Category Archives: Centers

In the Name of Love, USO of Illinois Connects Military Couples

Posted on February 14, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Long deployments away from home can put a strain on military marriages.

To help couples communicate and stay connected, the USO of Illinois wanted to provide an opportunity for some local troops to share a romantic getaway with their spouses.

This center, made up of six locations, came up with a video challenge.

The “How Do I Love Thee?” Valentine’s Day Getaway contest asked troops and spouses to create a creative, compelling video about why they love their valentine.  Contestants entered on Youtube, and the USO of Illinois put the top three videos online for voting.

Today, they announced the two winning couples on their website. Congratulations to Lindsey and Curt Borjas of the U.S. Marine Corps and Mindy and Mark Maroon of the National Guard!

Watch Lindsey and Curt’s winning video:

Watch Mindy and Mark’s winning video:

The lucky couples won a weekend getaway including a romantic carriage ride at the Eaglewood Resort and Spa in Itasca, Illinois.

Thanks to Media, Marketing, and Public Relations Director, Beth Polio and Programs Manager, Dayna Malow, for organizing the contest and making the arrangements with Eaglewood.

The USO of Illinois’ Valentine’s Day contest is just one example of how USO centers around the world work hard to keep military couples and their loved ones connected.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all of America’s troops and families! – Sarah Camille Hipp, Communications Specialist

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Posted in Centers, Families

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The Great American Love Story

Posted on February 9, 2012 by | Leave a comment

The Greatest Generation told some of the most romantic war-time love stories.

An Airman paints his girl’s figure onto the nose of his warplane and she wears his bomber jacket around town, whistling their song from the night they met at a USO dance.

Almost three-quarters of a century later, romantic stories of love and separation in a time of war have begun to re-emerge.

The plot remains the largely same: boy meets girl, boy (or girl) goes off  to war, they write to each other, and when (s)he gets  home, they get married.

***

It was a Sunday afternoon when Lindsay Banks was working the send-off shift at the Dallas / Ft. Worth USO, saying goodbye to troops as they returned to combat after a period of R&R (Rest and Recuperation).

Originally from Iowa, she moved to Dallas after college and began volunteering at the local USO to meet new people and support her troops. She met her best friend there, and her roommate. She never expected to meet the man of her dreams.

But then it happened.

A single Airman stood apart from the crowd. Lindsay was shy, and it would be against USO protocol to approach him.  Luckily, he struck up a conversation with her and they spoke for almost an hour.

When it was time for him to board, they exchanged email addresses, said their goodbyes, and she reluctantly watched him go.

***

Four months and dozens of emails later, her Airman was finally coming home. They had become friends while he was gone.  Now, they would meet again in the same airport—in the same terminal.

“I was shaking,” she recalled. “I REALLY liked him. But did he like me just as much?”

The airport seemed like Grand Central Station that day as she scanned the crowd for her man in uniform.   Then, she realized he was right behind her.  When she turned around, their eyes locked.

They shared their first kiss that day, but they both realized it wouldn’t be their last.

The  Killoughs tied the knot a year later and remain happily married today.

Happy Valentine’s Day Richard and Lindsay Killough! – Joseph Andrew Lee, USO Staff Writer

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day and LOVE, please share your story of how USO  Centers overseas have helped your loved ones stay connected during their deployments.

Lindsay and Richard Killough on their wedding day. Courtesy photo

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Posted in Centers, Troops, Volunteers

A New Home

Posted on January 26, 2012 by | 1 Comment

Once I started working for the USO my friends in the service began sending me text messages whenever they stopped by   a USO Center.  Usually they are just passing through an airport and only have  time to grab a cup of coffee, but the texts usually read something like “volunteers were so friendly!” or “everyone was so helpful, tell them thank you!”.  Having visited many centers through my work with the USO, this never comes as a surprise.  Our volunteers and staff are known for providing outstanding service to our nation’s men and women in uniform and their families.  Yet, on a recent trip alongside a military family, I had the opportunity to witness first-hand how our centers go above and beyond to make America’s heroes feel at home wherever they are.

The Harris family gets a look around after being greeted by Ty Pennington as the Extreme Makeover Home Edition provides a house for the Shilo Harris family outside of Floresville, Texas on January 21, 2012. Photo: Express-News, TOM REEL / © 2012

The Texas family of four was traveling to Germany as part of a special Extreme Makeover: Home Edition that will air later this year.  The mother works as an Army advocate for wounded service members and the father is an Iraq war veteran with burns covering 60% of his body.  As a result of his injuries, the father tires easily and has problems regulating body temperature which makes traveling across multiple time zones and varying climates challenging, especially with a two year old son and nine year old daughter in tow.

As part of the television production we were treated to many amazing sights, smells and tastes that Germany has to offer.  Yet, where I saw the family the happiest and most comfortable, was the final day spent at the USO Warrior Center located adjacent to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC).  With a fire “burning” in the fireplace (it’s a faux fireplace), a movie playing, spaghetti cooking on the stove, garlic bread in the oven and homemade carrot cake being cut on the counter, it felt like home.  The staff and volunteers immediately embraced the family, enlisting the daughter’s help to serve spaghetti and swapping Army wife stories with mom.

The family knew several people at the center as the father had been treated at LRMC following the IED explosion that wounded him in Iraq.  Yet, being in the room, you would have thought you had walked in on a family reunion.   That is what the USO does.  Whether you are in a USO Center in Europe, the Pacific, Afghanistan or the states, the USO creates an atmosphere of home, inclusion and support for our nation’s heroes and their families.  Thank you, USO team – especially USO Georgia and USO San Antonio, for making this family’s journey truly a special one. - Andrea Sok, USO Communications Manager

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Posted in Centers, Europe, Support, Troops, US, USO Warrior & Family Care

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USO President Visits Afghanistan

Posted on December 23, 2011 by | Leave a comment

In December, USO President Sloan Gibson and SVP of Operations Alan Reyes visited the Middle East, including a NATO hospital and Southwest Asian USO Centers such as recently recognized USO Kandahar! Check out some of the great pictures here and read more about the Christmas Convoy at USO.org!

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Posted in Centers, Southwest Asia

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USO Kandahar Recognized for Quick Thinking

Posted on December 20, 2011 by | 1 Comment

It’s pouring rain.

There seems to be no end in sight to this storm, and you’ve got tons of electronics and furniture inside what amounts to little more than a field tent in the middle of Afghanistan.

The water starts creeping in. Everything could be ruined. What do you do?

The waters rose and rose and rose.

“Jesse Boyles and Jillian Ferron were on shift as the water came into the center,” said USO Kandahar center manager Richard McCarty, in an email response to USO President Sloan Gibson, explaining what happened after a recent storm flooded the Center.

“They took quick and important steps to ensure the safety of the customers in regards to electricity and the protection of the center’s valuable furniture and electronics by cutting breakers as needed to provide safety,” he added. “But also minimizing the inconvenience to the people stuck inside still watching TV’s and on phones.”

"We quickly moved as much as we could to the highest point in the tent, pushing most of the furniture to the middle of the tent. "

Boyles and Ferron, along with the rest of the staff and volunteers of USO Kandahar, were recently presented the President’s Award for performance above and beyond the call of duty when they experienced the unfortunate reality of operating in a field environment – in a third-world country – in a combat zone.

The President’s Award is presented to individuals whose contributions have had a significant impact on their department and the organization. Ferron’s contribution alone, by quickly rounding up a work detail to get 30 cloth La-z-Boy chairs in the theater stacked on the high end of the room, saved the USO more than $4,500.

According to Gary Bibeau, regional vice president, the entire floor of the Kandahar USO center was underwater for a period of time. The flood ran through the entire center, depositing mud on the both the floor and on the furniture.

“By the time I got there, the staff and volunteers had taken the furniture and electronics out and put it all in storage, limiting any damage,” wrote Bibeau in follow-up documentation.

The it was time to clean up!

The clean-up effort that began the following morning would take two-and-a-half days to complete, but employees Penn Walker, Blair Ciccocioppo and Randy Montesi all joined Boyles and Ferron first thing in the morning to start the arduous work of removing 8,000 square feet of ruined flooring and carpet and sweeping out the excess water and mud.

Unfortunately it wasn’t just water the team was stuck cleaning up. Several of the outdoor port-o-johns were also tipped over, adding some sewage to the soaking mess. Because of concerns about mold and toxic material in the water, Bibeau had the local Navy medical unit come in to do a health inspection after the site was cleaned up, and it has since been cleared for safe occupancy once again.

“I would like to make special recognition of Erin Mintmier, who was at the center during the flooding and took the leadership of the clean up and volunteer coordination,” said McCarty. “We faced a tremendous amount of work and … the first difficult steps were to organize … how we can direct the volunteers to help,” he added. “It was in this aspect that Erin really shined as a leader.”

Through their teamwork and excellent leadership, USO Kandahar weathered the storm, and for that, we as an organization now stand that much stronger beside them. Congratulations on your recent recognition and keep up the great work! – Joseph Andrew Lee, USO Staff Writer

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Posted in Centers, Southwest Asia, Troops

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Project USO Elf Delivers Holiday Gifts to Enlisted Families

Posted on December 16, 2011 by | 1 Comment

Army SSG Shafonda Gore literally jumped with joy the moment she was unexpectedly handed two iPod Touch devices last night a Fort Belvoir, Va., in addition to a pile of gifts specifically purchased for her two young boys.

Corporate sponsors Ratheon, Microsoft, and ATK donated 150 bicycles to military families during Project USO Elf, Dec. 15, 2011, at Ft. Belvoir, Va. Several volunteers from each corporation also came out to help assemble the bicycles and deliver gifts.

“Are you serious?” she said as she suspiciously looked back and forth over her shoulders.

“A gift from us, for your service,” said Ashley Vanarsdall Burke, vice president of communications for DynCorp International, as she delivered the two devices, together with chargers and cases to the 17-year veteran currently undergoing treatment for Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress at Fort Belvoir.

Project USO Elf is a unique holiday gift program, run by USO of Metropolitan Washington, that matches wish lists from the children of junior enlisted, active duty families with local sponsors in the community, including corporations, organizations, families and individuals.

Employee volunteers from Raytheon, Microsoft, TASK, Inc., Lockheed Martin, ATK and The Boeing Company teamed up with the USO to build bicycles for 1,600 local military children, and last night, the finished bikes and other gifts were hand delivered to military families.

“This is such a great program,” said Burke, who enjoyed watching the reaction of unsuspecting parents when she added the iPod Touch devices to their haul. “To see the smile on their faces was just so rewarding. These families deserve all the help we can give to them right now, and I am so glad we could do any little thing to help during a tough time.

Ashley Vanarsdall Burke (right), vice president of communications for DynCorp International, adds an iPod Touch (one of 1,600 donated by DynCorp) to a pile of presents, fulfilling the holiday wish lists of junior enlisted troops at Fort Belvoir, Va

“Our company [DynCorp International] is 65 percent veterans, so anywhere we can reach back out to the military community and make a difference, we are there,” she added. When the USO called and told me how many children they had registered for the program, the stars must have been aligned, because at the same moment I had an overstock of exactly 1,600 iPod Touch devices. The USO is a great organization and programs like this are truly making an impact. We’re proud to be a part of it.”

Warren Stewart, program manager for military intelligence with Microsoft, helped build 50 bicycles last month at Fort Belvoir, and was also on hand last night to help with the heavy lifting.

“If building the bikes wasn’t rewarding enough, being here to personally give them to military families was over the top,” said Stewart. “I’m prior service myself, so giving back through the USO is a no-brainer. They’ve got my number, and I’m here to help with anything – anytime they call.”

Jodie Silverlock, an instructor with Lockheed Martin, has volunteered for years with her son, stuffing care packages with USO of Metropolitan Washington.

“Now he’s stationed in Afghanistan,” she said, “and we’re sending care packages to him,” said Silverlock. “Five years ago I would have never imagined, but here we are, and I’m so proud to volunteer for the USO.”

As holiday music echoed through the warehouse, cookies were passed around, and USO volunteers sorted through piles of red bags with smiles on their faces, individually calling out the names of families who had registered with the program.

“Holidays are especially important for military families who often experience extended separations,” said Elaine Rogers, president of the USO of Metropolitan Washington. “The continued generosity of the community makes it possible for USO-Metro to serve the troops and their families, and we are truly grateful for the support and generous donations from our corporate partners and individuals in our local community.” - Joseph Andrew Lee, USO Staff Writer

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Posted in Centers, Donations, Families

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