COLUMBIA FALLS, Me.— Wreaths Across America Radio is proud to announce the third in its series of four roundtable discussions focused on Veteran Healing through sharing stories of resilience, purpose, and success. This live discussion will take place on Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021, at 7 PM ET, and can be heard exclusively on Wreaths Across America Radio.
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The discussion will focus on women in service, highlighting the contributions to national security by military women throughout our history. The discussion will also touch on barriers that exist(ed), along with issues that are unique to women veterans. Guest panelists – listed below – will be interviewed by Wreaths Across America’s Executive Director Karen Worcester and Director of Military & Veteran Outreach, retired United States Army Captain Joe Regan.
Panelists:
Anne F. Macdonald, Brigadier General, United States Army (Ret.) and President of Army Women’s Foundation. Macdonald graduated from West Point in 1980 in the first gender-integrated class and subsequently served nearly 31 years in the Army leading and building highly effective teams. BG Macdonald is a senior Army aviator qualified as a UH60 Blackhawk pilot, a paratrooper, and is air assault qualified. She served four years in the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and 18th Airborne Corps; seven years in the Republic of Korea; two and a half years in Germany before, during, and after the fall of the Iron Curtain; and six years as a General Officer. Her last assignment was in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. She was the first active-duty, combat arms (aviator) female to be promoted to General Officer. Anne currently serves as the President of the U.S. Army Women’s Foundation, whose mission is to promote public interest in the U.S. Army by honoring and recognizing the service of Army women, past and present.
Phyllis Wilson, United States Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 (Ret.) and President of the Women in Military Service For America Memorial Foundation. Wilson served 37 years in the Army as a Military Intelligence (MI) Voice Intercept Operator. She has served around the globe – visiting more than 35 countries – in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and North America. In August 1990, she was mobilized to support OPERATION DESERT SHIELD/ OPERATION DESERT STORM and served with XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, NC. In December 2002, she mobilized for OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM as a senior Counter-Terrorism Analyst. She culminated her military career at the 5th Command Chief Warrant Officer for the United States Army Reserve. As President of the Women in Military Service For America Memorial Foundation, she is responsible for operating and maintaining the 33,000 sq. ft. Military Women’s Memorial and Education Center – the only major national memorial honoring the three million women who have defended America from the Revolutionary War to today. She is a member of the Board of Directors for Policy Vets; Allied Forces Foundation; the Army Women’s Foundation; and the Association of the United States Army (AUSA).
Brenda Pennels is the Uniformed Services Family Health Plan Strategic Relations Manager for Martin’s Point Healthcare. Pennels also has 20 years of leadership experience in the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device industries. She was commissioned a Military Police 2LT in 1981 in the Early Commissioning Program through Army ROTC at the University of Massachusetts. In 1985, CPT Pennels left active duty and served another 16 years in the Army Reserve in the 98th Division (Training), where she received several promotions and held a variety of command and staff positions until her honorable discharge in 2001. In addition to her work with Martin’s Point, Pennels serves as the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army for the State of Maine, and as an Aide De Camp for Governor Janet T. Mills. Pennels is affiliated with numerous Veteran groups and civic organizations and is currently the President of the Military Officers Association of America, Southern Maine Chapter.
“We have had some really meaningful and important discussions during our first two RoundTable interviews, and this month’s topic of women in service is something I’ve personally wanted to cover,” said Karen Worcester, Executive Director, Wreaths Across America. “I have the utmost respect for each of these women, and for all those who have served and are serving our country. I look forward to learning more about the resiliency and success of all those on the panel.”
The goal of the Wreaths Across America Radio roundtable series on Veteran Healing is to help reduce barriers for veterans by:
- Supporting generational bonds between service veterans through stories of service and success;
- Destigmatizing issues faced by veterans and asking for help;
- Combating inaccurate perceptions of veterans by discussing the diverse experiences, challenges, and success of service members, veterans, and their families; and
- Connecting veterans with valuable resources.
You can listen to Wreaths Across America Radio’s 24/7 stream anywhere at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/radio, and via the iHeart Radio app, or download it at the App Store or on Google.
This is the third broadcast in this series, with the final broadcast scheduled for Thursday, December 23, 2021. All panel discussions will be held LIVE, exclusively on Wreaths Across America Radio.
About Wreaths Across America Radio
Wreaths Across America Radio is a 24/7 Internet stream. Its unique format provides informational and inspiring content about members of the U.S. armed forces, their families, military veterans, and volunteers throughout the country and overseas who support the mission to Remember, Honor and Teach. Along with the inspiring content, Wreaths Across America Radio plays a variety of music with roots firmly planted in patriotism and a country music thread running through the core of the stream. Wreaths Across America Radio has a live morning show every weekday morning from 6 am to 10 am eastern, along with a variety of special programs that support the mission.
Listen live at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/radio and most recently, via the iHeart Radio app, or download it at the App Store or on Google!
About Wreaths Across America
Wreaths Across America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery begun by Maine businessman Morrill Worcester in 1992. The organization’s mission – Remember, Honor, Teach – is carried out in part each year by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies in December at Arlington, as well as thousands of veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and beyond.
For more information or to sponsor a wreath please visit www.wreathsacrossamerica.org.
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