Submitted by Gerry Clare
Roving Reporter
The USO is celebrating 75 years of supporting our military troops and their families this year. Locally, Harris Teeter on Amelia Island is selling donated hot dog lunches Friday and Saturday, May 20th and May 21st from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and all proceeds will go to the USO, which is a 501c3 organization.
You may be interested to know that in our area there are several USO locations: Mayport, NAS Jax, Jacksonville University, and our Jacksonville International Airport. Volunteers from Friends of Fernandina Aviation (FOFA) work shifts at the airport on Sundays and Tuesdays. The airport USO welcome center is located on the lower level/baggage claim area.
This reporter and husband, Tom, volunteer there and already have had enough heartwarming and interesting experiences to fill a book. The center supplies, snacks, drinks, travel supplies, a computer area, books, magazines and a quiet room for rest while waiting for rides to Kings Bay, NAS Jax, Mayport or just home on leave. They also wait for planes to take them all over the world to serve. The Center Director, Jim Bury, coordinates support for fallen service members coming home as well.
Recently, several retired military from Fernandina have even stopped in and left donations, as the Jacksonville area USOs , although chartered by USO, run strictly on local donations. So, stop by and see the new furniture, donated by Ashley Furniture and feel free to leave a donation or volunteer your service. Many retired military personnel are already serving the center as volunteers.
Working at Harris Teeter on Friday in the pictures above were Store Co-Manager, Gary Jackson; Store Employees, Caitlin and Jacob; USO Development Director of the Greater Jacksonville USO, Bob Ross and FOFA volunteers, Tom and Gerry Clare and Roger Frasier.
Editor’s Note: Gerry began free lance writing for fun and is the author of a published book (available on Amazon and at Books Plus) about funny real estate experiences. Gerry is a longtime member of our local American Business Women’s Chapter, a volunteer cancer driver and church deacon who loves to read, travel and meet interesting people.