Homeward Deployed Organization Sea of Goodwill Award Hugo Yellow Ribbon Network Chuck Haas, Chair PO Box 14 Hugo, Minnesota 55038 651-247-0354 charles.haas@email.com
Page 2 Table of Contents Community Demographics 3 Network Profile Mission Statement and Purpose 4 Foundation Proclamation 4 Action Plan 4-5 Fundraising and Community Awareness 5-6 Care Packages to Service Members 6-7 Direct Service to Military Members 7 Employment for our Veterans 8 Legal Veterans Court 8 Support for Landstuhl Project 8 Serve Our Troops Program 9 Direct Support for families 10 Home Depot Grant for Military Families 10 Education 11 Welcome Home Pheasant Hunt 12 Direct Support of Gold Star Families 12 Direct Support to Soldiers 13 Honoring the Founder of the Minnesota s 13 Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program Summary 14
Page 3 Community Demographics State: Minnesota County: Washington Population: 13,332 City established: 1972 Settled by: French Website: www.ci.hugo.mn.us Hugo is situated near the northeastern Twin Cities Metropolitan area and is the fastest growing city in the metro area, according to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. The first explorers in the area were likely the Dakota tribes who had moved into the present-day Twin Cities area. Though they did not permanently settle, they were known to frequent the two large swampy lakes (now Oneka Lake and Rice Lake) which were abundant in wild rice. In 1850, French immigrants and French Canadians became the first permanent settlers. The township was originally named Oneka, later Centerville Station, and finally Hugo around 1906, which officially incorporated as a city in 1972. Hugo early on established itself as a refueling station for the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad (later the Northern Pacific Railway). Later, the town associated more closely with the services and businesses of the larger City of Centerville to the west, but after the turn of the century Hugo had absorbed significant suburban growth and development, becoming a boom town. The city's largest lake, Oneka Lake, is named for the Dakota word "onakan," which means "to strike or knock off," rice into a canoe. Just south is Rice Lake where Mdewakanton Dakota from Mendota gathered wild rice. The origin of the name Hugo is not exactly known but is consistent with the town's French history. The Washington County Historical Society suggests it was for French author Victor Hugo, or more likely named after Trevanion William Hugo, who was chief engineer of the Consolidated Elevator Company in Duluth and former Duluth mayor, who likely had ties to the railroad. Network Profile
Page 4 Mission Statement and Purpose Hugo Yellow Ribbon Network is part of Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program which is a comprehensive program of the Minnesota National Guard. This program creates awareness for the purpose of connecting Service Members and their families with community support, training, services and resources. Official Proclamation The City of Hugo Council was addressed on June 22, 2009 by Lt. Col. Barb O Reilly to the process of becoming a Yellow Ribbon City. It took Hugo until January 2010, a mere six months to establish and receive Gov. Tim Pawlenty s proclamation that Hugo was a Yellow Ribbon Network City. Since that time, Hugo has developed a rather cohesive number of businesses, faith-based organizations, educators, law enforcement and fire department members, civic organizations and Veteran groups to band together to support the Minnesota National Guard and their families throughout the cycle of deployment. Action Plan The components of the plan include: Educators: Inform and train school district leaders, faculty and support staff to be aware of and responsive to the unique needs of children of deployed Service Members. Faith-based organizations: Coordinate and collaborate with the local church groups to provide ongoing support for deployed military families (i.e. home repairs, maintenance and child care). Businesses: Encourage local businesses to extend discounts to deployed military families; hire returning Service Members and monetary donations. Law Enforcement and Fire Department: Educate and train Law Enforcement Officers to the unique needs of returning Service Members (i.e. the stress of re-integration to civilian life from combat/deployment). Support the law enforcement initiative to form a Veterans Court/Diversion Program recognizing the role of reintegration stressors.
Page 5 Civic Organizations: Solicit participation and cooperation of existing local support groups to broaden their scope to include the special needs of the deployed families. Veteran Organizations: Act as a conduit between established Veterans Organizations and the currently deployed families. Fulfillment of mission statement: Fundraising and Community Awareness On the fourth Wednesday of each month, the Hugo Network serves hamburgers at the Hugo American Legion, raising funds to support network activities and highlighting awareness of deployed soldiers and their families needs to the boarder community. This event has become a highlight within the community as evidenced by a 400% increase in attendance and sales. Business sponsors have begun to good-naturedly compete to outdo each other to see who can sell the most burgers. Business sponsor support is so strong there is a six month waiting list to be a Hamburger Night business sponsor. The ever-growing business support and increasing attendance by community members means more and more people become aware of the Network s mission and the need to support our military members and their families. Also, families of deployed soldiers eat free so many families with young children have made Hamburger Night a monthly event for their family, it gives the spouse a break from cooking and the families and network volunteers an
Page 6 opportunity to connect. It is always easier to give and receive help from people you know! Care Packages to Service Members Our network has sent thousands of pounds of items in hundreds of care packages to our Service Members serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait. Each of these packages was packed with care, sending the message that we recognize and appreciate their service and sacrifice. This past year, AmericInn, a national motel chain, sponsored a nationwide care packages to Service Members called AmericInn Cares. The Hugo Network was contacted to support this effort because of its expertise in packing care packages and having mailing labels for the deployed Service Members from Minnesota. The effort culminated with Network volunteers assisting in the packing of hundreds of Welcome Home Bags, assembling donated children s bikes, and making AmericInn Cares teddy bears that families received when their Service Member returned from deployment.
Page 7 Direct Service to Military Members The Hugo Network hosted a holiday party for the 834 th Aviation Support Battalion by providing donations that consisted of the banquet hall and dinners for 200 members and their families. Employment for our Veterans The Network participated in the ESGR Boss Lift where we partnered to encourage employers to understand the value of hiring veterans.
Page 8 Legal Veterans Court: The Network works with the local county attorney to host events to elicit support for the creation of a veteran s court/diversion project. This program recognizes battlefield issues our service members bring home and who may be suffering from a diagnosed malady related to their military service. This program is a mechanism for dealing with combat veterans who are involved with the criminal justice system. Support for Landstuhl Project The Landstuhl Hospital Care Project (LHCP) is a non-profit organization that provides comfort and relief items for military members who become sick, injured, or wounded from service in Iraq, Kuwait, or Afghanistan. Donated items are distributed to patients at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) in Germany. The purpose of the program is to enhance the morale and welfare for troops and veterans by contributing quality of life items. The Hugo Network, in cooperation with the Minnesota Blue Star Moms, supports this project with cash donations as well as the personal touch of handmade blankets for our soldiers to give comfort to them while recovering from their combat injuries.
Page 9 Minnesota Serve Our Troops Program Hugo Supports Deploying 1st Brigade Combat Team The 1st Brigade Combat Team was training at Ft McCoy, Sparta, Wisconsin prior to deployment to Kuwait. The St Paul, Minnesota-based group, Serve Our Troops, provided steak dinners to 6,300 Service Members and their families. By soliciting donations, the Hugo Network provided bus transportation for family members to visit and share a meal with their loved one prior to deployment. Volunteers from the Hugo Network helped serve the meal in a 2,000 person capacity tent. For one day, this event was the largest restaurant in America. The Family Day was a complete success with three buses traveling to Wisconsin for the entire day. Partnering with business and community leaders in the Serve Our Troops program, network volunteers traveled to Kuwait to provide steak dinners for deployed Service Members while other network volunteers at home hosted a simultaneous steak dinner and video conferencing for family members.
Page 10 Direct Support for families The Hugo Network helped raise funds for the Minnesota Military Family Foundation which provides direct financial support to military families in need, worked in cooperation with the military Family Assistance Centers to coordinate families in need and the MMFF to meet those needs. The Network volunteers have provided meals, home repairs, snow plowing, mowing and other yard projects for families of deployed service members. It has adopted several deployed Service Members families and continues to meet these needs. The Network s support for families has been recognized by two four star generals, General David Petreus and General John Allen, who sent their personal notes of appreciation along with their command coins as a token of appreciation. Home Depot Grant for Military Families The Hugo Network applied for and received a grant provided by the Home Depot Foundation for a Hugo military family. The Foundation s purpose is to provide funds to repair/renovate veterans homes. The Hugo military family, due to physical limitations, needed a tub removed and replaced with a shower.
Page 11 Education The Minnesota Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Army National Guard Youth Program Coordinators collaborated with Network volunteers in creating a statewide curriculum for K12 schools to teach non-military children the culture of the military family. This curriculum was a pilot program in several public school districts last spring and is currently published and available to all Minnesota School Counselors to use within their individual school districts beginning with the 2012/13 academic year. Special Welcome Home Events The Hugo Network raised money to provide Minnesota Twins Baseball tickets as a Welcome Home the Troops event for returning members of the Minnesota Air National Guard.
Page 12 Welcome Home Pheasant Hunts In 2010 and again in 2012 the Network will host this event for returning members of the Minnesota Air and Army National Guard, as well as any other military member returning from overseas deployment. This year the event will provide 200 soldiers a guided pheasant hunt, round of sporting clays, and a delicious wild game dinner. Direct Support of Gold Star Families The Network has provided financial support for families to attend Gold Star Family Retreats. The Hugo Network provided funding for program expenses at the annual Gold Star Family Retreat Weekend. This event not only supported the family members of Fallen Heroes but also held a Memorial for those lost.
Page 13 Direct Support to Soldiers Network volunteers were instrumental in arranging satellite access of the first 2011/12 season game of the Minnesota Vikings for the MN. Red Bulls while at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, in September 2011. These soldiers were able to watch their home team play five days prior to deployment to Kuwait. In appreciation, the Network received a framed certificate and coin from our soldiers stationed at Camp Buehring, Kuwait. Honoring Founder of the Minnesota Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program The Hugo Network obtained the signatures of all the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Entities on one yellow t-shirt. This shirt was presented to Major General Larry Shellito, the architect and founder of the concept of the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program in March 2011.
Page 14 Summary The Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Organization is united in bringing Service Members all the way home. The Hugo Network, created less than three years ago, has been committed to insuring that Service Members and their families have support prior to, during, and after deployment. This commitment is demonstrated throughout the pages of this document with detailed explanations of the variety of activities sponsored by the Network itself, as well as those accomplished through collaboration with community, civic, and veteran organizations. As with all Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Networks, the Hugo Network not only provides assistance for Service Members and their families; but it also gives individuals and businesses the opportunity to recognize and give of themselves to our military families. The act of giving cannot be measured in dollar and cents alone. When one gives of themselves through donation of time and energy, combined with others who offer monetary support, we complete the circle of caring and kindness. It is with this heart the Hugo Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Network has accomplished the many tasks placed before them. There is a sense of humility in connecting a volunteer with a deployed military family who needs assistance. This is what makes us who we are, it is all about what is Hugo Beyond the Yellow Ribbon!