On December 7th a presentation was made to approximately six different real estate groups at the Commercial Real Estate Holiday Party held at the Country Club of Orlando.
This event was hosted by NAIOP (National Association of Industrial Office Properties).
Former Mayor Rich Crotty made opening remarks followed by Jerry Pierce, the Honorable Bill Coleman and Charlie Brenner.
The Memorial at Lake Nona will provide a special serene and healing environment for the families of the Fallen as they struggle with their loss. The total campaign goal is $3 million. Of this amount, $1.5 million is for construction and another $1.5 million for an endowment for the upkeep of the Memorial.
We have already reached the $500,000 mark. Your gift will enable us to begin construction in early 2012. Right now, your gift to the Central Florida Veterans Memorial Park can be matched by Wayne Densch Charities making it worth twice as much. How does it work?
Any gift you give will be matched dollar for dollar. For example, if you give $1,000, Wayne Densch Charities will match it with $1000, making your gift worth twice as much to the veterans who gave so much. Gifts are matched up to $50,000.
Five Ways to Match Your Gift
• A cash/check gift
• A written pledge
• A gift of stock
• A gift made online at www.CFVMPF.org, click on Donate Button
• Through the Combined Federal Campaign. CFC #42905
Please take advantage of this opportunity to double your gift to the Fallen.
(Left to Right) Jerry Pierce, Stephen Seay, Randy Parks, Barbara Miller
Photograph by Joe Miller
Randy Parks, President, Central Florida Automobile Dealers Association (CFADA), presents a check in the amount of $25,000 to Steve Seay, CFVMPF President and Jerry Pierce CFVMPF Chairman. This was the completion of their $50,000 pledge toward the memorial to be built adjacent to the new VA Medical Center at Lake Nona.
(Left to Right) Jerry Pierce, Stephen Seay, Joe and Barbara Miller
Joe and Barbara Miller, Executive Vice President of Central Florida Automobile Dealers Association (CFADA), present Barbara’s personal contribution (in honor of her husband Joe) to Steve Seay, CFVMPF President and Jerry Pierce CFVMPF Chairman.
Former National Security Advisor, General James L. Jones, USMC (Ret.) Addresses Veterans and Public on National Security in our Time
General James L. Jones, USMC (Ret.) discussed National Security in Our Time in an address to Central Florida Veterans and the public on Thursday, October 20, 2011 at the American Legion State Headquarters at 1912A Lee Road in Orlando, Florida.
During his military career, General Jones served as Commander, United States European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe. He served his country for 40 years in the US Marine Corps and from July of 1999 to January of 2003 as the 32nd Commandant of the Marine Corps. After retirement General Jones served as our country’s 22nd National Security Advisor and remained involved in national security and foreign policy issues, including the chairing of a Congressional Independent Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq.
General Jones said “It is interesting to note how little of our current political discourse, one year before our National elections, is being accorded to the issue of American competitiveness in the world. American leadership in the economic sector of our society is the biggest threat to our position in the world of the 21st century. One of the critical shortfalls of our National security portfolio is the continued absence of any semblance of an energy policy for the United States, a condition that has existed for years. ”
General Jones further stated: “I am convinced more than ever that our many friends and allies the world over do not want to contemplate a world in which the United States plays a diminished role. They want the United States to be the leader that inspires those who are struggling or suffering and who, absent that leadership would have no counter balance to the world of the autocratic and opressive regimes.”
General Jones spoke at the invitation of the Central Florida Veterans Memorial Park Foundation.
Jerry E. Pierce of Orlando, Florida, Chairman of the Restaurant Equipment World in Orlando, Florida President of the Central Florida Veterans Memorial Park Foundation, Inc. and Past President of the Central Florida Veterans, Inc. received the prestigious SBCA 2011 Small Business Humanitarian of the Year for his charitable efforts on so many fronts. In addition to being a successful businessman, Mr. Pierce supports his community both with time and money. Each year the SBCA raises money to give to our Humanitarian Award winner and this year, thanks to the generosity of our members and in particular, Neil Carrey, of Santa Monica, more than $4,000 was raised. Mr. Pierce chose to donate this contribution to the Central Florida Veterans Memorial Park Foundation. This Foundation is currently raising money for a Veterans Memorial that will be built near the New Orlando Veterans Hospital scheduled for completion in the Fall of 2012. Mr. Pierce was instrumental in raising funds for this new VA Hospital as well. Jerry Pierce actively supports small businesses through his work with the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB). Mr. Pierce served in the military in Korea. In accepting the award, Jerry recognized the efforts of small businesses and how important it is for them to speak to Congress and how much they can accomplish by doing so. Neil Carrey, SBCA Director, in presenting the award, said “Jerry Pierce personifies the SBCA Humanitarian Award. He has given countless dollars and time helping out the community, particularly for our Veterans and their families.”
Orlando Sentinel – May 31, 2011
By Ludmilla Lelis
Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda, Orlando Sentinel / May 30, 2011
Katy McGahan, grandmother of 2nd Lt. Michael E. McGahan, who was killed in action in Afghanistan, gets a hug from Patrick M. Deans, father of Army Cpl. Patrick D. Deans who was killed in action in Afghanistan, during the annual Orange County War Memorial Rededication Ceremony to honor Orange County residents who have died in service of their country, on Monday in Orlando. Standing to the left is Col Tom Walters, USAF (Ret), CFVMPF Board Member.
Monday’s Memorial Day ceremony at Orange County’s war memorial was bittersweet for 87-year-old Bill Coleman, a veteran of World War II.
He savored that he could share the morning with his grandson, 20-year-old Army Spec. Rory Coleman, who had just come home on a 15-day leave from Afghanistan.
But the former Army staff sergeant, who had parachuted into France as an 18-year-old and became a prisoner of war, couldn’t shut out a few recollections he prefers to forget.
“You try not to get back into those memories,” said Coleman, who wore his World War II uniform at Monday’s ceremony. “I don’t know how anybody who’s ever been in combat can ever forget. It hurts, but it’s important to remember.”
The ceremony offered a solemn moment to remember fallen warriors, especially 2nd Lt. Michael E. McGahan and Cpl. Patrick D. Deans, at the war memorial at the Orange County Courthouse in downtown Orlando.
Mayor Teresa Jacobs unveiled the names of McGahan and Deans, which are now etched into the memorial’s dark marble, joining a long list of those killed or missing in action, as far back as the Second Seminole War, through the Civil War, both World Wars, the Vietnam War and other conflicts, culminating with Iraq and Afghanistan.
McGahan, a graduate of Olympia High School who received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida, served with the 1st Brigade Special Troop Battalion and was killed June 6 in Afghanistan.
Deans was a corporal with the 2nd Battalion and died in December in Kandahar province, Afghanistan.
Monday’s ceremony also honored Staff Sgt. Robert Miller, who died in 2008 while protecting his platoon during an ambush by insurgents. He recently was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
“These three men shared love of country, duty, and selfless service,” said guest speaker Command Sgt. Maj. Frank Grippe with U.S. Central Command. “But the most important similarity is they joined the U.S. military – and the most superior ground force of the world, the U.S. Army — during a time of war.
“They knew they would serve their country in a combat zone. They knew the risk, but they put their fears aside and stepped forward. True American warriors.”
Deans, a graduate of Timber Creek High School, had already finished his military service and had returned from Iraq and Afghanistan when he decided he wanted to go back into battle, said Orange County sheriff’s Sgt. Carlos Espinosa, a friend of his father, Patrick M. Deans.
“He said, ‘Those young guys need me.’ Yet he was only 22 years old.”
A month before he died, the younger Deans posted on his Facebook a reminder of what it means to be a soldier. He said it was akin to writing out a blank check, payable to the United States, for an amount up to and including his life.
McGahan had always been a natural leader, remembered his grandmother, Katy McGahan. She recalled summer days when he enjoyed paintball with his cousins.
On the day before he was killed, she spoke to him, and was relieved to know that he was well, eating well, and proud of his battalion. “He was happy and he was proud because he had just had the chance to give his soldiers a medal for their service,” she said. “It makes me proud.”
Jacobs choked up for a moment when she spoke about McGahan, who was a friend of her son. “There was nothing but good to remember about Michael McGahan, never an unkind word, never a moment when he didn’t earn everyone’s pride and respect.”
A rendering shows the Central Florida Veterans Memorial Park project at Lake Nona, set to break ground in January.
In the shadow of the Orlando VA Medical Center taking shape at Lake Nona, a 4-by-8-foot red, white and blue banner announces: “Future Site of Veterans Memorial Park.”
For Jerry Pierce, a Vietnam War-era veteran, the sign is a promise that he won’t stop fighting.
For almost five years, the Central Florida Veterans Memorial Park Foundation led by Pierce has been working to build the region’s largest veterans memorial next to the hospital at the Medical City in southeast Orange County.
Construction of the $1.5 million memorial, carved with the names of veterans who died while serving, had been scheduled to start this past November and be completed by Memorial Day. But Pierce said those plans changed when the foundation’s all-volunteer board realized that raising the money would be more complicated than thought.
Now, with a professional fundraiser on board, the foundation plans to start construction in January and to finish by the time the hospital opens in October 2012. The group has raised about $400,000 in cash and pledges of the $1 million needed to break ground. An additional $500,000 will be needed to complete the work.
The project has also gained a high-profile champion: retired Lt. Gen. Jay Garner, who led the reconstruction of Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein and now lives in Windermere. Gardner, the campaign’s honorary chairman, is using his military contacts to help raise money.
“Anything I can do for veterans, I do it,” Gardner said.
The memorial park would be built on a lakefront site provided by the Lake Nona Land Co. Designed without charge by Rogers, Lovelock & Fritz of Winter Park, it would include an amphitheater for community events, an archway that reads “For All Who Have Fallen” and a set of light-gray granite panels inscribed with the names of Central Florida soldiers.
Pierce expects that more than 3,000 names dating back to World War I will be carved into the slabs. The memorial would honor all veterans from Central Florida who died while in military service, though not necessarily in combat.
One feature missing from the revised design of the memorial is an eternal flame, scrapped to save money. It will be replaced by a less-expensive waterfall, Pierce said.
“This is more than a memorial,” said Pierce, who ran a restaurant-equipment business for more than 25 years. He describes it as a place to remember and mourn those who made the ultimate sacrifice. And to ensure that future generations can use the memorial, the foundation also hopes to raise another $1.5 million as an endowment for the park’s upkeep.
Tim Liezert, director of the VA medical center, said the memorial will provide a therapeutic benefit to veterans and their families.
“The memorial, with its dignity and serenity, will create the opportunity for powerful personal-healing experiences for many veterans, similar to that experienced by veterans visiting national memorials in Washington, D.C.,” Liezert wrote in an email.
The $665 million, 65-acre VA medical center will include a 134-bed hospital, a nursing home and a rehabilitation center. While the center is under construction, the foundation will continue to raise money. Pierce and the other members of the foundation have been making presentations to civic groups, city leaders, military organizations and anyone else who might donate, though Pierce said the foundation won’t be seeking government money.
Jim Donovan, a fundraising consultant hired by the foundation in May 2010, said the emphasis now is on major gifts of $10,000 and above. Donovan said 80 percent of a campaign’s funds typically come from 20 percent of the donors.
And even in a down economy, the foundation has found donors. During the past year, it has received a $10,000 check from Ross Perot Jr. — a Dallas real-estate mogul and son of the one-time presidential candidate — along with $50,000 grants from the Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation and the Central Florida Auto Dealers Association.
“There is plenty of money out there,” Donovan said.
The remaining money will likely come in as the groundbreaking nears, Donovan said. Donors like to see progress before opening their wallets, he added.
Veterans also have contributed. Pierce said there’s a sense of camaraderie and pride that compels them to donate to the memorial.
“I don’t care how much I don’t have, I’m going to help” is something Pierce said he hears a lot.
Alan Starling, president of Starling Chevrolet, which has three dealerships in Central Florida, is personally matching donations, up to a total of $50,000. Starling, who served during the Vietnam War, said the community needs to remember its veterans. Building a memorial, he said, is “the least we can do.”
The campaign to build a permanent Memorial to honor those from Central Florida, who served in uniform of our country and did not return home, got a boost today from Meggitt Training Systems of Georgia.
Kevin Dietrick, second from left, Vice President for Business Development recently presented a $6,000 check to Jerry E. Pierce, Chairman of the Central Florida Veterans Memorial Park Foundation along with fellow Board Members Stephen Seay, BG USA retired and Earle Denton, LTG USA retired.
“We are pleased and proud to be a part of this effort at Lake Nona to remember these Fallen Heroes,” said Dietrick.
In accepting the check, Pierce told Dietrick, “We are delighted for this most generous contribution from Meggitt Training Systems and the timing of it, as we approach Memorial Day.”
The campaign has raised a total of $400,000 in gifts and pledges toward its phase one construction goal of $1.5 million. Information about the Memorial can be found at www.CFVMPF.org
April 27, 2011
Ross, Perot Jr., has contributed $10,000 from Hillwood, his Dallas based company, to the capital campaign to construct and endow a Memorial at Lake Nona to those who served in the uniform of their country and did not return home to Central Florida, according to Jerry E. Pierce, Chairman of the Central Florida Veterans Memorial Park Foundation.
“We are truly honored to have a Texas based company like Mr. Perot’s support our efforts at Lake Nona, Florida to honor the Fallen in our six county region of Central Florida,” said Pierce. This is the campaign’s first major gift from outside Florida, according to Pierce.
Darcy Anderson, Vice Chairman of the Hillwood Company wrote in his letter to Mr. Pierce, “We are pleased to support your project in this way.” Anderson was initially contacted about a contribution by the Campaign’s Honorary Chairman Lt. General (retired) Jay Garner of Windermere, who headed Iraq’s Reconstruction under President George W. Bush.
The campaign has raised a total of $300,000 in gifts and pledges toward its phase one construction goal of $1.5 million. Information on the campaign can be found at www.CFVMPF.org
