Latest news with #VeteranoftheYear
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
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. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
GALLERY: Veterans Council ‘Veteran of the Year' Ed Gizara at Greening of the Fountain
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — The Veterans Council, along with the 2024 Veteran of the Year, Ed Gizara, were present for this year's greening of the Forsyth Park Fountain. Check out some of the photo's from the festivities today. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'He served his community for decades': Hattiesburg icon Charles J. Brown dies at 86
Charles Brown spent most of his life doing things to benefit the people of his hometown. The Hattiesburg native was a man of faith, who always had a smile and a helping hand to lend. Brown died Feb. 6, but his legacy will continue for generations. He was 86. Because of his service to his community, Brown's name is engraved on many plaques on public buildings around the Hub City, including City Hall (as the first Veteran of the Year); the Library of Hattiesburg, Petal and Forrest County; the Lake Terrace Convention Center and other Hattiesburg Convention Commission entities including the Saenger Theater, African-American Military History Museum, Kamper Park and Zoo and Eureka School. In 2024, Brown established an endowed scholarship fund at his alma mater, William Carey University, to help Hattiesburg High School graduates who plan to go into the field of education. 'Charles J. Brown was exactly the kind of graduate we want at William Carey University," WCU President Ben Burnett said in an email. "He served his country, his family, his community for decades and his legacy will live on to serve this university for generations to come." Long before making a lasting commitment to WCU, Brown was a founding member of the Hattiesburg Convention Commission, where he contributed to the guidance of the commission's entities, beginning with the Lake Terrace Convention Center and ending with the Sixth Street Museum District, which puts a spotlight on the city's African American struggles and successes. 'As a founding member of the Commission, I have had the privilege of working with Mr. Brown for more than three decades,' Rick Taylor, executive director of the Hattiesburg Convention Commission, said in a statement. 'Mr. Brown was instrumental in helping guide and transition the Commission from its initial mission of creating and managing the Lake Terrace Convention Center to becoming what it is today, which is a catalyst and developer of attractions that not only improve the quality of life of the people who enjoy them but also grow the economy of our city.' The Convention Commission also operates amenities such as the city's zoo, water park and historic Saenger Theater. 'Our community should be forever grateful for his service,' Taylor said. Education: Hattiesburg's Charles Brown endows scholarship at Carey. 'So much has been given to me' The African American Military History Museum at the historic USO and the Historic Eureka School were among Brown's favorite restoration projects of the HCC, according to commission officials. They held sentimental value to him because of the role they played in his personal life, they said in an email. 'It is hard to put into words what Mr. Brown meant to me and the District," said Latoya Norman, director of museums for the Sixth Street Museum District. "I began working with the Commission in 2008 with very little military history knowledge, so meeting someone like Mr. Brown with his kind of experience was a bit intimidating, but I will always remember him welcoming me with open arms and offering unwavering support from the very beginning. "He was much more than a commissioner and committee member — he was our family and we will miss him tremendously.' Brown attended the historic Eureka School before graduating from L.J. Rowan in 1958, and worked as a janitor at the local community center formerly known as the East Sixth Street USO. Brown was a sergeant first class in the Army, where he served 11 years. He was honorably discharged in 1969 for medical reasons, but not before he earned two Purple Hearts, two Bronze Stars for valor and many other citations while with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam. Following his military service, Brown returned to Hattiesburg and attended William Carey University, graduating in 1973. After graduation, he joined the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, where he worked until he retired in 2000. Brown was a lifelong member of True Light Missionary Baptist Church, where he served in many roles. "One of the many times I was honored to hear Mr. Brown speak in public, he talked about the journey that brought him to William Carey University," Burnett said. "He said that he chose William Carey because it was somewhere he could pray." Brown is survived by his three children, including twin sons, Jerome Brown and Jermaine Brown, and seven grandchildren. Visitation for Charles Brown will begin at 8 a.m. Friday at the Hattiesburg Saenger Theater, 201 Forrest St., followed by a service at 11 a.m., also at the Saenger. Memorial donations may be made to the Charles J. Brown Scholarship Fund at William Carey University at Forrest Funeral Home of Hattiesburg is handling arrangements. Lici Beveridge is a reporter for the Hattiesburg American and Clarion Ledger. Contact her at lbeveridge@ Follow her on X @licibev or Facebook at This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Charles J. Brown remembered at Saenger Theater service in Hattiesburg
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Legacy Keepers honor veterans, leaders, youth
Muskogee High graduate Donald Reaves said it's been 'a good journey,' going from Summit through 28 years in the armed forces. 'Who'd ever think a boy from Summit, Oklahoma, would grow up to be anything,' Reaves said upon receiving the Veteran of the Year award at Saturday's Legacy Keepers R Us bruncheon. The event, held at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, honored 26 people, plus the Tullahassee Wildcats Foundation. It included a light continental breakfast and lunch. Reaves, now an Oklahoma City resident, said 'there are so many people who went on this journey with me.' 'I never went into the military to get awards and accolades,' he said. 'At the time I went in, there were few opportunities for me to get a job in Muskogee. I had to find my way. I didn't want to go to college so I went into the military. Twenty-eight years and one day later, I got out.' Reaves spent four years in the U.S. Air Force and 24 years in the U.S. Army reserve. Dennis Wilhite, who presented the award, said Reaves retired from the military in 2004 and from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections in 2015. Awards were presented to Legends with a long record of community service, Legacy Keepers currently serving the community and Pacesetters and youth who could continue serving the community. Former Muskogee County Commissioner Dexter Payne and his son, current County Commissioner Kenny Payne received two awards. Dexter Payne, presented with a Legends Award, said he appreciates 'the fact that someone thinks I did a good job.' Kenny Payne, presented with a Legacy Keepers Award, said 'the community has invested a lot in me and my family, and we try to give back by investing in our community.' 'There's been a lot of people who helped my dad along the way and a lot of people who helped me along the way,' the younger Payne said. ' and I consider it as much an honor them as it is for us.' Rhonda Grayson and the Doug Good family were honored for seeking to restore and preserve historic Black cemeteries. Awards also were presented honoring people who have died. Historian and event coordinator ShironButterfly said Legacy Keepers seeks to share stories. She compared the project to the PBS program 'Finding Your Roots,' in which guests have their family lineage traced. Ray said the show sometimes has surprises. 'You find out who you thought were your relatives aren't really your relatives,' Ray said. 'Some people shy away from studying, 'I wanted to know and I was told stop being sassy. My motto is, 'let's dig to the truth. Who IS your daddy? Who's your daddy's daddy?'' Ray said Legacy Keepers has inducted more than 200 people since the ceremonies began nine years ago. 'The youngest was 9, the eldest was 103,' Ray said. She said 103-year-old Bernice Walker was grand marshal of the 2022 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. parade 10 days before she died. Ray said Walker's passing reminds her how important it is to honor someone before it's too late. 'Sometimes we put off for tomorrow what we should have done today,' Ray said. 'Sometimes it's too late to say I love you, too late to say I'm sorry, too late to say let's make up. I say don't hesitate. Do it now.'
