Lift - 2012 Annual Report on Philanthropy - (Page 28)

Military support Veterans give on multiple fronts By sar a w i th r ow “A veteran is someone who at one point in his life wrote a blank check made payable to the United States of America for an amount of ‘up to and including my life.’” —Author Unknown en and women serving in the U.S. military are often asked to give the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country. Dedication to God, country, and family is the trinity of their devotion. While further down on their list of allegiance, Embry-Riddle has found a place in the hearts of service members as well – particularly those who earned degrees at one of its more than 150 Worldwide campuses. Herbert Schaefer (’98, WW), Terry Cox (’91, WW) and James Johnson (’91, ’01, WW) are three alumni-veterans who have made it a priority to give back to their alma mater. Middle East and Pacific areas as an aircrewman and maintenance technician/chief with squadrons that flew the Lockheed EP-3 and P-3 aircraft. It wasn’t until after he retired from the armed forces in 1986, and started a second career as a civilian logistics manager for the Naval Air Systems Command, that he earned his degree in professional aeronautics at the Embry-Riddle Patuxent River Campus in Maryland. “I always wanted to finish up my degree in the Navy, but I never got enough time on the ground,” he says. Schaefer had plenty of transfer credits when he enrolled at Embry-Riddle, and an associate degree, so it didn’t take him long to complete his Bachelor of Science. “I had enough credits for two degrees,” he says. Born in Germany to a German mother and a career Army man, Schaefer graduated from high school Herbert Schaefer A retired senior chief, Schaefer spent the majority of his 20-year military career in Europe, the Mediterranean, Terry Cox A helicopter test pilot and maintenance officer for 18 of his 24 years in the U.S. Army, Cox says he knew an 28 p h i l a nth r o py r e p o rt g i v i n gto.E R A U.E d U Johnson photo by Kelly Cuculiansky Pratt in Naples, Italy. A month after graduating from high school and enticed by an advertisement soliciting volunteers for the Navy’s then-Operation Deep Freeze (the last frontier), a multi-nation program supporting earth science studies in the Antarctic, Schaefer enlisted. Within three years he was with the VX-6 squadron in the Antarctic working as an avionics maintenance technician and earned his first aircrew wings as LH-34 crew chief. A consistent donor to the university, he says his support of Embry-Riddle is all about creating opportunities for others. “I wanted to go to college when I was 18, but I couldn’t. If I can help someone out in life, so that they don’t have to wait 20 to 30 years to go to school, then that’s what I want to do,” he explains. Schaefer contributes to other charitable organizations in addition to Embry-Riddle. As his financial situation improved over the years, so did his ability to support the causes he believes in, he says. “As I had more, I gave more,” he explains. The retired Navy senior chief plans to continue along this tack moving forward. http://www.givingto.erau.edu

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Lift - 2012 Annual Report on Philanthropy

Lift - 2012 Annual Report on Philanthropy
Contents
Letter From the President
Letter From the Associate Vice President
Fiscal Year 2012 Financial Report
Throttling up
Lifetime and Legacy Donors
Toward an entrepreneurial university
Corporations and foundations
Student projects take off with Rockwell Collins
Daytona Beach alumni
Part of the Embry-Riddle fabric
Embry-Riddle’s first cadet gives back
Students help create a culture of philanthropy
Prescott alumni
Worldwide alumni
Military support
Friends
Board members, faculty and staff
Perpetuating dreams
Scholarship Donors
In Memoriam Donors
Endowed Funds

Lift - 2012 Annual Report on Philanthropy