May 2023 Wrap Up | Airpower Foundation

The month of May was packed full for the Airpower Foundation!

Sky Ball XXI has officially launched, events, fundraisers, and more have kept your

Airpower Foundation Board members and Ambassadors busy! Check out what exciting events and opportunities we have coming up in June and how we served our military communities nationwide in May!

Sky Ball XXI Save the Date

Mark your calendars! Sky Ball XXI is 11/16/2023 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX!
Sponsorship packages are available as well as table sales and tickets! Join the most patriotic networking event in the nation as we raise funds to support our mission!
www.airpowerfoundation.org/skyball

Snow King Ranch Coopers B-B-Q Fundraiser

Join the Airpower Foundation with our generous sponsor Snow King Ranch Friday, June 2nd at Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-b-que in Fort Worth Texas! Entrance to the concert is one can of food per person to benefit the Food Pantry at NAS JRB Fort Worth! All monetary funds raised with benefit the Airpower Foundation as Snow King Ranch has sponsored all of the costs for the entertainment for the evening!
Thank you to Donna Snow King and Rex King for your continued support of the Airpower Foundation!

Panther Music Night with the Fort Worth Air Power Council

The Airpower Foundation is grateful for the hard work and dedication of the Fort Worth Air Power Council to bring an evening of good food at Joe T. Garcias and incredible entertainment where all proceeds will benefit Mental Health and Welfare programs at the NAS JRB Fort Worth base through the Airpower Foundation. Limited seats remain – be sure to grab your seat today!

Airpower Foundation Welcomes Charlie Cripliver to the Board of Directors

The Airpower Foundation is proud to welcome Charlie Cripliver, U.S. House of Representatives / Deputy Chief of Staff for Congresswomen Kay Granger, to our Board of Directors! Charlie has been a long time supporter of the Airpower Foundation through the Fort Worth Air Power Council, and we are honored to have him serve our Board of Directors to benefit from his leadership and expertise. Welcome to the team, Charlie Cripliver!

Airpower Foundation Advisory Board and Ambassador Updates

Tracy Thomas – Airpower Foundation Advisory Board Member

Tracy Thomas is the President / CEO of the Chamber of Commerce at Cleburne, TX. She has over 35 years of direct experience helping the United States Army and our Nation’s flag stand for freedom. Tracy worked at Fort Cavazos, TX for 25 years and Texas has become her home.

Tracy has over 20 years of community relations, marketing, funding raising, and special events experience. She assisted in launching the Army initiatives, Army Family Team Building and Army Family Action Plan.

Through integrative partnership, connecting local city partners with the Installation, Tracy and the community received national recognition for the impact the projects made within the communities on Make a Difference Day, The National Day of Doing Good.

Tracy has led the efforts of four of the Installations largest Welcome Home Celebrations , with over 30,000 to 80,000 Soldiers and Families in attendance upon combat deployment returns. She has also assisted in the coordination of two Presidential visits to Fort Cavazos, formerly Fort Hood.

Tracy’s passion and devotion has been ensuring our Nation’s Soldiers are supported with honor and recognition.

Tracy Thomas is a connector and people person! She loves to interact and engage the community. Tracy’s believes that one person can make a difference in society and actions will speak louder than words.

Don Graves – Airpower Foundation Ambassador

WWII Iwo Jima Survivor and Marine Flamethrower Don Graves has joined the Airpower Foundation Ambassador team. Pictured is Don speaking as a part of our Sky Ball Speaker Series at a local elementary school about resiliency and his pride in serving in the United States Marine Corps. Don regularly sings joyously at many non-profit organization events and is a pillar of the Veteran Community in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Karalyn Martin – Airpower Foundation Ambassador

Karalyn (Kara) Martin is a Marine Corps veteran from Texas. She enlisted in the USMC at age 17. Kara was an Aviation Hydraulic Structural Mechanic. She served 5-1/2 years, one forward deployment to Iwakuni, Japan, and one combat deployment – Operation Enduring Freedom in 2011. She overcame many obstacles while in the military and upon her honorable discharge she obtained a cosmetology license, a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and a Master’s degree in Social Work, concentrating on veterans’ services and mental health issues. She serves on the South Mountain Vet US board and is an ambassador for Air Power Foundation and Holidays & Heroes. Karalyn is also active in many other veteran non-profits throughout Dallas-Fort Worth and our nation. Karalyn has also volunteered as a coach for youth baseball with a local nonprofit recreational league for five seasons. Karalyn is currently Miss Texas America’s Select Veteran 2023. She is a wife, a mother of Irish twins, and a great mom to her two dogs. Helping her fellow Veterans is truly her passion in life.

Airpower Foundation May Events and Celebrations
Don Graves Visits Ireland and Fulfills Lifelong Dream

On the morning of Don’s 98th birthday they found the the 9/11 remembrance memorial in Kinsale, Ireland. Pictured is Jeremy Lock and Don Graves in front of the Garden of Remembrance.

Don Graves APF Ambassador, Kelly Castonguay APF Executive Administrator, and Jeremy Lock Official Sky Ball Photographer, Last Letters Podcast Creator and Host, and 7 time Military Photographer of the year fulfill Don’s last wish to visit Ireland, drink a beer in a pub and sing Danny Boy. Don was treated to many wonderful, life-changing experiences, including a welcome visit to the US Embassy in Ireland. Thank you to everyone that donated to this campaign through Last Letters Podcast so that this 98 year old Iwo Jima Marine Flamethrower could experience his lifelong dream.

Airpower Foundation and Fort Worth Air Power Council
Visit Fort Hood (now designated at Fort Cavazos)
with Check Presentation

The annual civic leader tour to Fort Cavazos (formerly Fort Hood) did not disappoint as 24 leaders from the community joined the group for tours of the installation, information regarding program initiatives, meet and greets with leadership at the base and more. Thank you to our friends at Greyhound for always supporting the trip with a great driver and coach, and thank you to Fort Cavazos for your hospitality!

The Airpower Foundation through the support of Johnson Roofing Inc was able to fund child care services for a program for the Soldiers at Fort Cavazos. Pictured are Wanda Cox, Sherri Johnson McDonald, Dr. Peter Craig, Director of Fort Cavazos Family and MWR, and Don Weatherby, President of the Fort Worth Air Power Council.

Airpower Foundation Sponsors 50th Anniversary Vietnam POW Reunion

Airpower Foundation Chairman Wanda Cox, husband Colonel Bruce Cox, USAF (ret)., Vice Chairman Jim Darwin, and Former Chairman Sid Eppes attended the 50th Anniversary Return to Freedom Reunion for the former Vietnam Prisoners of War where the Airpower Foundation was a title sponsor thanks to the generosity of our donors. It was a week full of inspiring stories of American Heroism, support for the veterans of the Vietnam War, and an opportunity for these brave Americans to have a sense of community and belonging with their fellow POWs. It was the Airpower Foundation’s distinct honor to sponsor this event, as it will be the last major reunion event for these Vietnam POW heroes.

Pictured: All Former Vietnam Prisoners of War in attendance at the 50th Anniversary Return to Freedom Reunion at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum.

Pictured: Former Airpower Foundation Chairman Sid Eppes, Chairman Wanda Cox and Vice Chairman Jim Darwin at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum during the 50th Anniversary Return to Freedom Reunion for the Vietnam Prisoners of War.

136th Silver Eagles Check Presentation

MGen Hank Smyth, representing w136th Silver Eagles, presented to Sid Eppes, former Chairman of the Airpower Foundation, a check for $1,000. These funds will be going to support the Fleet and Family Services Food Pantry at NAS JRB- Fort Worth.

Thank you to Rudy’s B-B-Q and Country Store!

The Airpower Foundation is proud to have been selected as one of the military non-profit organizations to benefit from the Rudy’s Camo Cups for a Cause campaign. From May 1st through May 31st, anyone who purchased an entree with a Camo Cup at a North Texas Rudy’s location benefitted many military non-profit organizations including the Airpower Foundation! Thank you for your support!

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