Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Houston Chronicle
November 28, 2008
$5 million center at Army base built with private funds
By Michelle Roberts, Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO — Judith Markelz has relied on volunteers for years to help the war wounded and their families. They've brought meals, DVDs, event tickets and an endless supply of cookies to help comfort those whose lives are suddenly upended by a bomb or a bullet.
So when a new volunteer, Les Huffman, arrived at the chaotic 1,000-square-foot room used for the Warrior and Family Support Center in January 2007 and asked what Markelz needed, the program manager said a new video game system.
But Huffman, the president of a small commercial development firm, wanted to do more. And when Markelz conceded she could use a little more room, that's what she got: a $5 million building designed like a Texas Hill Country home with a therapeutic garden, classroom, video game room and kitchen — all paid for by private donations. It's the first center of its kind built on an Army post.
"I asked for an Xbox 360 and I got a 12,500-square-foot building," she said, laughing.
"Nice trade-off."
Markelz gets the keys to the new place, built at Fort Sam Houston, on Monday.
Number of wounded grew
The original support center opened five years ago and was expected to offer just a couple of activities a month and provide a small place for the wounded to hang out so they wouldn't stay in their cramped barracks all the time.
But as the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan dragged on, the number of severely wounded service members grew.
Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam has the Army's only burn unit and a large amputee rehabilitation program, meaning many of the wounded are there for the long haul.
Their family members — usually wives or mothers — often drop everything when they get the call that their spouse or child is wounded and arrive in San Antonio overwhelmed. They forget diapers for their infants, don't have more than a couple changes of clothes and don't have any way of getting around the city.
"I had a lady get off the plane with two left shoes," Markelz said.
"When you get that phone call, rational is not what you are."
But even after the immediate panic, the families have other needs. Sometimes, spouses need education or job skills, and they often need the diversion of crafts, meals and outings, Markelz said.
A lot more space
The 59-year-old retired teacher and her three-member staff have been working with volunteers to provide all that in the overflowing conference room of a Fort Sam hotel. They've logged 264,000 visits from service members and their relatives in the last five years.
But the new building gives them a lot more space and the ability to do things the cramped room didn't.
A large kitchen will allow families to cook. A barbecue pavilion sits near a garden built for relaxation and therapy. A classroom will offer graduation equivalency diploma classes and other skills. A high-end game room designed by a couple of the wounded servicemen will allow for video game tournaments and movie nights.
A soaring 18-foot metal sculpture of butterflies — a symbol of hope that a group of the burn center mothers adopted — swirls up over the fireplace; it was designed by one of the wounded soldiers.
"It doesn't look like anything the Army has ever built," Markelz said.
November 28, 2008
$5 million center at Army base built with private funds
By Michelle Roberts, Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO — Judith Markelz has relied on volunteers for years to help the war wounded and their families. They've brought meals, DVDs, event tickets and an endless supply of cookies to help comfort those whose lives are suddenly upended by a bomb or a bullet.
So when a new volunteer, Les Huffman, arrived at the chaotic 1,000-square-foot room used for the Warrior and Family Support Center in January 2007 and asked what Markelz needed, the program manager said a new video game system.
But Huffman, the president of a small commercial development firm, wanted to do more. And when Markelz conceded she could use a little more room, that's what she got: a $5 million building designed like a Texas Hill Country home with a therapeutic garden, classroom, video game room and kitchen — all paid for by private donations. It's the first center of its kind built on an Army post.
"I asked for an Xbox 360 and I got a 12,500-square-foot building," she said, laughing.
"Nice trade-off."
Markelz gets the keys to the new place, built at Fort Sam Houston, on Monday.
Number of wounded grew
The original support center opened five years ago and was expected to offer just a couple of activities a month and provide a small place for the wounded to hang out so they wouldn't stay in their cramped barracks all the time.
But as the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan dragged on, the number of severely wounded service members grew.
Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam has the Army's only burn unit and a large amputee rehabilitation program, meaning many of the wounded are there for the long haul.
Their family members — usually wives or mothers — often drop everything when they get the call that their spouse or child is wounded and arrive in San Antonio overwhelmed. They forget diapers for their infants, don't have more than a couple changes of clothes and don't have any way of getting around the city.
"I had a lady get off the plane with two left shoes," Markelz said.
"When you get that phone call, rational is not what you are."
But even after the immediate panic, the families have other needs. Sometimes, spouses need education or job skills, and they often need the diversion of crafts, meals and outings, Markelz said.
A lot more space
The 59-year-old retired teacher and her three-member staff have been working with volunteers to provide all that in the overflowing conference room of a Fort Sam hotel. They've logged 264,000 visits from service members and their relatives in the last five years.
But the new building gives them a lot more space and the ability to do things the cramped room didn't.
A large kitchen will allow families to cook. A barbecue pavilion sits near a garden built for relaxation and therapy. A classroom will offer graduation equivalency diploma classes and other skills. A high-end game room designed by a couple of the wounded servicemen will allow for video game tournaments and movie nights.
A soaring 18-foot metal sculpture of butterflies — a symbol of hope that a group of the burn center mothers adopted — swirls up over the fireplace; it was designed by one of the wounded soldiers.
"It doesn't look like anything the Army has ever built," Markelz said.