In the News Archives - Page 21 of 101

November 11, 2024

Events celebrate Veterans Day in North Texas

FOX 4 KDFW

By: Dan Godwin

Dallas held its first Veterans Day parade in about four years due to COVID-19 and then weather cancelations.

The event featured a symbolic wreath-laying ceremony at Fair Park, as well as a military flyover and patriotic speeches by military leaders and local officials.

The parade itself started at the intersection of Admiral Nimitz Circle and Martin Luther King Boulevard. It made its way through parts of Downtown Dallas.

Meanwhile, at DFW National Cemetary, Captain Beau Hufstetler, a commanding officer at NAS Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth, reminded the crowd that freedom is a responsibility.

"Ronald Reagan once said freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We did not pass it to our children in the blood stream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same," he said.

The ceremony there also featured a flyover and performances by the Midlothian High School choir and Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base’s Color Guard.

Also in Dallas, an event at Klyde Warren Park focused on exercise.

The nonprofit organization Carry the Load, which is known for its Memorial Day march, challenged people to complete a 100,000-meter fitness program.

Participants kicked off the month-long challenge off using rowing machines and stationary bikes that were set up in the park.

View the full article here.

September 20, 2024

How Private Equity Investor Edward Crawford Balances Mission and Margin

D Magazine

By: Ben Swanger

The first job Edward Crawford ever had was serving as a volunteer Peace Corps. officer in the Dominican Republic. At 23 years old, he worked alongside the locals to launch a coffee farm, helping them source coffee plants and score microloans to fuel the business.

Despite reaching a breaking point after losing 40 pounds due to tropical illnesses, what began as a three-farmer operation, 19 years later, is now a cooperative that boasts more than 400 coffee farmers. The initiative was Crawford’s first foray into a career marked by the balance of the mission and margin.

“My grandfather’s advice through his actions taught me to serve others and follow your heart, not money,” Crawford says. “Each decision I’ve made to serve was often advised against but has been profoundly fulfilling, proving the wisdom in my grandfather’s example.”

A handful of years later, shortly after his wife gave birth to two children, Crawford left his post at Goldman Sachs to join the U.S. Navy as an intelligence officer, serving from 2008 to 2016. He was deployed in Afghanistan for a year and later earned a Bronze Star Medal.

Today, Crawford leads Coltala Holdings, a local private equity firm that invests in essential service businesses ranging in size from $10 million in revenue to $100 million. The firm has a portfolio of three businesses, which includes home health company Choice Health at Home, air conditioning business Paschal, and real estate due diligence firm Pond Robinson & Associates.

Raising capital on a deal-by-deal basis, Crawford expects the number of assets to double in the next five years.

“We’d rather have a few businesses that do really well and focus on them than have 20 and earn a management fee off of a big AUM,” Crawford said. “We are not an AUM shop. We’re an eat-what-you-kill firm.

“I’m passionate about companies that contribute to our country’s national security, so we’ve looked at a lot of aerospace opportunities that we might get into,” he adds.

Fellow U.S. military veteran Todd Boeding, president of Tribe&Trust Leadership Academy and podcast host for Carry The Load Podcast, could sense a difference in Coltala from the time they first met. “Most PE firms come into a business, look at a balance sheet, look at the cash flow, and they decide if an investment makes sense,” Boeding says. “And these firms invest without really giving too much thought to the people behind the businesses.”

Ed’s big thing is balancing the mission with the margin,” Boeding adds. “Obviously, the margin is incredibly important. But if a business doesn’t have a good purpose and mission, and it doesn’t have the right people delivering that, then the margin really becomes immaterial.”

As part of Crawford’s business values—having two bottom lines—Coltala contributes a portion of its financial returns to local nonprofits Bonton Farms and Carry The Load. Crawford also spearheads service opportunities for his team to take part in and support both organizations. Coltala employs seven full-time people and about 20 contractors.

“Our partnership with Bonton, which we go out to a couple of times a year, allows us to work on the farm,” Crawford said. “We bring our kids out and we bring all of our interns out and just work our butts off on the farm and get to know the people there.”

For Carry The Load, Crawford has helped the organization expand its awareness. The Dallas-based nonprofit has an impact nationally through programming and events that honor and remember fallen soldiers.

At a recent march to do just that, Crawford brought along the vast majority of his YPO chapter members—and their families—to participate in the remembrance walk. In all, 150 people marched alongside Crawford.

“Edward has gotten his entire circle of influence involved,” Boeding says. “We need people donating time, talent, and treasure—that’s what keeps the nonprofit world going. What I can tell you is that Ed’s firm is very involved in all of those and, obviously, financially, they do contribute.”

“Instead of going to a game or instead of going to the country club or playing tennis or whatever these executives could do, they all go march,” Crawford says. “We go to [Carry the Load founder] Clint Bruce’s facility, and we listen to stories about the heroes who have died for our country and what big sacrifices they and their families have made. Clint Bruce is always there with us talking about it.

“And then we have 50 kids—we’ve never had fewer than 50 children—decorate a brick,” Crawford adds. “The brick will have the name of a service member who was killed. They will put it in a bag, and then we will walk in the hot sun while listening to patriotic music. And we will celebrate their lives, and then come back and have a little workout competition. It’s just a really beautiful moment.”

Crawford, who has lost 10 people in his life to suicide, also volunteers his time at the Suicide Prevention Hotline fielding phone calls. Not only that, he is the founder of War Veterans Fund, an organization that is dedicated to electing first-time Republican U.S. House candidates who are military veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

To date, Crawford’s organization has helped candidates Dan Crenshaw, Jake Ellzey, and Mike Waltz win seats in the house. The organization currently is aiding five candidates who won their primaries in 2024: Derrick Anderson of Virginia, Tom Barrett of Michigan, Troy Downing of Montana, Pat Harrigan of North Carolina, and Rob Mercuri of Pennsylvania.

Additionally, Crawford is serving a seven-year appointment by Gov. Greg Abbott on the Texas Product Development and Small Business Incubator Board.

“Had I made some of these decisions where I didn’t serve others, I would probably have more money in the bank and a little more stability,” Crawford says. “And I know it’s [similar for others throughout Dallas.] I see people across the region not only giving their money but giving their time.”

September 12, 2024

‘It’s humbling’: Volunteers help beautify National Cemetery on Sept. 11

Salisbury Post

By: Karen Kistler

SALISBURY — Respect, honoring and giving back were the common threads that ran through people’s comments on what brought them out to be a part of the Carry The Load volunteer opportunity at the Salisbury National Cemetery Annex on Sept. 11. Twenty-plus people from Salisbury and the surrounding communities came together to observe Patriot Day and help with a community project of cleaning headstones and beautifying the grounds at the cemetery on the special National Day of Service and Remembrance. Carry The Load is a national nonprofit “that brings Americans together to recognize the sacrifices made by a few who carried the load for all,” said Renee Cossman, communications director with Carry The Load, which was founded in 2011 by veteran U.S. Navy Seals Clint Bruce and Stephen Holley.

Cossman noted that the local event was organized through “Carry The Load’s partnership with the VA’s National Cemetery Administration, working with Salisbury, N.C., directors and local Carry The Load supporters.” This volunteer event in Salisbury was one of more than 60 national cemeteries across the nation where volunteers were scheduled to gather and help. Many of those who came and volunteered at the local cemetery were veterans themselves or had family members who have served and wanted to give back.

Roger Chrysler organized a group of approximately 15 from Lithko Contracting in Concord to come and volunteer. He noted that probably 70 percent of those who were there with the company group were veterans, including himself, and most of the others had family members or someone in the service, “so we decided we would get as many people as we could out and do as much as we could today.” Jeff Ellison, a member of the Lithko group, said he served for 20 years in the Marine Corps, “so I wanted to give back.” With it being Sept. 11, the need to provide support and noting his time of service in the United States Air Force, were reasons why Sean Empey, also with Lithko, said he felt it was important to be there.

Honoring family and others who have served is what Lithko employee Luke Birchenough said as he mentioned his grandfather, brother and brother-in-law who have served. So he came to clean and “honor those men and women that have served as well,” he said.

Remembering her dad, a Vietnam veteran, who committed suicide and is buried in the cemetery, Raina Chrysler came to give of her time to help. She shared that the company she worked for last year came and helped and her husband, Roger, came with her then, and, “we made it bigger this year,” she said. Both Rebecca Taylor, who said this was her second year to volunteer, and Melody Gale said they have a military background with their families and coming to volunteer on this day was a way to give back to the community, and as Gale added, “in honor of them and all that served.” Jason Faith, who volunteered with the Lithko Contracting group, felt it was important to be a part of the day and “give back to the guys and women who gave their life for us to live in this country and be able to do what we want to do and just come and honor them for the day.” He also wanted to make sure that the headstones looked good and presentable for the families when they visited.

Using the day as a teaching opportunity is what Autumn Price was doing as she and sons, Joshua and Caleb Price, were there to volunteer their time. Plus, Joshua was volunteering for his school, Indian Land High School. Having read some history on Salisbury, she said she had learned about the Confederate prison and the bad conditions there and that many Union soldiers were buried in the Salisbury National Cemetery. “So I just wanted to pay tribute to all the people who fought for us. There are African Americans that fought. There are white people that fought on the Union side, and I just wanted my kids to see how important it is to serve our community and pay tribute to the people in this area that did this for us,” said Autumn Price. Joshua Price said that his dad was a veteran, and he thought coming here to help support veterans was “really nice.” As they were making their way to clean a certain area in the cemetery, Laura and Michael Keen shared why they felt it was important to come on this day as Laura said, “respect.”

She added that while those buried there in the cemetery are not necessarily related to 9/11, she did say, “just respect of sacrifice.” Michael said that it was “a good opportunity to honor those that have served and a way to give back” as Laura added “because we are a lucky generation.” Telling that it was an honor to be there and be able to help and give back is what drew Melissa Acla to volunteer as well as wanting “to be able to feel like I was a part of something big.” “Preserving the sanctity of Memorial Day through community gatherings and storytelling to unite Americans in appreciation for the sacrifices made by a few who carried the load for all,” is the mission of Carry The Load, said Cossman. Therefore, she said, they encourage people to come out and volunteer in honor of those who sacrificed on or because of 9/11. People can come and share their stories and “educate the next generation that freedom is not free.” With it being Sept. 11 and remembering that many men and women sacrificed their lives on this date, Acla said of the day and opportunity, “it’s humbling.”

View the full story here.

September 12, 2024

9/11 with Quincy National Cemetery service project

Quincy Herald-Whig

By: Daniel Bethers

QUINCY — Quincy commemorated 9/11 on Wednesday, remembering the thousands —343 first responders — who lost their lives.

A brief ceremony was held at the 9/11 monument in front of City Hall in remembrance of the victims.

In parallel remembrance of loss and those who served their country, volunteers headed to Quincy National Cemetery directly following the ceremony to pay their respects to the veterans interned there and perform maintenance as a service to those who live on and remember through the facility.

“It was solemn and it was an honor,” said Barbara Fletcher, who served as a sergeant E-5 in Germany for 13 years. “It is always my privilege to honor anybody who serves. First responders are out there offering and giving their lives in service to their community, just as us veterans serve our country. It’s a big brotherhood and we have a lot of affinity for first responders, many of whom are veterans themselves.”

According to Keokuk National Cemetery Caretaker and Supervisor Brent Inskeep, the Quincy National Cemetery originated as a Civil War-era soldier’s lot in Woodland Cemetery. Burials began as early as 1861 but it wasn’t until 1882 that it was officially recognized as national cemetery.

The headstone cleaning was organized by Carry the Load, a national organization dedicated to restoring the meaning of Memorial Day and other patriotic holidays.

“There were probably about a dozen volunteers … cleaning the headstones,” Fletcher said. “We were provided with cleaning supplies. The headstones there are beautiful white marble and it was a privilege to make sure they stay beautiful, white and presentable.”

The headstones date to the spring 1882 when they were issued by the government for the 221 Union soldiers in the lot.

No clear explanation is known, but in 1899 all 300 soldier remains were relocated to their current resting place in Graceland Cemetery off Maine Street, minus some commemorative Civil War munitions and guns. With time, the rest of the cemetery was redeveloped, giving what is now the Quincy National Cemetery.

“Even though it is a smaller cemetery closed to first interments, visitors still come out and show support for relatives, friends — even some that have nobody interred at the cemetery,” Inskeep said. “The opportunity to walk the hallowed grounds and learn about the history of the cemetery while (enjoying) the pristine upkeep of the cemetery shows the local community the pride the employees of the National Cemetery Administration take in caring for our veterans’ and their families’ final resting place … by volunteering their time and energy, (residents) help keep alive the memory not just of the victims of September 11th, but of the countless men and women who served in our Armed Forces or as first responders before and after that fateful day.”

After the cleaning, a free lunch was offered at the American Legion Post 37 for participants and first responders.

“I definitely agree with veterans paralleling what they’ve done with first responders,” said Quincy Police Department Detective Sgt. Adam Gibson. “Many of us made sacrifices. It’s nice to be honored, although most of us don’t do the job to be honored. We understand doing the job — it’s a thankless job (but) we still continue to move forward.”

View the full story here.

September 12, 2024

Patriot Day of Service Volunteers clean headstones at Alexandria National Cemetery.

Alexandria Gazette

By: Jeanne Theismann

More than 100 volunteers turned out Sept. 11 at Alexandria National Cemetery to participate in a Patriot Day of Service to honor and remember the nation’s heroes on the anniversary of those lost in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The volunteers worked in partnership with VFW Post 609 and Carry the Load, a Veterans Service organization, to clean the more than 4,000 headstones located in the cemetery.

“Every year on Patriot Day, Americans are asked to treat the day as an opportunity to do some sort of national public service,” said Col. Gerry Krueger, Commander of VFW Post 609. “Our way of doing that is to join with Carry the Load and the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs to honor several thousand military veterans who have served our country honorably. We do this by cleaning their tombstones, saying their names out loud, and saluting them, to assure them their service to our country is not forgotten.”

Part of Carry the Load’s mission is to “honor and remember the service and sacrifice of our military, veterans, first responders, and their families. That’s why on Patriot Day, we encourage all Americans to reflect on the sacrifices made by those who served and those who were called to serve due to the events on September 11, 2001.”

The event kicked off with remarks by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration representative Danny Devine, local VFW Post 609 member and Carry the Load ambassador Danielle Applegate, and AmeriCorps CEO Michael Smith.

“This is a way to honor the sacrifice of those we have loved and lost,” said Applegate, who is also the chair of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. “We say their names so they are not forgotten.”

Alexandria National Cemetery is one of the original national cemeteries founded by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862. The historic nature of the headstones means that only a sponge and water are used to clean the headstones so as to not cause any damage.

Patriot Day volunteers partnered with Carry the Load to help clean headstones and beautify more 60 VA National Cemeteries across the nation. All 4,229 headstones were cleaned as part of the efforts in Alexandria.

The event is co-sponsored by the US Dept. of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration with local VFW Post 609 serving as host.

“Today is a special day for our nation,” said volunteer Alexandra Gal. “It’s a great cause and gives me the chance to stop and reflect.”

View the full story here.

September 11, 2024

Grafton High School students volunteer at West Virginia National Cemetery

WBOY 12 News

By: Jalyn Lamp

GRAFTON, W.Va. (WBOY) — As a way to honor those before them, Grafton High School students took time out of their day on Wednesday to give back to veterans.

About 30 Grafton High School students spent their Wednesday morning helping wash headstones at the West Virginia National Cemetery in honor of Patriots Day.

The West Virginia National Cemetery hosts ceremonies during Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and for Wreaths Across America which typically brings volunteers to help clean headstones. Though cemetery director, Richard Colosky, mentioned that volunteers for Patriot Day haven’t really caught on.

“I think it’s important to get the youth involved, especially an event like this because most of these kids weren’t even alive when Sept. 11 happened. It’s nice to see that they’re coming out and contributing to keeping the memory alive of the veterans who have served and put forward some community service. It helps the cemetery greatly in keeping our national shrine standards,” said Colosky.

You can get involved and volunteer at the West Virginia National Cemetery by contacting the cemetery through its phone number, 304-265-2044, and by getting involved with organizations like Wreaths Across America.

View the full story here.

September 11, 2024

West Virginia National Cemetery hosts headstone cleaning event in honor of Patriot Day

WDTV CBS 5 West Virginia

By: Tanner Gilmartin

GRAFTON, W.Va (WDTV) - As we remember those we’ve lost in the September 11th terrorist attack, it’s also a day to remember the men and women who have died for this country before and after 9/ll. on Wednesday, volunteers at the West Virginia National Cemetery in Grafton went above and beyond to ensure that honor.

“We just keep the headstones clean,” said Richard Colosky, the West Virginia National Cemetery Director. “We make sure we’re getting any type of objectional accumulation, and the big thing to keep them clean as if you don’t stay up on this, they can get algae or liken, and then eventually if they’re not taken care of properly, it ends up all black and you won’t even be able to read the names.”

Colosky explains a headstone-cleaning process. He and other staff joined volunteers today as part of the ‘Carry the Load’ initiative, which works to beautify headstones at 67 national cemeteries across the nation. This preserves the final resting place of those who paid the ultimate price for the United States of America.

“You have to be able to come in and read the veterans’ names, the veterans and the people who come to visit deserve that,” Colosky said. “This is not the only time these gravestones get cleaned, we clean these headstones twice a year. It’s the national standard for national cemeteries to keep these headstones clean. We go through assessments twice a year that grade the quality.”

The cemetery in Grafton has been taking part in ‘Carry the Load’ for a few years now, and this year it had one of its biggest crowds of volunteers. Most of the volunteers, and students, weren’t even alive at the time of the 9/11 attack or during wars for which these veterans fought. Even so, one student, Payden Moon told 5News that he’s all too familiar with the importance of remembering those who we’ve lost.

“A lot of my family members served in the military,” said Moon. “Grandpa, my mom’s stepdad, a real long line of military background. My great-grandpa survived Pearl Harbor. It means a lot to me to come out and show these graves of deceased individuals some respect.”

Moon and his peers cleaned over 1,800 headstones in under three hours

View the full story here.

September 11, 2024

Volunteers clean National Cemetery to mark 9/11

WREG CBS Memphis

By: Alan Selph

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Wednesday marked a somber anniversary — 23 years since the 9/11 attacks.

As we remember the lives lost, a national nonprofit is calling on Americans to come together and honor those who sacrificed for our freedom.

Carry The Load is a nonprofit founded by two Navy SEALs. Wednesday, the group hosted a National Day of Service and Remembrance at Memphis National Cemetery.

Volunteers cleaned headstones and the grounds, joining efforts at 67 National Cemeteries across the country.

“With fifty of us, I’m going to guess we’ll probably clean six or seven hundred headstones today,” said Sean O’Brien, a veteran and coordinator. He shared his 9/11 memories.

“I was a part of the Air National Guard at the time, a full time guardsman. We went out to do a project,” he said. “When 9/11 hit, I was woken up from the numbers I was working and told to look at the TV, and when we got there the second plane hit.”

Another volunteer, JaiKeisha Forrest-Andrews, says she has friends who lost loved ones in the attack and still struggle to talk about it today.

“I had a couple of coworkers who, one son and another one who lost a husband,” she said. “To talk to them is still painful. For them to know that they lost their loved ones, just traveling, trying to get back home.”

O’Brien emphasizes the importance of community gatherings like this to keep memories alive and ensure sacrifices aren’t forgotten.

View the full story here.

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September 11, 2024

Volunteers clean headstones at Bay Pines National Cemetery 23 years after 9/11

FOX 13 Tampa Bay

By: Kailey Tracy

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - At Bay Pines National Cemetery, several volunteers cleaned veterans' headstones as part of the non-profit, "Carry the Load's" National Day of Service and Remembrance on September 11.

Colonel Beverly Smith-Tillery, who served in the Army for more than two decades as an intensive care nurse and deployed to Iraq, said scrubbing the headstones had even more of a meaning on Wednesday, Sept. 11.

"Everybody that was affected, I pray for them, and I say we cannot let this happen again," Smith-Tillery said. "It made me know that there were terrorists out there who really intended to destroy the United States, and we needed to stop them.

Smith-Tillery, her husband and several others scrubbed veterans’ headstones at the cemetery on the 23rd anniversary of 9/11.

"We all lost a day of our life that day, and I think it's important to be out here at this cemetery scrubbing these headstones," Ward Murphy, another volunteer, said. "These veterans that died for us, and we need to be out here today. I think it's really important."

"The country is still healing from it, and I think today is a perfect day to be able to do something like this," Murphy said.

Carry the Load's volunteers at Bay Pines National Cemetery in St. Petersburg joined more than 2,000 volunteers nationwide, cleaning headstones at 67 national cemeteries.

"The men and women who were here today helping to clean these headstones, they remember 9/11, and they are still touched by it," Kirk Leopard, the executive director for Bay Pines and Florida National Cemeteries, said. "They want other people to remember as well."

Honoring the fallen, the volunteers said, by keeping their memory alive and making sure no one ever forgets.

View the full story here.

September 11, 2024

Volunteers pay tribute on 9/11 by cleaning Knoxville National Cemetery

WATE News 6 On Your Side

By: Gregory Raucoules

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — As the nation remembers and honors those lost in the September 11 attacks, volunteers in Knoxville paid tribute by helping clean up a veterans’ cemetery.

Dozens of people met up at the Knoxville National Cemetery, a United States National Cemetery first established in 1863 during the Civil War, to clean the cemetery grounds and gravestones.

Joseph Stewart, a maintenance worker at Mountain Home National Cemetery in Johnson City, explained the significance of having volunteers on hand on Patriot Day.

“It gives them a time to reflect on September 11 and share stories of what they remember from September 11,” Stewart said. “And not forget what happened and to keep that tradition going.”

“This cemetery is one of our older cemeteries. We have a lot of big oak trees here and they tend to leave a lot of debris. So it is strenuous, but it is very rewarding in the same process. When you’re doing this you read the inscriptions on the headstones and when you get that headstone back to its sparkling white shine and so forth, it’s a very rewarding feeling when it’s finished.”

The event was organized by the national veterans nonprofit Carry The Load, which works to preserve the sanctity of veterans’ memorials. The group set up volunteering opportunities at 67 national cemeteries across the country, with more than 2,000 participants nationwide.

“It’s kind of near and dear to my heart,” said volunteer Crystal Widemer. “My husband is a veteran, so anything I can do to help give back to the community for those that served and gave their sacrifice for the country, I’m all about.”

Event volunteer Savanah Sommerfeld told 6 News she participated to honor her family members who served in the military as well as her friend Ryan Knauss, the U.S. Army Staff Sgt. from Corryton who was killed by a suicide bombing at Kabul Airport during the final days of the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

View the full story here.

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