to install and maintain them.

According to Cryptologic Technician Technical Seaman Apprentice Eric Hjort with VAQ-133, “The chairs are pretty nice. I’ll probably come to the movies every weekend.”

Just over 200 square feet of carpeting for the aisles and in front of the stage is being installed. The side wall coverings and front curtain are also being replaced.

Cost of digital movies will stay the same but for the new 3-D movie experience the ticket price has been set at $6. This isn’t bad compared to private theater ticket prices for a 3-D movie.

“It’s a perfect way to save money; looks like a good time for junior Sailors,” said Aviation Boatswain’s Mate Handling 1st Class Robert Peebles. “I’m definitely going to promote the theater to my junior Sailors”

Navy Whidbey Recycle picked up the old chairs and is currently working to properly dispose of the highly recyclable metal, plastic and foam components.