MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — It has been a jam-packed summer for the Middle Tennessee State University Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center.
From a benefits fair for Nashville International Airport veteran employees to the eighth annual Veteran Impact Celebration, Daniels Center staffers have been active in raising awareness and funds at events including Nashville Sounds’ baseball games and the 9/11 Remembrance ceremony.
$135K raised at VIC
In a music-filled night, more than 200 Veteran Impact Celebration attendees raised $135,000 through individual and corporate donations and live and silent auctions in the Student Union Ballroom in mid-August.
Funds raised go toward Daniels Center employment programming (assisting student veterans with résumés, job interviews, scholarships, tuition assistance and emergency financial assistance), said Lori Ogden, development director.
U.S. Army veterans Mark and Cathy Summers of Spring Hill were among the individual contributors.
“This goes to all the right causes,” said Mark Summers, an MTSU alumnus (Class of 1980). “We’ll continue to donate, and we will consider volunteering with the Charlie Daniels veterans’ group.”
David Corlew, co-founder of the Journey Home Project with the late Charlie Daniels and the music icon’s longtime manager, thanked “each and every one of you for supporting the center … and sending your money to the right place to support the men and women who have served their nation.”
Jamie Teachenor, Recording Industry adjunct professor who wrote the U.S. Space Force song unveiled in 2022 and an accomplished songwriter, performed a medley of tunes and entertained the audience as scheduled singer Rachel Lipskywas ill.
Keith M. Huber, MTSU senior adviser for veterans and leadership initiatives, announced Lipsky as the 2025 recipient of the Veteran Community Partner Award for her participation in Armed Forces entertainment tours to 19 different countries.
Introduced by emcee, MTSU alumna and WSMV-TV News 4 morning co-anchor Holly Thompson, U.S. Air Force veteran Maranda Vecchio shared the journey leading to her becoming the first veteran to graduate from MTSU’s Physician Assistant Studies program.
Diamond Sponsors included CoreCivic; Delta Dental of Tennessee; Hiller Plumbing, Heating Cooling and Electrical; the Nashville Predators; and USAA.
BNA benefits fair
U.S. Air Force pilot and veteran Doug Kreulen, president and CEO of Nashville International Airport, Executive Vice President John Cooper and other administrators enticed 30 BNA veteran employees to attend a mid-August benefits fair at the Miller Education Center in Murfreesboro.
“It exposed veterans to benefits and programs available to them and their families,” said Cooper, who retired as a colonel after 28 years in the U.S. Army.
“The VA of yesterday is not the same VA of today,” he added. “There’s more outreach, and they’re passionate in the taking care of veterans.”
Army veteran Terri Oscar, 34, of Clarksville, who works in cybersecurity at the airport, said she “gained insight on many things for children, death benefits and learning about new PACT Act legislation,” expanding VA health care benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange and other toxic substances.
A mix of VA programs and Daniels Center personnel manned tables at the benefits fair.
— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)
COMMENTS ARE OFF THIS POST