Changemakers and advocates play a vital role in uplifting the military community by addressing challenges and driving meaningful change. These dedicated individuals leverage their voices, experiences and expertise to raise awareness about the unique needs of service members, veterans and their families. By championing policy reforms, providing resources and fostering connections, they create an environment where our community can thrive.
Author: Michael
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Army veteran Randy Reese has a long family legacy of service and patriotism. When an injury ended his career, he chose to devote his life to serving those who serve.
“I’m from Bristol, Virginia, a small border town along the state line between Virginia and Tennessee. My family proudly flew an American flag 24/7 and engaged in virtually all patriotic observances and events, from moments of silence to parades and Fourth of July celebrations,” he said with a smile. “My father served in the Army as a tank operator, and his stories were commonplace in our house.
Standing in the gap to ensure our nation’s warriors are cared for takes all of us. For Angela Blank, she has made it her life’s work.
“I grew up in Marietta, Georgia, as the granddaughter of a World War I veteran. His service certainly impacted me! At the smart age of 18, I married a man just as he enlisted in the Air Force,” she shared. “We were middle school and high school sweethearts, and he served in Okinawa, Japan, first for the first three years. Then he came home, and we were stationed in South Carolina.
Jaspen ‘Jas’ Boothe became a single mother after college and became an Army officer to show her son that anything is possible. After her service was faced with unimaginable barriers she continued to bring that message to women everywhere.
The Chicago native went to college on a basketball scholarship, hoping to get into television broadcasting. After facing rejection as a taller Woman of Color, she decided to pursue the toughest career field there was for a woman.
“I did it to prove to my son that not only as a woman can you do anything you want to do but as a person.
Kristen Christy is no stranger to overcoming adversity. At just 15 years old, after becoming a world-class tennis player, she had a massive stroke that led doctors to tell her she’d never walk again.
She did that and more.
As a child of a career Air Force officer, the military was all she knew, so it was no surprise when she fell in love with Don, an ROTC Air Force cadet at the University of Texas where she was attending school. They began building their life together with their two boys in Colorado when he was deployed to Iraq.
When Kayla Corbitt became an Army spouse, she knew next to nothing about the challenges faced by military families. Once she did, Operation Childcare became her new mission.
The West Virginia native had completed her graduate degree in forensic science when she fell in love with a soldier and had zero knowledge of the military lifestyle. A scientist and researcher at heart, she often jokes that she was tricked and should have known what was ahead when her wedding date changed to accommodate a deployment.
Long before she raised her hand to become a senator to preserve the constitution and serve America, and even before she established her well-known foundation, Elizabeth Dole was devoted to the military community.
“I have spent most of my life in Washington, DC, but Salisbury, North Carolina, will always be my home,” Dole told WATM. “My family and my community instilled values in me that guide me to this very day. I especially idolized my older brother, John. I was his shadow growing up.
Gina Elise was always passionate about art and storytelling but never imagined her path would lead to becoming a pinup for veterans. War would change her plans.
“I have been involved in leadership since I was 13 years old and then all through high school. I really gained these skills of creating things from the ground up. I was the activities director for my high school one year. I felt like it was important to use your skills to make things better for those around you,” she explained.
Elise loved dancing and acting as a child, majoring in theater at UCLA before graduating in 2004.