Leading in the Right Direction
President’s Corner
A Night to Remember
Thursday evening’s 16th Annual Veterans Dinner celebration was a rousing success! The Tuscany Falls Ballroom was filled with 192 veterans and patriots who came to thank all of those who served our country both in wartime and in peace-keeping missions. Treasurer, Barbara Kamm created an amazing video presentation in which all of our club veterans and veteran guests were acknowledged in photos. These veterans were also invited to join together in group photos based on which branch of the service they served.
What is a Veteran? Whether active duty, discharged, retired or reserve, a Veteran is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable to “The United States of America for an amount up to and including their life.”
Stanley Bloch gave a moving invocation followed by a solemn prayer, after which our guest speaker, Rear Admiral Craig Quigley, lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Duty, Honor, Valor, was the theme of our salute to those who served. Bob Wikstrom recounted the symbolism and meaning of the Missing Man Table, known also as the Fallen Comrade Table. Through it, we were called to remember the sacrifice of those who were called to duty but never returned.
We all joined in singing the theme songs of our military branches, after which we enjoyed a lovely dinner sharing stories with those veterans at our table.
A highlight of the evening was the presentation of our Veteran of the Year Award. This year’s recipient was Bob Wikstrom. Bob served his country in Korea and also kept the troops’ spirits up by playing hits on air for Armed Forces Radio, for which he received an Army Commendation Medal. Penny Pew, District Director for Congressman Paul Gosar, presented Bob an American flag that had been flown over the U.S. Capitol. Our 2025 award recipient, Chuck Streeter, presented a beautiful American Eagle Award to Bob as well.
Our featured speaker of the evening was Retired Rear Admiral Craig Quigley, a 27-year career naval officer and distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. Rear Admiral Quigley was serving in the Pentagon on 9-11 as Front Line Spokesman. He recounted his emotional experience during that horrific day from the perspective of the disbelief, confusion and bravery that ensued as they confronted this threat to our nation’s capital. Mr. Quigley now serves on the Board of Directors of the Luke Air Force Base chapter of MOAA, the Military Officers Association of America. We are proud to call him and his wife neighbors as they now live in PebbleCreek!
Our evening ended with a new rendition of Lee Greenwood’s Proud to be an American. We all joined in the singing with pride and thanksgiving that we still live in the freest, most beautiful country in the world. We aim to keep it that way despite our recent election setback. The fight for our country continues. (Make sure to check out the event photos on our website!)
Patricia Moore