HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- Over the past month, members of Team Holloman have been actively engaging with the local community, lending their time and skills to a variety of revitalization and restoration projects as part of the 2025 Casa Big Give.
The Big Give, an initiative supported by Casa Auto Group and endorsed by Holloman, offers more than just volunteer labor. It provides both hands-on assistance and financial support to local organizations, helping reduce their operational costs while fostering a stronger bond between the base and the surrounding community.
This year alone, volunteers contributed over 2,500 hours and helped save or donate more than $88,000 to local causes. Since its inception, the Big Give has accumulated over 150,000 volunteer hours and generated more than $2.2 million in saved or donated value for the surrounding community.
“The Airmen from Holloman donate their time and resources to the community to improve the projects they pick,” said Brandon Burling, Casa Auto Group general manager. “They also develop friendships with the people of the projects they’re working on; more often than not, we see people stay in contact with those people for years and continue to work on those projects long after the Big Give has ended.”
Made up of Airmen, civilians, and retirees, 15 teams came together to contribute to the effort. These teams represented various squadrons across the base, including:
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9th Attack Squadron
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49th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
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16th Training Squadron
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54th Operations Support Squadron
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8th Fighter Squadron
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49th Comptroller Squadron
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29th ATKS
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6th ATKS
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704th Test Group
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49th Wing Staff Agencies
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635th Materiel Maintenance Squadron
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49th Maintenance Operations
Their efforts spanned a wide range of community-focused tasks, from painting local businesses and cleaning up trash in the Lincoln National Forest to installing fences and flooring at the Spoobell Weimaraner Rescue Center. Teams also helped build furniture at the new Sacramento School of Engineering and Science, just a few examples of the many impactful projects completed throughout the region.
“Our team worked to support the Alamogordo Mainstreet Makeover Project, which is revitalizing over 10 blocks and 80 businesses on the main street in town,” said U.S. Air Force Derrick Glover, 54th OSS radar and weather systems section chief. “Many of the people on my team were unaware of the local businesses located around our work area and enjoyed the opportunity to help/check them out and the storeowners were very thankful for the assistance we provided.”
Teams were divided into two categories based on their size: small teams with five or fewer members, and large teams consisting of six to fifteen members.
“I’m incredibly proud to see how the Airmen of Team Holloman embraced the 2025 Casa Big Give. What these teams accomplished wasn’t just physical labor; it was a testament to our culture of innovation, teamwork and genuine commitment to our community,” said U.S. Air Force Col. John Ethridge, 49th Wing commander. “The partnership with the Casa Big Give team and the support from local leaders demonstrates what we can accomplish when we work together. These projects reduced costs for the community, helped non-profits and showed our neighbors that Holloman stands with them.”
Once projects were completed, teams presented their work to a panel of judges who evaluated the efforts to determine the winners of the Big Give. Casa Auto Group awarded a total of $10,000 in prize money, distributed between the winning small and large teams.
An additional award, the People’s Choice, was funded by Zuni Electric. This prize, voted on by the community, supports unit-level events and ceremonies for the winning teams.
The 2025 Big Give winning teams were:
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Large Team Winner ($7,500): Ghost Warriors (29th ATKS): The team helped build a new area for the Alameda Zoo, contributing over 500 volunteer hours and donating an estimated $28,000 in time and materials.
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Small Team Winner ($2,500): Who Runs the Show (49th MXO): This team completed landscaping, stucco repair, and painting for the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post, volunteering over 140 hours and saving the organization approximately $6,000.
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People’s Choice ($1,000): 16 TRS Savages (16th TRS): The team restored the Sleepy Grass Picnic Area, created a new burn line, and completed trail and flood clean-up at Two Rivers Park. Their 230 volunteer hours saved the U.S. Forest Service roughly one month of labor and $4,000.
“I am blown away again this year by the remarkable efforts our Airmen of Holloman AFB have put into our local communities. I could not be prouder of these dedicated teams for all the hard work and creativity that went into each and every project for this year’s Casa Big Give,” said U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. William Ford, 49th Wing command chief. “So, I would like to say a big thank you to all our teams that volunteered, the project leads that drove the event, all the local businesses that donated thousands of dollars in supplies and of course, Casa and Zuni Electric. Can’t wait until next year!”