DAYTON, Ohio -- The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Volunteer Program celebrated its 34th anniversary by honoring more than 500 volunteers during a Volunteer Appreciation Banquet on April 15. The event is held during Volunteer Appreciation Week.
Virginia Miller of Centerville, Ohio, received the 2015 Director’s Award for Volunteer of the Year for her dedication and excellence in serving the museum and the U.S. Air Force.
Nominated by the Operations and Special Events Divisions, Miller was commended for providing more than 500 hours of service to welcome visitors and answer questions at the museum’s lobby information desk. In addition, she spent 120 hours providing support for after-hours functions at the museum.
Other Volunteer of the Year nominees included Charlie Cooper of Centerville, nominated by the Research Division; Don Meyer of Beavercreek, nominated by the Education Division; Bob Moore of Centerville, nominated by the Volunteer Resources Office; Joshua Wieser of West Milton, nominated by the Collection Management Division; and Larry Youngblood of Englewood, nominated by the Restoration Division.
Additionally, 17 volunteers received special recognition during the banquet. Paul Cooper of Xenia, Dick Cronk of Dayton, Gary Gravette of Kettering, Roger Krolak of Dayton, Jack Kunz of Dayton, Don Meyer of Beavercreek, Harry Snyder of Vandalia, Mark Young of Fraziers Bottom and Adam Zengel of Dayton received the President’s Volunteer Service Award, which is awarded to those who have completed 4,000 hours or more of volunteer service.
Jerry Millhouse of Centerville and Dennis Wolf of Dayton were recognized for 30 years of service. Earl Beach of Medway, Michele Docken of Beavercreek, Sheila Lambertson of Beavercreek, Karen Pittman of Beavercreek, Wayne Pittman of Beavercreek and Ed Tritschler of Oakwood were recognized for 25 years.
The museum also acknowledged 72 volunteers for reaching milestones of 1,000 to 11,000 hours of volunteer service. Overall, volunteers contributed 101,800 hours of service to the museum in 2015, representing more than $2.3 million dollars in assets to the Air Force.
For more information about volunteering at the museum, visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Volunteer.aspx.
The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, is the world’s largest military aviation museum. With free admission and parking, the museum features more than 360 aerospace vehicles and missiles and thousands of artifacts amid more than 19 acres of indoor exhibit space. Each year about one million visitors from around the world come to the museum. For more information, visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil.
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NOTE TO PUBLIC: For more information, please contact the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at (937) 255-3495.
NOTE TO MEDIA: For more information, please contact Sarah Swan at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Public Affairs Division at (937) 255-1283.