The idea of an online bulletin board that served the military communities came about after a real life experience of PCS’ing from the United States mainland to Hawaii. During the packing phase of our move, we found that we had many things that we needed to either sell or donate. We considered having a yard sale but yard sales were not permitted in the neighborhood that we lived in. We also considered posting an ad in the local newspaper but we were short on time and we couldn’t justify the cost. Unfortunately, due to time constraints and convenience, we were forced to throw things away or drop them off at a Goodwill station.
Upon our arrival to Hawaii, we were faced with the opposite problem that we were faced with upon our departure from the mainland. We were in need of things but didn’t know how to go about acquiring them. We were unfamiliar with the area so when we saw items for sale in the local newspaper, we were hesitant about venturing out to try and find them Not only that but we were concerned about safety issues. Being in a new environment means not knowing what areas are “safe” and what areas are not so “safe”.
Some of the things that we needed were fairly basic. They included a second vehicle since the government only allowed for the shipment of one vehicle. We needed baby clothes and a crib. One very big need that we had was that of a babysitter. It was at this point that we started researching what resources were available so that we could find what we needed. As is the case at most bases, our base had a lemon lot. Quite a large one in-fact. We discovered that the base charged a fee of $32 a month to park the vehicles there. The base had a consignment store with baby items but we were not authorized to “shop” there due to our rank. Lastly, we needed a babysitter for those Friday night dates! Finding a sitter that we trusted proved to be a very difficult task. Thankfully, we had a friend that recommended theirs to us.
Once we settled into our new home, we began thinking about our relocation experience and how it could have been better. We considered many different areas and processes for improvement including how we could effectively buy, sell and donate “stuff” within our military community. That was the moment that the “light” went on! Immediately, we began to brainstorm. Naturally, we felt that the internet was the vehicle necessary to revolutionize the way military communities buy, sell and donate stuff to each other. So we did some research and found a few internet sites that offered services similiar to what we had in mind. We were not satisfied with the other sites primarily because they looked unprofessional, neglected and most importantly, unknown! We inquired with a large number of military people to see if they had ever heard of a service such as what we were proposing and the majority said that they had not. We conducted a survey to gather data on the idea and the response was overwhelmingly in support of such a service. This only encouraged us to move forward.
For the next year and a half, we researched and planned and made into a reality what you see today in the form of BaseBulletinBoard.com. This site is maintained entirely by military people for military people. The concept is simple; we have taken the functionality of a traditional bulletin board and transformed it into a professional and powerful website service for all United States military communities to use. We hope that you find this site to be a useful tool. If it is, great! Please let your military family and friends know about it. If not, send us some feedback and let us know how we can make it better. Our goal is to provide a world-class service for our brothers and sisters in the military!
