Volunteers Recognized for Supporting Guard Family
(photo is of Shelle and Patti)
BISMARCK, N.D. - Members of the North Dakota National Guard's network of
volunteers were honored for their service and openhanded contributions to the
organization's Soldiers and Airmen during National Volunteer Week April
10-16, 2011.
The Guard's Service Member and Family Support (SMFS) division annually gives
out four awards recognizing volunteers and organizations for their
outstanding contributions to military members and their families. The SMFS
division, whose mission is to enhance quality of life for service members,
veterans and their families, began the volunteer award recognition in 2008.
"To achieve mission success, our organization relies heavily on the culture
of caring that our volunteers provide," said Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk,
North Dakota adjutant general. "I'm extremely grateful to these award winners
as well as all of our generous volunteers throughout the state."
Raina Askin received the Family Member of the Year award for 2010. Askin, of
Moorhead, Minn., is a volunteer with the C Battery, 1-188th Air Defense
Artillery's Family Readiness program. Yearly, she attends the VFW's
Remembering Our Serving Soldiers (R.O.S.S.) event where she helps raise money
for the unit's Family Readiness Group which provides morale and recreational
events for the 1-188th's Soldiers.
The Extra Mile award is presented to a North Dakota National Guard retiree
who distinguishes themselves by continuing to serve the Guard through
volunteering. Chief Warrant Officer (Ret.) Don Baglien is the recipient of
this year's award. Baglien, of Bismarck, is the volunteer communications
director for the North Dakota National Guard Retiree advisory board. He
manages e-mail communication to more than 550 Guard retirees, giving them the
opportunity to stay connected to the organization.
The Arthur W. Jones Post 7564, West Fargo VFW was named the Family Program
Community Purple award winner for 2010. The organization coordinates the
annual R.O.S.S. event which raises funds for area Family Readiness Groups.
For more than eight years, R.O.S.S. has provided nearly $75,000 for Family
Readiness Group activities.
Shelle Michaels received the Gold award for her steadfast support for
deployed Guardsmen throughout 2010. The award is presented to a volunteer
showing long-term, consistent and dedicated support to the Family Program and
community. Michaels, of Bismarck, is the communications officer for Soldiers'
Angels, an organization that distributes care to service members and their
families through packages and letters of encouragement. She also has been
instrumental in establishing the annual Day of the Deployed and Month of the
Military Child proclamations.
National Volunteer Week was first established by President Richard Nixon in
1974. It was designed to inspire, recognize and encourage citizens to seek
out ways to engage in their communities.
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Since the 2001 terrorist attacks on America, the North Dakota National Guard
has mobilized more than 3,500 Soldiers and more than 1,800 Airmen in support
of the Global War on Terrorism. Currently, about a dozen North Dakota
Guardsmen are serving overseas while more than 4,000 remain in the state for
emergency response and national defense. For every 10,000 citizens in North
Dakota, 65 serve in the North Dakota National Guard, a rate that's more than
four times the national average.
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