{"id":3327,"date":"2019-01-24T16:43:43","date_gmt":"2019-01-24T16:43:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/?p=3327"},"modified":"2019-01-24T17:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-01-24T17:00:00","slug":"she-rocks-and-her-army-air-force-exchange-service-co-workers-in-waco-roll-with-happiness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/2019\/01\/24\/she-rocks-and-her-army-air-force-exchange-service-co-workers-in-waco-roll-with-happiness\/","title":{"rendered":"She Rocks \u2026 and Her Army & Air Force Exchange Service Co-Workers in Waco Roll with Happiness"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"WACO, Texas \u2013 <\/strong>Around the Army & Air Force Exchange Service\u2019s She Rocks \u2026 and Her Army & Air Force Exchange Service Co-Workers in Waco Roll with HappinessWaco Distribution Center, employees are finding rocks.<\/p>\n

But these aren\u2019t just any rocks. These are brightly painted masterpieces with everything from holiday scenes to cat faces to inspirational sayings like \u201cSpread your wings and fly.\u201d Each painted rock is placed with love by Yongie Raines<\/a>, the distribution center\u2019s assistant manager.<\/p>\n

Based in Dallas, the Exchange is the Department of Defense\u2019s largest military retailer, serving troops and their families with 2,700 department stores, convenience stores, food courts, malls and movie theaters, in 49 states and more than 30 countries.\u00a0The Exchange\u2019s distribution center in Waco, just off Interstate 35, moves 6 million cases of merchandise a year to stores throughout the Central United States.<\/p>\n

Raines, who lives in Robinson, is one of millions of Americans getting in on the latest craze of spreading happy thoughts through hand-painted rocks<\/a>. The idea is simple: Paint something inspiring or cheerful on a rock and leave it for someone else to find.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cI started hiding the rocks as a way to give morale boosters to people who may really need a lift and to be happy,\u201d said Raines, who buys the rocks at landscaping businesses or finds them wherever she goes, then puts her creative talents to work<\/a>. \u201cWhenever I go on my routine walks around the warehouse, I\u2019ll put rocks on the top of boxes, on shelves, in the backs of our trucks, or in boxes of merchandise we\u2019ll deliver to the stores.\u201d<\/p>\n

Raines\u2019 foray into the trend started in July when her twin sister from Virginia inspired her to do\u00a0something artsy. But Raines couldn\u2019t figure out where to channel her creative talents. She began drawing, which led to painting. She found a YouTube video<\/a> about painted rocks and stumbled upon the Rockin\u2019 with Kindness channel.<\/p>\n

Raines began painting and handing out rocks in September after joining Facebook groups Rockin\u2019 with Kindness<\/a> and Waco Rocks<\/a>. Since then, she\u2019s placed more than 100 rocks in rather easy-to-find spots, not just in the Waco Distribution Center but anywhere she goes, whether the grocery store, at restaurants or along the paths of her leisurely walks.<\/p>\n

Some rocks take only a few minutes to design, while others with more intricate designs could take more than an hour, Raines said.<\/p>\n

But the pleasure she derives more than offsets the work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are just too many emotions to choose from when I see people finding my rocks and seeing their reactions\u2014happiness, being thrilled, excited, thankful,\u201d Raines said. \u201cI\u2019m a people person who wants to make other people happy. If the kind gesture of leaving a painted rock for someone to find with just a picture on it or with an inspirational quote and it makes their day, then my rock served its purpose.\u201d\"\"<\/p>\n

Exchange associates from Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., to Fort Riley and McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas\u2014all three nearly 600 miles away from the Waco\u2014are finding Raines\u2019 rocks.<\/p>\n

Waco Distribution Center forklift driver Alana Nance has discovered nearly a dozen of Raines\u2019 rocks around the warehouse.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople walk around the warehouse with smiles on their faces and talk about the rocks,\u201d Nance said. \u201cWhen you do your job on a day to day basis, finding one of Yongie\u2019s rocks really makes a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the rocks Nance found bore an inspirational message that said the person who finds the stone is capable of doing amazing things. The rock immediately added a bright spot to her workday, she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho would have thought,\u201d Nance said, \u201cthat a simple rock would make that much of a difference?\u201d<\/p>\n

Facebook-Friendly Version: <\/strong>At the Army & Air Force Exchange Service Waco Distribution Center, Assistant Manager Yongie Raines is spreading kindness\u2014one rock at a time. Read more: https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Q7PG-RF<\/a>.<\/p>\n

— 30 —<\/p>\n

Since 1895, the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (Exchange) has gone where Soldiers, Airmen and their families go to improve the quality of their lives by providing valued goods and services at exclusive military pricing. The Exchange is the 61st-largest retailer in the United States. Its earnings provided $2.4 billion in dividends to support military morale, welfare and recreation programs over the last 10 years. The Exchange is a non-appropriated fund entity of the Department of Defense and is directed by a Board of Directors. The Exchange is a 50th Anniversary Vietnam War Commemorative Partner, planning and conducting events and activities that recognize the service, valor and sacrifice of Vietnam Veterans and their families in conjunction with the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration. To find out more about the Exchange history and mission or to view recent press releases please visit our website at http:\/\/www.shopmyexchange.com<\/a> or follow us on Twitter at https:\/\/twitter.com\/ExchangePAO<\/a>.<\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n

Media Notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

For more information or to schedule an interview with an Exchange representative, please contact Steve Smith, 214-312-3831 or smithstev@aafes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Follow the Exchange:<\/p>\n

Facebook:\u00a0 www.facebook.com\/shopmyexchange<\/a><\/p>\n

Twitter:\u00a0 https:\/\/twitter.com\/shopmyexchange<\/a><\/p>\n

Instagram: @shopmyexchange<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WACO, Texas \u2013 Around the Army & Air Force Exchange Service\u2019s She Rocks \u2026 and Her Army & Air Force Exchange Service Co-Workers in Waco Roll with HappinessWaco Distribution Center, employees are finding rocks. But these aren\u2019t just any rocks. These are brightly painted masterpieces with everything from holiday scenes to cat faces to inspirational […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":3331,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"The Army & Air Force Exchange Service's Yongie Raines is spreading kindness\u2014one rock at a time.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[25],"tags":[33,36,39,65],"class_list":["post-3327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press_releases","tag-press-release","tag-public-affairs","tag-the-army-air-force-exchange-service","tag-waco"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/2019\/01\/24\/she-rocks-and-her-army-air-force-exchange-service-co-workers-in-waco-roll-with-happiness\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"She Rocks \u2026 and Her Army & Air Force Exchange Service Co-Workers in Waco Roll with Happiness","url":"http:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/2019\/01\/24\/she-rocks-and-her-army-air-force-exchange-service-co-workers-in-waco-roll-with-happiness\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/2019\/01\/24\/she-rocks-and-her-army-air-force-exchange-service-co-workers-in-waco-roll-with-happiness\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/01\/rock3-1-e1548347736842.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/01\/rock3-1-e1548347736842.jpg"},"articleSection":"Press Releases","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Marisa Conner"}],"creator":["Marisa Conner"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Exchange Newsroom","logo":""},"keywords":["press release","public affairs","the army & air force exchange service","waco"],"dateCreated":"2019-01-24T16:43:43Z","datePublished":"2019-01-24T16:43:43Z","dateModified":"2019-01-24T17:00:00Z"},"rendered":"