United Through Reading Hosted 2nd Annual Tribute to Military Families in Washington, D.C.

May 26, 2015

More than 300 friends and supporters of United Through Reading gathered last Wednesday, May 20, at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., for the 2nd Annual Tribute to Military Families in order to celebrate families who have forged meaningful connections through the read aloud experience, and give recognition to the corporate, public policy and military leaders whose vision and support have been vital to the nonprofit’s mission delivery.

SSG Christopher Flores, Special Agent for the Criminal Investigation Command (CID), shared his United Through Reading story with guests in attendance. SSG Flores first used United Through Reading five years ago while deployed in Iraq. When he first recorded a bedtime story with United Through Reading it was to his six-month pregnant wife, Christina. Today he continues to record to his two boys who are two and four-years-old.SSG Flores says, “My wife and I wholeheartedly believe in the power of reading, this love has been passed on to our boys because neither will go to sleep at night unless we read them a book.”

Military spouse Stephanie Melson and her three children.

Navy-spouse, Stephanie Melson shared her family’s six-year journey of using United Through Reading during her husband’s various deployments. She and her three children have come to rely on United Through Reading to keep them connected and she feels that reading just one book from afar can have an impact on not only the child, but the service member and their entire family, that lasts a lifetime.

Ingrid Herrera-Yee, National Guard spouse and clinical psychologist, talked to the audience about the difference that United Through Reading has made in the life of her three boys, two of whom were nonverbal and on the Autism Spectrum, who saw improved literacy after using United Through Reading during their dad’s deployment. Read more about Ingrid’s UTR story on the UTR blog.

Doro Bush Koch, Honorary Chair of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy; Command Master Chief David B. Carter, USS GEORGE. H. W BUSH (CVN 77); and United Through Reading Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Sally Ann Zoll, Ed.D at the 2015 Tribute to Military Families.

The 2nd Annual Tribute to Military Families honored the men and women of the GEORGE H. W. BUSH Carrier Strike Group. United Through Reading has supported the USS GEORGE H. W. BUSH (CVN 77) on every deployment since its commissioning. Each ship within CSG2 carries its own United Through Reading program. During their recent 9-month deployment, nearly 1,900 UTR recordings were made by the crew, connecting more than 7,300 military members with the special children in their lives.

The evening also honored Birdies for the Brave, a PGA TOUR Charities, Inc. program dedicated to supporting the brave men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families. Birdies for the Brave has been supporting United Through Reading since 2010 contributing nearly $630,000 in support of the mission.

Also recognized during the evening were the Honorable Pete Visclosky, US House of Representatives (D-IN); and the Honorable Joe Wilson, US House of Representatives (R-SC) both of whom have prioritized our military service members and their families both in battle and in reintegration efforts when they return home.

Special guests also included the Honorable Juan M. Garcia, III, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs); Sergeant Major Bryan Battaglia, USMC, Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Doro Bush Koch, Honorary Chair of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.

United Through Reading is pleased to thank our title sponsor BAE Systems, Inc., who supported the Tribute to Military Families for the second year in a row. Other event sponsors included: ADI, Booz Allen Hamilton, Cobham, Engility, GE, Google, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Monster.com/Military.com, Navy Federal Credit Union, SAIC, Stapleton & Associates, Tutor.com, Association of the United States Army, Hewlett-Packard, Podesta Group, Covington & Burling, RBH Global Wealth Partners, Cisco Systems, Inc., Corvias Military Living, William & Martha Dudley, Mr. & Mrs. Dwayne Junker, CAPT and Mrs. Terry Magee, Marriott International, Rockwell Collins, and Douglas & Christine Stewart.

United Through Reading is so grateful to all program participants, attendees, honorees and sponsors of the 2nd Annual Tribute to Military Families for the ways that you tirelessly lift up our mission, and in doing so serve our nation’s military families. We can’t adequately say thank you for all that you do.