Inspiring 2024 Veteran Impact Celebration fundraiser supports MTSU Daniels Center

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Former U.S. Marine Keith Stansell and others were rescued after spending nearly 2,000 days held captive in a Colombia jungle from February 2003 until July 2008.

Keith M. Huber, retired U.S. Army lieutenant general who is now Middle Tennessee State University senior adviser for veterans and leadership initiatives, was among the first to meet Stansell upon landing on U.S. soil. Their bond and friendship continue to this day.

Keynote speaker Keith Stansell, of Sarasota, Fla., a former U.S.Marine held captive in a Colombian jungle for 5½ years before being rescued, shares his compelling story with the Middle Tennessee State University Daniels Veterans Center’s Veteran Impact Celebration audience Aug. 16 in the Student Union Ballroom on the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (MTSU photo by Tom Beckwith)

Stansell was keynote speaker for the seventh annual Veteran Impact Celebration, held recently in the MTSU Student Union Ballroom and a fundraising event for the Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center.

The United States Automobile Association, or USAA, an American financial services company providing insurance and banking products exclusively for military members, was the title sponsor.

The large crowd attending the seventh annual Veteran Impact Celebration listens as Tommy Baker, Tennessee Department of Veterans Affairs commissioner, accepts the Community Partner Award recently in Middle Tennessee State University’s Student Union Ballroom in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (MTSU photo by Tom Beckwith)

From left, Carolyn Corlew, Hazel Daniels, widow of the late country music legend Charlie Daniels, and David Corlew, Charlie Daniels’ longtime manager and partner with the nonprofit Journey Home Project, visit before the seventh annual Veteran Impact Celebration, hosted by the Middle Tennessee State University Daniels Veterans Center, held recently in the MTSU Student Union Ballroom in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (MTSU photo by Tom Beckwith)

“Within 12 hours of their rescue by the Colombian Army Forces, they landed in a U.S. military aircraft at my command, U.S. Army South in San Antonio, Texas,” Huber said. “I was there with some of my staff to receive them upon arrival and to begin the task of their reintegration.”

Keith Stansell, of Sarasota, Fla., former U.S. Marine held captive in Colombia jungle, and keynote speaker at 7th annual MTSU Veteran Impact Celebration. — Keith Stansell

Keith M. Huber, MTSU senior adviser for veterans and leadership initiatives — Keith M. Huber

Working for a civilian contractor 5½ years earlier, they were captured and held hostage by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia after their plane crashed. Several were killed by their captors.

“Gen. Huber, you changed my life,” said Stansell, a Sarasota, Florida, resident, early in his inspiring story chronicled in the book, “Out of Captivity: Surviving 1,967 Days in the Colombian Jungle,” he co-authored. “I was confused and bewildered (upon arriving in San Antonio). “He (Huber) said, ‘I got you, son. You’re home.”

Stansell spoke about the work of the Daniels Center, home to 1,200 student veterans and family members, and housed in Keathley University Center. “What has been done here (at MTSU) truly makes a difference,” he said at the Aug. 16 event.

Stu Clark, left, CEO of Premise Health, receives the 2024 Veteran Employer Award from retired Lt. Gen. Keith M. Huber, Middle Tennessee State University senior adviser for veterans and leadership initiatives, recently in the Student Union Ballroom in Murfreesboro, Tenn., during the Veteran Impact Celebration, a fundraiser for the Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center. (MTSU photo by Tom Beckwith)

Tommy Baker, left, Tennessee Department of Veterans Affairs commissioner, accepts the Community Partner Award from retired Lt. Gen. Keith M. Huber, Middle Tennessee State University senior adviser for veterans and leadership initiatives, during the seventh annual Veteran Impact Celebration in the Student Union Ballroom in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (MTSU photo by Tom Beckwith)

Huber presented the Veteran Employer Award to Stu Clark, CEO of Premise Health, who said he was “deeply honored and humbled our company continues to improve in hiring veterans.”

The Veteran Community Partner Award was presented to Tommy Baker, Tennessee Department of Veterans Services commissioner, who said he “could see the passion and commitment of the Daniels Center and Gen. Huber and see this (center) as a pilot for other universities in the state.”

MTSU alumnus Jay Strobino, who was wounded by gunfire while serving in the Army, shared how the Daniels Center staff helped him eliminate issues when he was trying to enroll. Alumna Holly Thompson, WSMV News4 morning anchor, was master of ceremonies. Murfreesboro resident Bill Allen, 99, a World War II veteran, attended with family.

Country music performers Mark Collie and Timothy Wayne entertained during the final hour.

By night’s end, thousands of dollars were raised for the center through silent and live auctions and other corporate and individual contributions from alumni and university friends and MTSU faculty, staff and administrators.

For more information about the Daniels Center, call 615-904-8347 or visit https://www.mtsu.edu/military/.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)