Jim Monroe AVHOFS President Class of 2014

Fellow Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame members,

You are accustomed to seeing a good deal of information covered in my Notes each month.  This month, I will defer to the Article on the Patriotic Awards Luncheon drafted by Karen Craig; it gives you all the information you need.  The PAL is our premier event for the ear and we sincerely need the support of our members to ensure its success.  If you plan to register but have not yet done so, please take the time to register now.  If you have not decided to attend, please make that decision to join your fellow members at this premier event.  This is the one time each year when all AVHOFS members must come together in support of the Society.  Act as if what you do makes a difference because -- it does!

Search for Quartermaster
Roy McClymonds has notified me that he must step away from his duties as Quartermaster due to growing health concerns.  Roy has been a very dependable member and is one of those people who do what they say they will do when they say they will do it.  I am sure you all know someone like this is hard to find.  

The Quartermaster’s duties include the operation of the Country Store.  This involves receiving orders for Country Store items several times each year, placing the orders for specific goods with our suppliers, receiving the goods when they are delivered and distributing them to those who have placed an order.  Roy is committed to working with the new Quartermaster to make sure the transition is smooth. 

We need to find and install a member into this position immediately.  Please consider accepting this duty for your society.  This is important! Contact Jim Monroe or Roy McClymonds for discussion.

Jim:   480-363-0044           
Roy:  480-694-2425

Karen Craig AVHOFS Director Class of 2020

We are also pleased to welcome LTC (Ret) Bruce Crandall, Medal of Honor Recipient, as our special Guest Speaker at this year’s luncheon. He received the MOH for his actions as a pilot during the Battle of Ia Drang, South Vietnam and his service is depicted in the book and movie, “We Were Soldiers Once…and Young”.

Early Bird discount pricing ends on March 10, 2022, so don’t delay – REGISTER TODAY!  We look forward to seeing you and ask that you also share this invite with others in the Veteran community, family, and friends. Registration for the luncheon closes on March 26th.  Online registration and more details can be found on our website at www.AVHOF.org

2022 AVHOFS Copper Star Award – Jen Miles, Mayor of Kingman, AZ
Mayor Jen Miles is honored to be serving in her tenth year on the Kingman’s City Council.  Miles is proud to be a champion for the city and for the progress the city is making to improve livability and regional economic prosperity.  Throughout her career, Mayor Miles has worked with others to cultivate projects, services and programs that uplift lives and provide opportunities to advance. She has partnered with numerous organizations and individuals to “get things done” and to ensure that often under-served populations, including veterans, youth and those in need, are not overlooked.

Mayor Miles’ early career provided her with a corporate and small business background associated with degrees in engineering (Bachelor of Chemical Engineering, Auburn University) and business management (MBA, Stanford University).  However, her passion to be fully engaged in community and economic development led her to Kingman twenty-nine years ago.  Since then, she has worked for Mohave Community College and Mohave County in county-wide positions ranging from Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Director to Vice-President of Applied Sciences and Technology and for the County, Workforce Programs Administrator. 

As Mayor, Ms. Miles currently serves on a number of state and local entities including the state Workforce Arizona Council, WACOG Executive Board, Mohave Health Coalition, Greater Arizona Mayors Association and Tri-City Council.  She is a recipient of the Kingman Women Making History Award in Public Service.  In 2020, she was honored to be inducted into the Kingman Veterans Treatment Court for contributions in Leadership.

2022 AVHOF Copper Shield Award – J.D. Mesnard, Arizona Senator, District 17
J.D. Mesnard is in his second term as State Senator from District 17 (Chandler, Gilbert, and Sun Lakes). He previously served in the Arizona State House of Representatives for eight years, including as Speaker of the House for the last two years.
He is a small business owner, investor, and consultant, and has always sought to be an active participant at all levels of the community. He works with charities, churches, and non-profits, and is adjunct faculty at Arizona State University and Mesa Community College, where he has taught courses in political science for over 15 years. His compassion for those less fortunate—who struggle in places outside of the greatest country on earth—led him to help establish Voices of the World, a non-profit Christian charity whose mission includes providing humanitarian aid to the poor and destitute in Africa.
Senator Mesnard is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of ASU with a Bachelors degree in Music Composition. He also holds two masters degrees, one in Business and the other in Public Administration. Born at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, FL (his father is a retired fighter pilot), he has lived in Arizona for almost 30 years. He resides in Chandler with his wife, Holly, who is a registered nurse and their two adorable little girls, Calielle and Annizelle.

Patriotic Awards Luncheon sponsorship opportunities still exist.  If interested, contact Gordon James at 602-274-1988, 602-690-7551 or gjames@gcjpr.com.

Jerry Wojtas AVHOFS Treasurer Class of 2011

There are all sorts of happenings occurring in your Society.  The StandDown for Maricopa County has been announced, as well as for other locations around the state.  More information on various locations can be found on the last page of this newsletter.  Since we support StandDown over the entire state of Arizona, your Society has contributed $2,500 toward this year’s efforts.  This is the same amount we have been contributing for many years.  You should feel proud of helping fellow veterans that are not as fortunate as you or me.

And PLEASE, if you possibly can, attend our Patriotic Awards Luncheon on April 1st.  We want to show the individuals and businesses who do so much for our fellow veterans that we appreciate all that they do as we present them with awards.  As an added bonus, if you ask me, I’ll sign and autograph your copy of the Awards Luncheon program.  This is something I haven’t done in the past, so your program will be a one of a kind.

The contributions to our Century Club have dropped off in the past two months.  Please… please if you have not contributed this fiscal year, consider doing so soon.  Listed below are those members who have contributed since our fiscal year started on 1 July.

Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame
4980 S. Alma School Road, Ste. A2-619
Chandler, AZ 85248-5545

CENTURY CLUB DONATIONS (FY Goal is $10,000. Total to date is $6,766)

BLACK- up to $100  GREEN - $101-$199   BLUE - $200-$299   RED - $300 and above GOLD - $400 and above

Listed below are those who have contributed so far in 2021.

___________________________________________________________________________

The 2022 Maricopa County StandDown is set to take place on March 17, 2022 from 8AM to 4PM at the Arizona State Fair Grounds. We are so excited to once again be able to gather together to provide resources to Veterans in need throughout our community. We encourage you to share this event with your network and look forward to bringing our community together. Covid-19 safety protocol will be in place at this event as our priority is the health and safety of everyone in attendance. For those interested in signing up as a service provider for this event, please sign up here. Please note that priority is being given to services focused around housing, employment and healthcare at this time

To view the flyers for this event,click here. 

Interested in volunteering? Click here.

Learn more about the 2022 Maricopa County StandDown here.

Join the Coalition
We represent thousands of individuals, nonprofits and organizations of all sizes who want to bring more affordable housing and an end to homelessness to Arizona. Add your voice to ours and become a member today!

Join us as we speak up for home and hope! 

Arizona Housing Coalition
1495 E. Osborn Road
Phoenix, AZ 85014
United States

Request you let us know as soon as you know of an inductee’s passing. If available, we would like to know the inductee’s name, date of passing, funeral, and memorial service details, and a copy of the obituary. Send notices to Jim Monroe at j.c.monroe@cox.net.

Known members that passed in 2021.

GENE FENSTERMACHER (Class of 2009)

Ret. Col. Gene Fenstermacher, 91, of Sierra Vista, AZ passed away on January 26, 2022.  He was born on February 3rd, 1930 in Spring Valley Minnesota to Paul V. and Doris E. Fenstermacher. 
Gene loved to play softball and enjoy time with friends and family.  He pursued genealogy, where he documented 300 years of the Fenstermacher family history and their immigration from Germany to Pennsylvania in the early 1700s. 

Gene enlisted in the Air Force right out of high school, during the first year of its inception in 1948.  In 1957 he was selected to attend Officers Candidate School and earned an Electrical Engineering degree from the Air Force Institute of Technology.   He served in Korea on a ground radar site directing bombing missions during the Korean War, as a radar guidance control officer for the Atlas D missiles in Cheyenne, WY, at the Strategic Air Command in Omaha, NE, and as a communications-electronics advisor to the Royal Thai Air Force in Thailand during the Vietnam War.   He also served overseas tours of duty in Japan and Turkey.

In 1975 he helped establish an interoperability outfit on Fort Huachuca called the TRI TAC (Tri-service Tactical Communications) program.  In 1980, he was reassigned to Fort Huachuca as the Air Force's operational test director for the TRI TAC program for almost five years.
In 1984, Fenstermacher was asked if he would take an assignment at Fort Monmouth in New Jersey. In telling his wife Lucy this, she responded, saying, “Anybody who's got 36 years in the service and takes another assignment, come back and visit me once in a while".  So he did.  Gene retired as a Colonel from the Air Force in 1987 after serving 39 years. 

For the next 15 years, Gene worked at the Electronic Proving Ground on Fort Huachuca.  “I tell people that the 15 years, plus nearly 39 years of active duty amounted to 54 years (of work),” he said. “I never missed a paycheck. The first one was $75.”

Once Gene stopped working in 2002 he continued his service through many civic commissions, including the Sierra Vista Environmental Affairs Commission, Liaison to Upper San Pedro Partnership advocating water conservation and aquifer recharge, MOAA (Military Officers Association of America), Veteran Legislative Affairs Advisor, United Veterans Council and other Veteran Groups.  In 2009, Gene was inducted into the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame.

He is survived by his daughter-in-law Barbara Fenstermacher, his grandson, Kevin Fenstermacher, a granddaughter-in-law Karen Fenstermacher, 3 great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.   He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Lucy, three brothers (William, David and Jerry), his son Herbert and his grandson Jason.

A memorial service will be held on March 7th , 2022 from 9:00-11:00am at Hatfield Funeral Home, 830 S. Hwy 92, Sierra Vista, AZ followed by the burial at 12:00pm at Arizona Veterans Cemetery, 1300 Buffalo Soldier Trail, Sierra Vista, AZ.  In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to the USO (United Service Organizations).