Lt. Col. Frank Marilao, assistant chief of staff, Marine Corps Community Services, prepares himself and his fellow Marines to cut a bright red ribbon during the Grand Re-Opening and 35th Anniversary Celebration of the Sandy Hills Bowling Center, Jan. 29, 2015.

“MCCS Headquarters has a vision about improving the infrastructure of the bases, so they’ve given the installation commanders the ability, through their MCCS Directors, to determine which infrastructure needs attention, and Headquarters gave us the specific funds to update our bowling alleys,” said Marilao.

Sandy Hills Bowling Center re-opened with a newly updated interior and equipment, such as touch-screen control panels and 26 interactive bowling games. Sandy Hills also installed new sofas to lounge on while patrons wait for their turn to bowl, coffee tables, and new ball feeders according to Todd Makovsky, manager of Sandy Hills Bowling Center.

The re-opening Celebration was open to everyone and began at 11 a.m., concluding at midnight. At the event, there was a Marine versus Pizza Eating Contest at 6 p.m. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners were awarded prizes. Giveaways were given to the first 250 visitors who attended the celebration newly. The Gametime Grill, located inside the bowling alley, offered a "make your lunch a combo" for free from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

One of the Marines who attended the event was Chief Warrant Officer 2 Linda Marks, Airfield Company, Marine Wing Support Squadron 374, native of Oakland, Calif., and was accompanied by her fellow Marines.

“[Marines] work a lot and get wrapped up in operations of the job, which is important, but we need to build that relationship with one another and the Marines are having a blast,” Marks said.