Military Officer - November 2008 - (Page 28)

rapidfire Retiree Spotlight M aj. Tom Mouhelis, USAFRet., is the executive director of the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans in Wheaton, Ill. The shelter, a nonproﬁt transitional living facility, opened in January 2007 and currently serves ﬁve veterans. Mouhelis also is a member of Wheaton’s city council. How long have you been the shelter’s executive director? I’ve been the executive director since March 2008. What do you do? I handle the operational aspects. I do scheduling, hiring, [and] fundraising and coordinate volunteers. In July 2008, Wheaton’s city council approved a $1.1 million plan that will triple the shelter’s size. Tell me about the expansion. The city council unanimously approved the plan. The shelter will expand from 2,600 square feet to 7,400 square feet, and we’re going to go from ﬁve veterans to 15 — 11 men and four women. Right now, we’re the only homeless veterans’ shelter in DuPage County. Do you think you’ve increased the city council’s awareness of veterans’ issues? If there’s one thing I’ve ever done on the city council that I’m proud of it’s making sure our veterans don’t get the welcome home like our guys got when they came back from Vietnam. So ﬁve years ago, we started honoring our returning veterans by issuing proclamations at city council meetings. So far we’ve honored 19 men and women. Unfortunately, we’ve also had three moments of silence to honor those killed in action. How many homeless veterans are in your area? Typically, on any given night, there are about 18,000 homeless veterans in the Chicago metropolitan area. About 9 percent of them are women. How are your fundraising efforts going? We still need roughly $300,000. The Military Order of the Purple Heart in Wheaton recently gave us a check for $10,000 to use in any manner we deem ﬁt — the epitome of vets helping vets! —Kris Ann Hegle Attention! Check out these military-related entertainment offerings. TV “Lioness” (CPB, 2008) tells the true story of a group of female Army support soldiers who became the first women in American history to be sent into direct ground combat. The documentary premieres on the PBS se28 MILITARY OFFICER ries “Independent Lens” Nov. 13 at 10 p.m. BOOK The Military Wives’ Cookbook (Cumberland House Publishing, 2008) Air Force officer and military wife Carolyn Quick Tillery packs this book with recipes, anecdotes, and vintage photographs tracing the history and distinctive contributions of American military wives. DVD “Flying the Secret Sky” (WGBH Boston, 2008) shares the wartime experiences of the men who braved dangerous flights during World War II. The film uses never-before-seen home movies and rare footage to reveal an unknown chapter in aviation history. MO PHOTO: STEVE BARRETT NOVEMBER 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Military Officer - November 2008

Military Officer - November 2008 Contents From the Editor From the President Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Chapters in Action Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Financial Guidebook Out of the Red 7 Year-End Tax Strategies Cover Story: Memory Survives Something to Say MOAA Scholarship Recipients Pages of History Faces of MOAA Information Exchange Member Books Advertising Index MOAA Member Services MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - November 2008

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