Category Archives: Military Families

Military Families

Texas Veterans Summit Focuses on Serving Veterans Through Coordination and Collaboration

Posted on by Mike

Warrior Gateway‘s Serena Hayden and Nathalia Magri attended the Texas Veterans Commission 14th Annual Veterans Summit this week in Austin, Texas.  The summit focused on serving veterans through coordination and collaboration, and brought more than 600 providers of veteran services and 80 exhibitors under one roof.

Warrior Gateway hosted an exhibit table, and participated in several of the breakout sessions featured during the summit.

“With approximately 1.8 million veterans across Texas, it’s vital that all organizations work together to address the unique needs of the military community,” Serena said.  ”The Veterans Summit provided an incredible platform for building partnerships and learning how to best impact the men and women who serve our country.”

In closing, Col. David W. Sutherland, Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – Warrior and Family Support, spoke about the resiliency, strength and courage of the military community.  Specifically, focusing on the “Sea of Goodwill” and the importance of partnerships.

Serena, who led Sutherland’s public affairs team while deployed to Divala Province, Iraq, from October 2006 through December 2007, was highlighted during the speech as the colonel highlighted the strength of the military community through the Army’s Warrior Ethos – “I will always place the mission first.  I will never except defeat.  I will never quit.  I will never leave a fallen comrade.”

“I am grateful to the Texas Veterans Commission for bringing all of these military-focused organizations together,” Serena continued.  ”Warrior Gateway is eager and looking forward to working with the many organizations we had the opportunity to learn about.”

Retweetables

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Warrior Gateway Heading to Texas for the “14th Annual Veterans Summit”

Posted on by Mike

Two members of the Warrior Gateway team will be attending the “14th Annual Veterans Summit” at the Crown Plaza, Austin, Texas January 31st-February 1st.  The Summit will feature various breakout sessions for attendees to attend; topics include: veteran-owned businesses and property tax exemptions, housing claims, mental health, grants, and much more.  There is no cost to attend the Summit, but attendees must register online to attend.  Go to www.tvc.state.tx.us and click the “Submit Registration” link.

Focused on serving veterans through coordination and collaboration, the annual summit is put on by the Texas Veterans Commission, whose mission is to advocate for and provide superior service for veterans in the areas of claims assistance, employment services, educaiton benefits and grant funding that will significantly improve the quality of life of Texas Veterans and their families.

Connect with us!

If you are attending the Summit, stop by the Warrior Gateway table and say hello!  Meet members of our team, and learn more about our mision to support the military community and their families.

Engage with us on Social Media

Follow the Warrior Gateway Twitter and Facebook accounts for Summit updates and photos.

Families of Fallen Heroes are Honored and Celebrated at Miss America 2012

Posted on by Mike

Warrior Gateway is a proud sponsor of the 19 wives, daughters, and mothers of fallen service members to be recognized as Honorary Miss America’s at the 2012 Miss America Crown Celebration and who will be VIP guests at the Saturday night Miss America Finals.

Las Vegas, NV January 13, 2012

For the third year in a row, Project Gratitude brings 19 families of fallen service members to Las Vegas to be recognized as “Honorary Miss Americas” at the 2012 Miss America Crown Celebration on Friday, January 13. For the grand finale, the families will watch the Miss America pageant (live on ABC 6 PM PST) Saturday night from their VIP seats.

“Warrior Gateway is honored to be a sponsor of Project Gratitude in supporting the wives, daughters and mothers of our fallen military members. Initiatives such as Project Gratitude show how communities across the nation can step up to work together and support the families of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. As the Project Gratitude sponsor for the Miss America Crown Celebration Gala, we are proud to join these families of our fallen in Las Vegas for the Miss America pageant,” said Devin B. Holmes, CEO of Warrior Gateway. “Warrior Gateway remains committed to supporting all members of the military community as they return home and seek out their new normal life.”

“Got Your Back Network is pleased to partner with the Miss America Organization to provide a very unique and “once in a lifetime” experience for surviving wives and their daughters. Shared experiences are the highlight of memories and we are happy to be able to plan, organize and implement the Project Gratitude event.” said Kathleen Gagg, Executive Director of Got Your Back Network. “We thank all volunteers, contributors and organizations that have made Project Gratitude possible.”

“We started Project Gratitude out of a deep, heartfelt sense of gratitude and highest respect for the ultimate sacrifice that was made by our nation’s fallen heroes and their families,” explains Sharlene Hawkes, former Miss America and President of Remember My Service Productions. “By recognizing each of the women and their daughters as honorary Miss Americas–and giving them the VIP experience that Miss Americas have received over the years–it is just our way of doing what we can to pay tribute to these great Americans.”

See press release on PR Web at: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/1/prweb9107694.htm

For more information about the event, please visit the Warrior Gateway Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/warriorgateway

For real-time event updates and photos, please follow Warrior Gateway on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/warriorgateway

 

Widows and Daughters of Fallen Military Get Their Own Miss America Experience

Posted on by Mike

Warrior Gateway has partnered with Got Your Back Network, The Miss America Organization and others to form an iniative called Project Gratitiude.  Project Gratitude, in its third year, will take 22 wives, daughters, and one mother of fallen service members on a unique, once in a lifetime experience this week with the Miss America 2012 pageant in Las Vegas.  The highlight of their visit will be a ceremony Friday evening January 13th when each will be pinned by former Miss Americas with a crown pin, symbolizing their status as the newest honorary Miss Americas.  The families will travel from around the country courtesy of Air Compassion for Veterans and American Airlines Veteran’s Initiative.

“We started Project Gratitude out of a deep, heartfelt sense of gratitude and highest respect for the ultimate sacrifice that was made by our nation’s fallen heroes and their families,” explains Sharlene Hawkes, former Miss America and President of Remember My Service Productions.  ”By recognizing each of the women and their daughters as honorary Miss Americas – and giving them the VIP experience that Miss Americas’ have received over the years, it is just our way of doing what we can to pay tribute to these great Americans.”

Project Gratitude is a great example of how communities can step up, work together, and support our military community and their families.

“Warrior Gateway is honored to be a part of Project Gratitude in supporting widows and daughters of our fallen military members.  Initiatives such as Project Gratitude show how communities across the nation can step up to work together and support the families of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.  Alongside Got Your Back Network and The Miss America Organization as well as other partners, we are honored to join these families of our fallen in Las Vegas for the Miss America pageant,” said Devin B. Holmes, CEO of Warrior Gateway.  ”Warrior Gateway remains committed to supporting all members of the military community as they return home and seek out their new normal life.”

Keep in touch with us throughout the week for updates, photos, and much more:  Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare

If you would like further information on Project Gratitude, please visit the Got Your Back Network website.  If you are interested in supporting the initiative, please click here.

Year in Review and a Look Ahead to 2012

Posted on by Devin

As 2011 comes to a close, it is time to reflect back on a year of impressive accomplishments and to look forward to next year’s ambitious plans.  As a young organization, I believe that 2012 will be a year of growth and maturing for Warrior Gateway as we continue to establish ourselves as a leader in the military/veteran non-profit sector.

This past year, Warrior Gateway received two significant recognitions for our work to date.  In February of this year, I was selected as one of Federal Computer Weeks Federal 100, the top executives from government, industry and academia who had the greatest impact on the government information systems community in 2010.  While the award recognizes the individual, it was the hard work of the entire Warrior Gateway team that lead to that recognition, an impressive feat for an organization that was less than 2 years old at the time of the award.  We have been nominated again this year and I am hopeful that our continued innovation will put us at the top of the list again.

In May, we were also invited to participate as part of a small working group on veterans issues by the Clinton Global Initiative – America.  The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) was founded in 2005 by President Bill Clinton and is a non-partisan organization that convenes global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing problems.  This is the first time CGI has focused on veterans issues and I am proud that we were included as thought leaders in this space.  We have been invited back and plan on attending again in 2012.

While 2010 was focused on our launch of WarriorGateway.org, our innovative consumer web portal for veterans, 2011 will be marked as the year we revolutionized the military non-profit sector by creating the G.I. Network, the only no cost technology infrastructure for government and non-profits alike serving the military community.

We have spent most of this year developing and piloting the G.I. Network and to not spoil the public launch scheduled for mid-January let’s just say there is nothing like it available today.  With over 200,000 non-profits included in the initial launch of the G.I. Network, we are going to make a significant jump forward in helping local communities connect to the Sea of Goodwill.  We have already signed up several partners and look forward to working with them in 2012 to connect the veterans in their community with the local resources that exist to support them.

To sign up to learn more about the G.I. Network, please visit: www.GINetwork.org

My philosophy has always been to focus on achieving results and allow those results to speak for us.  Warrior Gateway will always stay primarily focused on supporting our community and achieving results and partnership rather than self-promotion.  This corporate ethos is what defines us and I believe elevates us above the others that follow the go it alone approach.  We will continue to allow our results speak for themselves and look forward to announcing even more partnerships in 2012.

Happy Holidays and have a wonderful New Year!