The reason for the event at VFW Post 1894 was evident from the moment people walked through the door last Saturday and were met by greeters in red T-shirts.
“Are you a veteran?” Karen Reiners asked every woman as they entered.
Recognizing women veterans was one of the reasons Post Adjutant Jennifer Umland organized the Ladies Military Support Event. She also wanted to honor women veterans and inform them of the services available to them. The event drew woman veterans from as far away as Springfield, and featured 40 vendors from around the state, offering services for women veterans or products from businesses owned by women veterans.
“This is a great event,” said Aydogan Girgin, District 6 commander and commander of Post 2510 in Windsor, as he circulated among the rooms filled with people.
“We had 26 female veterans sign through, plus an additional 60 bags (given out) through the front,” said Umland, who made care packages for veterans and draw-string backpacks for attendees.
Service officer Heidi Lanier represented the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital in Columbia, Mo.. along with Linus, a therapy dog in training, according to his jacket. She was able to help 13 service members, Umland said.
At a table with pink toy soldiers, U.S. Marine Corps veterans Betty Gonzales and Julie Bouer handed out information about the proposed Military Women’s Memorial, to be built at the entrance to Arlington Cemetery. Cheryl Green of CaptionCall demonstrated a telephone with a printout screen the company provides free of charge to veterans with hearing impairments.
At another table, a veteran showed photographs of a deep sea fishing trip, one of 16 adventures offered to veterans by a non-profit, Charlie 22 Outdoors. Based in Webb City, Mo., the non-profit is a suicide prevention program to give veterans hope and love by providing outdoor activities free of charge.
To recognize her service, Major Lara Briseno-Kenney received the Quilt of Valor presented to a woman veteran affected by war. Dr. Kenney, who served in Iraq and Cuba, received a Bronze Star for her work as the 89th Police Brigade surgeon, in charge of turning over medical detention centers in Iraq to the Iraqi Ministries of Health.
Sam McDaniel presented the Quilt of Valor to Dr. Kenney on behalf of the VFW post and her organization’s outreach to veterans, Care Packages from Home. Started in 2013, the all-volunteer non-profit based in Blue Springs, Mo. has sent more than 1,000 care packages to troops deployed around the world, she said. Volunteers also take Christmas cards and gift bags to the Veterans Home in Warrensburg and the veterans’ hospital in Columbia, she said.
Post commander Bruce Tarleton presented a Shield of Strength Challenge Coin to Jennifer Umland in recognization of her work to bring women veterans together.
“At one time Jennifer was the only woman member of the post,” Bruce said. “Now we have four. We’re very proud of the effort she put in to organizing today’s event for women veterans.”
Veteran Penny Chase came from Branson with a selection of goat-milk soaps she makes and sells through her company, Gamma Goat.
Veteran Rebecca Price, a licensed pet boarder and Dalmatian breeder, had a table with information about her business, Dalmatia BnB in Clinton. Her son, Jacob Price, also worked at the event.
Andrew Umland, Jennifer’s spouse, dispensed free coffee from Soldier Girl Coffee with the help of Caitlyn Sheek, a U.S. Army veteran whose aunt was active in the VFW post, Caitlyn said. Micaela Hubbard, whose sister is a veteran, had a display of Usborne Books featuring women veterans, including “My Mommy is a Hero.”
All the vendors gave away raffle prizes, and Ace Hardware provided free flags. Umland thanked event sponsors Hawthorn Bank, Henry M. Adkins & Son Printing, Dr. Amy Etters of GVMH and Dr. Kenney of Leeton Medical.
Greeters at the door included Elizabeth Jones and her daughter, Janet Speakman, from Windsor. Janet’s sister, Sarah Stout, was a Marine. Nichole Wade, daughter of Karen Reiners, said her father, husband and son were in the military.
“He’s out now,“ she said of her son, who was a Marine, “and I can breathe again.”
Dr. Kenney, who has a private practice, served in the U.S. Army from 2004 to 2010. In her acceptance speech for the quilt, she said that it seemed a separate part of her life until she realized she continues to live by the values that inspired her military career.
“The values are the same — honor, integrity, service, duty and respect,” she said.
Upcoming events for veterans in the community include a Veterans Dinner hosted by Northeast Baptist Church on Nov. 4, 2022, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m at the church, 619 E. Lincoln. The dinner is free for veterans and immediate families as a thank-you for his or her service.
Umland plans to make the Ladies Military Support Event an annual one, and set a tentative date of Oct. 21, 2023.
