Volunteer of the Year - First Quarter Nominees |
|
Volunteer Award Home|2008 Volunteer of Year Award Winner|2008 First Quarter Nominees |2008 Second Quarter Nominees|2008 Third Quarter Nominees |2008 Fourth Quarter Nominees |
2007 Volunteer of Year Award Winner|
Rose Dant - Pacific Region USO Volunteer of the Quarter
Navy retiree Rose Dant is one of USO Guam’s most dependable volunteers. Her commitment to the USO is invaluable and her dedication was never more apparent than when the USO Guam was short-staffed for more than four weeks due to medical emergencies and vacations. To ensure the center would remain open for troops, Rose assumed responsibility for both day and night shifts at the USO, often closing at 1:30 a.m. Without her help, the center would not have remained open for the troops. Rose also volunteered to assume many of the center’s administrative duties.
In addition, Rose has successfully initiated new programs and activities for service members. She effectively created a new system to track volunteer hours and incentives, as well as new training methods for new volunteers to facilitate military identification checks. She also developed a way to include USO Guam volunteers as part of the U.S. Presidential Volunteer Service Award program. Rose also organized the collection of design submissions for a USO Guam holiday ornament.
Rose’s resourcefulness has helped to improve efficiency at the USO center by reducing kitchen expenses and decoration costs for the USO Guam Gala. She is a dedicated bargain hunter, and often picks up needed items, such as serving dishes, afghans, and so forth, for the USO at her own expense. When she is not volunteering at the USO Guam, she is an avid supporter of her church and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).
Rose’s professionalism, enthusiasm and dependability are all reasons why she has been nominated for USO’s Volunteer of the Quarter for the Pacific Region.
Wendel Dickason - United States USO Volunteer of the Quarter
Wendel Dickason has been a faithful volunteer at USO Dallas/Forth Worth (USO-DFW) for more than four years. Shortly after he began volunteering, Wendel decided to make volunteering at the USO a family affair, recruiting his wife Martha and daughter Deborah to join him in serving the troops.
The Dickason family has devoted countless hours working in and outside the USO center to improve the lives of service members and their families. They maintain and update USO photographs, documents and the USO Information Book, which provides troops with pertinent local information and resources. They also volunteer at the center’s many special events and activities.
Wendel always has a smile on his face and a positive attitude toward all who come in contact with him. He has become USO-DFW’s unofficial photographer, volunteering his time and talents to capture special USO events, such as the Mud Bug Boogie, a biker event held every year with proceeds benefiting the USO. He has taken service members to Texas Rangers baseball games and other activities, documenting each activity with photos and adding them to the USO scrapbook. He often sends his photos to deployed troops, so they have a special reminder of their time at USO-DFW. Wendel has received numerous thank you letters from troops and their families who have received his photographs.
Wendel has never let a small physical handicap or cane slow him down in any way. He enjoys escorting military personnel through security checkpoints, so troops can enjoy USO-DFW’s main lounge. He has also walks the airport terminal looking for stranded or lost service members to assist and guide them to the USO.
Wendel’s professional, enthusiastic attitude not only toward troops and their families passing through USO-DFW, but to other USO volunteers is why he was nominated as the U.S. USO Volunteer of the Quarter.
Jessica Jazmin - Southwest Asia USO Volunteer of the Quarter
Jessica Jazmin began volunteering at the USO Camp Buehring seven months ago. Because her primary duty on base is serving as a Naval Dental Technician and emergency responder, she provides a vital link between the military and the USO staff at Camp Buehring. Jessica has never missed a volunteer shift, even after working a full day in uniform.
Even though Jessica is on-call with the military 24-hours a day and has college classes four nights a week, she uses her spare time to actively recruit volunteers for the USO. She recently proposed a volunteer register of all military personnel willing to assist the USO. Within a week, Jessica had implemented her recruitment drive, finding six new volunteers. She also actively seeks volunteers from within the Naval contingent in Kuwait, acting as the liaison between the USO staff and the medical facility. In order to continue her essential work with the USO, Jessica recently volunteered to extend her military tour in the Middle-East for another six months.
Jessica’s hard work recruiting volunteers has allowed the USO Camp Buehring staff to concentrate fully on organizing and promoting monthly events for the troops. Recently, the center was able to serve more than 1,100 service members at the College Football Kick-Off event, which is a significant increase from a July event where center staff was only able to accommodate 250.
Jessica’s welcoming demeanor and unflagging enthusiasm for serving her fellow troops through the USO are a model for USO volunteers.
David Kruger - United States Affilates' Volunteer of the Quarter
Dave Krugar has volunteered at the USO of Illinois for more than four years. His commitment to the USO and its mission has been profound. In addition to having a full-time job, Dave volunteers more than 25 hours each week, often filling in for others and offering last-minute assistance. A stalwart in the USO community, Dave is always going above and beyond to assist the troops.
Dave also comes up with innovative ways for the USO to improve the lives of service members and their families. Recently, he saw the need to open the USO center earlier on Sundays, as sailors returning from religious services sought somewhere on base to gather and eat before the galleys opened. He personally volunteered to open the center two hours earlier than normal to accommodate them. In addition, he initiated a Sunday morning continental breakfast program, planning the menu as well as shopping for and preparing the breakfast for service members. As a result, the USO now provides troops with the only warm and welcoming gathering place available on base at that hour.
The positive feedback from the Sunday morning breakfast program has been remarkable. Service members comment on how nice and “normal” it feels to sit and read the Sunday paper on the couch with a cup of coffee and the TV on in the background.
When not at the USO center, Dave is hard at work passionately promoting the USO mission to all he meets. As a result, his family, friends and associates are generous donors and USO supporters. Dave’s resourcefulness and ability to acquire new donors allowed the USO of Illinois to purchase new entertainment electronics to replace outdated equipment. He also was able to successfully increase the amount of baked goods donated by Dominicks’ food store, ensuring that the USO pantry would always be filled with fresh bakery items. He personally picks up and delivers these baked goods to the center seven days a week.
Dave’s dedication, creativity and innovative ideas have helped improve the USO center in numerous ways. His tireless efforts and enthusiasm are why he was selected as the USO Affiliate Volunteer of the Quarter.
Paul Sanders - Europe's USO Volunteer of the Quarter
For the past four years, Paul Sanders has volunteered at the USO Rhein Main Area, Germany. His dedication to helping the troops and his commitment to the USO quickly made him an integral part of the center. Always eager to share this time and expertise with any service member at the center, Paul assists troops and their families with vital information and referrals, helps them sign up for tours and classes in the area, and operates the center’s canteen. Paul also has coordinated the relocation of the center twice.
Paul is a major asset during the pre-deployment briefings, often lasting two to three days for eight hours. To date, Paul has volunteered for four briefings, assisting more than 1,100 service members.
Paul’s reliability, professionalism and commitment to serving America’s troops are the reasons why he has been selected as the USO Volunteer of the Quarter for the European region.