Photo By Monica Wood | Forty-one Soldiers and civilian volunteers were recognized in a ceremony Aug. 25, 2022...... read more read more
Subscribe
FORT SILL, Okla. (Aug. 29, 2022) – Forty-one volunteers on Fort Sill were recognized in a ceremony at the Patriot Club Aug. 25, 2022. The volunteers recognized at the August ceremony include all of the following.
Pinese Holt was nominated by 66th Forward Support Battalion, 3rd Battalion, 13th Field Artillery, 75th Fires Brigade, for her active support of families and Soldiers during the unit’s rotation to the Republic of China.
Staff Sgt. Coty McEwen, nominated by D Battery, 1st Battalion, 78th Field Artillery, 428th FA Brigade, has volunteered as a youth sports coach for football, wrestling and baseball in the Lawton/Fort Sill area since 2017.
Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Olvera was recognized but did not attend the ceremony.
Sgt. 1st Class Ramon Vazquez, nominated by 1st Battalion, 78th Field Artillery, 428th Brigade, has volunteered as a Jiu-Jitsu instructor at a local mixed martial arts gym for the past 18 months. Vazquez teaches adults and children, instilling discipline, resilience and the ability to defend oneself across the Lawton/Fort Sill community.
Spc. Kyle Beeman, nominated by Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 2nd Battalion, 4th Field Artillery “Deep Attack,” has volunteered as a firefighter at the Wichita Mountains Estate Fire Department since March of 2022. Beeman has assisted in fighting five fires and been on three medical emergency calls, protecting people and property in the Lawton/Fort Sill community.
Staff Sgt. Lonnie Francis, nominated by 67th Forward Support Company, 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery, has served as a volunteer firefighter since arriving at Fort Sill. His passion is giving back to the community and he has cross-trained as an emergency medical technician, enabling him to respond to both medical and fire emergencies.
Staff Sgt. Darlene Leija, nominated by Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 75th Fires Brigade, has dedicated numerous hours of her off duty time volunteering as the head coach for the Lawton Predators FC U10 boys’ soccer team and as a coaching assistant for a Lawton Predators girls’ youth soccer team.
Tom, Debbie and Wyatt Meyers, nominated by Fort Sill garrison, have dedicated many hours volunteering for the annual summer Vacation Bible School on Fort Sill. They begin planning six months before the event to create an environment that excites children and inspires them to participate.
Sgt. Chris Ford was nominated by the City of Elgin for assisting with their “Sounds of Freedom” Festival. Ford volunteered for the two-day event, working in over 100-degree to erect the stage, lighting, sound and additional support.
James and Leann Enderle, nominated by USO Oklahoma for volunteering for more than four years and donating over 1900 hours of volunteer time. Programs they have worked include Fueling the Forces Free Lunch; Saturday Free Brunches; Cadre Resiliency Programs; Battalion Organization Days; Deployments; Redeployments; Marine Detachment Breakfasts; Thanksgiving Lunches; and AIT Graduations.
Command Sgt. Maj. Carrie Rodriguez and her son Rudy, nominated by the Fort Sill Thrift Shop, where they have been faithful volunteers since August 2021. They assist with consignments, processing donations, tagging items, and keeping the shop neat and tidy. Carrie spends over 20 hours a week at the shop and is their publicity chairperson. Her dedication has increased traffic through the thrift shop, increasing sales and allowing more money to give back to the Lawton/Fort Sill community.
Pfc. Ashley Montoya, nominated by 1st Battalion, 31st Field Artillery, for volunteering with the Lawton, Oklahoma, Special Olympics and helping organize the events and participants. She volunteered for the battalion Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers (BOSS) program. She has also volunteered in local food drives to provide needed food for the hungry.
Staff Sgt. Windell Anuntak, nominated by Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, 19th Field Artillery, for participating in a variety of volunteer jobs including beautification projects with the City of Lawton’s Annual Trash Off; collecting and organizing items at the Lawton Food Bank; and volunteering in the Tour de Wichita. He is a supporter of the BOSS Program and the Veterans of Foreign Wars where he and his family assisted in placing American flags on gravestones at the Fort Sill National Cemetery.
Sgt. 1st Class John Redding, nominated by Headquarters, A Battery, 3rd Battalion, 6th Air Defense Artillery for volunteering to serve as Range Safety Officer to support the Oklahoma Educators Self Defense training course. He recently trained 14 Oklahoma educators in firearms safety, employment and manipulations in order to provide a safe, comfortable and free platform for Oklahoma educators to train in a much-needed skill.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jesus Arellano, Jr., nominated by 3rd Battalion, 6th Air and Missile Defense Test Detachment, 30th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, for his support of outdoor recreational activities for his local community. He created a nonprofit foundation, Mountain Action Sports – El Paso, founded in 2020 with the goal of advocating for and raising resources to support outdoor recreation. He and his organization have been responsible for the rehabilitation and creation of dozens of bike trails.
Mel Smith, nominated by Army Community Service, Directorate of Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation, for her service at Army Community Service (ACS) and the Retirement Services Office at Fort Sill. Since February 2022, she has accumulated over 200 hours of volunteer service. At ACS, she has filed hundreds of files, organized numerous cabinets and supplies, assisted at several outreach briefs and events and served as an intake and reception volunteer at the front desk.
Tabitha Jenkins was nominated by the Patriot Spouse’s Club for her volunteer work as the social media chair for the Patriot Spouse’s Club. Jenkins has been a tremendous support with all of the incredible videos and posts she has made. She volunteered countless hours on the club’s social media pages, events, youth groups and meetings.
Sgt. 1st Class Michael Scholl, Staff Sgt. Michael Simmons, Spc. Samantha Peace and Sgt. Joshua Beck were nominated by 3rd Battalion, 2nd Air Defense Artillery, for their volunteer work in Elgin. They spent eight hours cleaning up a park, trimming trees and bushes and giving back to the community.
Spc. Toyvian Brand, Spc. Rondell Humphries, Spc. Anthony Simon, were nominated by 3rd Battalion, 2nd Air Defense Artillery, for volunteering on the first day of school to be a crossing guard, helping keep the new students and parents safe as they were arriving at the school
Spc. Caleb Zatazelo, Spc. Linda Piercy and Pfc. Anthony Lawless were nominated by 3rd Battalion, 2nd Air Defense Artillery, for directing traffic at Woodland Hills Elementary School in uniform for the first day of school. These Soldiers ensured that everyone was able to navigate safely and efficiently.
Darlene Stamm, Kellee Lee, Kylee Schriver, Lindee Luper and Sara Young were nominated by the Field Artillery Association for “graciously assisting the association with various events in support of the Field Artillery Symposium in May. They supported three days of events including a golf tournament, a hall of fame dinner and the two-day symposium.”
Janie Billingsley, Josh Cobble, Kateryna Rudenko and Anastasia Uspenskaia were nominated by Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation for various programs.
“The United States Army Fires Center of Excellence and Fort Sill conducts Volunteer Recognition Night, every other month, to recognize volunteers from across the installation for their outstanding efforts and selfless services supporting the Lawton-Fort Sill Community. All organizations are asked to submit one volunteer or family nomination per event so we can celebrate and recognize those individuals and families suitably,” said Tiffany Denard, coordinator, Army Volunteer Corps, Army Community Service.
Check out all the volunteer photos at https://www.flickr.com/photos/33078251@N03/52320045199/in/album-72177720301690588/.
| Date Taken: | 08.25.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 08.30.2022 16:59 |
| Story ID: | 428346 |
| Location: | FORT SILL, OKLAHOMA, US |
| Web Views: | 145 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Fort Sill recognizes volunteers with ceremony at Patriot Club, Aug. 25, 2022, by Monica Wood, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
