By Catharin Shepard • Editor • As Euniceteen Diggs and her family prepared Friday afternoon to cut the ribbon on the Tango Kilo Event Center, a gust of wind came along and knocked the portrait of her daughter, the late Air Force Chief Master Sergeant Tresse Z. King, off of its stand.

Amid the surprise from the crowd at the interruption, and as people rushed to right the portrait, there was a knowing laugh from loved ones: Tresse wanted to make sure she was included. When Diggs took up the scissors again and cut the ribbon, it was with her daughter’s portrait held front and center.

The grand opening for Tango Kilo Event Center, located at 128 North Main Street in Raeford, was a tribute to the Chief Master Sergeant as much as it was the start of something exciting and new. The décor is themed to Air Force blue with white and silver accents, and the name, “Tango Kilo,” are her initials – “T.K.” for Tresse King.

King was the kind of leader who cared deeply for the people under her command, speaker General Jones said. In remarks at the ceremony, he remembered how King would give out little messages of encouragement.

“She would come to you at a stressful time. She would open her hand and tell you to pick one…it was always right on time. After a tough meeting, she would open her hand, you’d pick it up, and it said something like, ‘smile.’ Or if she caught me in the office late at night, at 11 o’clock, she would knock on the door, open her hand, and I would pull that message and it would say something as simple as ‘go home.’ That was Chief,” he said.

Her good judgment and advice helped many people during her 30-year career in the Air Force.

“This is not routine. This was a leader of such unimpeachable integrity and wisdom, someone that could be trusted to advise on a variety of matters in a clear signal that her leadership was truly exceptional,” the speaker said. “To fully appreciate what I saw in her is vital to understanding what it means to be a Chief. It is not just another rank, it is a sacred station. It represents the absolute pinnacle of an enlisted career that precious few reach. This rank is restricted by federal law to the top one percent of the entire enlisted force.”

“Imagine that, out of every 100 men and women who join our Air Force, only one will have the honor and the immense responsibility of wearing the eight stripes of a Chief Master Sergeant. They are more than senior NCOs, they are guardians of our standards. Keepers of our heritage and the shapers of our culture. The single most important relationship that a commander has is with the Chief. They are our most trusted advisors, our confidantes and the ones who always give us the unvarnished truth.”

“Does that sound like Chief King?” he asked. “And it didn’t matter how difficult those words needed to be. They are the vital bridge between the command and the enlisted forces, and Tresse wasn’t just the one percent, she defined it. She was the avatar of what every Chief should aspire to be.”

King died in Kuwait in 2021 at the age of 54, in a noncombat-related incident. She was supporting Operation Inherent Resolve at the time of her passing, battling against ISIS in areas of Iraq and Syria.

King’s first assignment was at Pope Air Force Base in the early 1990s. Throughout her career she was stationed across the world including in Korea and Japan, and at Air Force bases in the United States. In 2016 she chose to have the ceremony promoting her to chief master sergeant during halftime at a basketball game at the University of Colorado, where her son played basketball, to be able to include her son and daughter in the event.

The speaker recounted that story in remarks, and concluded by sharing King’s motto.

“It is therefore profoundly fitting that the Tango Kilo Event Center, a place that will host numerous community events, celebrations, for generations to come, will bear her name. This will be a place for families to come together, for friendships to be forged and for our community to connect, the very thing that Tressa championed throughout her life. Let this center stand as a permanent source of inspiration for all. When they walk through those doors for any number of reasons, let them see her name and ask her story. Let them learn her motto: Not everyone is able, but everyone is capable.”

Diggs addressed the crowd to thank everyone for coming to attend the grand opening.

“We want you to come and enjoy it. If you have a special event, we want you to come and use us. Tressa would be so proud,” she said. “Tressa’s sister is here and her daughter is here, please give them a hand. I appreciate all of you coming.”

The Raeford-Hoke Chamber of Commerce board members and local elected officials attended to support the new venture.

For more information on what Tango Kilo Event Center has to offer, call (910) 315-1760 or email tkeventctr@gmail.com.