25-03-2025
Local Air Force veteran volunteers, gives back to Youngstown VA
AUSTINTOWN, Ohio (WKBN)- Every Tuesday in March we're introducing you to a remarkable woman from right here in the Valley.
For Lori Stone, it all comes back to family, her own children and grandchildren, the family she made through her military service, and her volunteer family.
Lori Stone's military journey started in 1965. She enlisted after graduating from Austintown Fitch.
That was my dream. and back then you might not have known but women were only 2% of the force enlisted,' Stone said.
She completed basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, and was stationed in the Philipines during the Vietnam War before returning to Texas, and then back to Ohio. She retired in 2006 after 33 years of service.
'Back when I started in '65 they never dreamed a woman would go above E-7. So retiring as a chief as an E-9 I kind of went in at 2% and I left at 2% because they had control on how many could be E-9s at that time in the Air Force.'
A year after retiring, she was looking for more to do.
'I happened to run into a friend of mine and she goes, why not check into volunteering at the VA?'
It started with a few days a week at the Youngstown VA Clinic, then became even more involved when she became the volunteer liaison in 2013.
'You know what the key thing is about the volunteers, they're not doing it for money, but from the heart,' she said.
At the VA, she started a fundraising campaign to get a new van to transport veterans. She helped expand the Youngstown VA's food pantry.
'The food pantry working like it is, it seems like that has helped so many more people than anticipated,' she said.
She has received several awards. including the 2018 Veteran of the Year by the United Veterans Council of Youngstown. In 2019, she was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.
'When they put my name in, I said 'ok, sure,' I never dreamed I was going to get it,' Stone said.
With all her honors, Stone's greatest accomplishment is her family.
'I wouldn't be anyplace without Denise and Tammy, my two daughters, and my mother. those three ladies believed in me,' Stone said.
She volunteers every day with her other family.
It's the friendship, the other volunteers, the staff, I miss them, they're part of the family,' Stone said.
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