A Last Minute Chicago Trip for the USO

At the tail end of December, literally days before I headed off for my family's epic vacation to Hawaii (I'll get to that later) I headed off to Chicago for a last minute USO trip.

See, at USO Great Lakes, which is located at the naval base right outside of Chicago, they host monthly (actually, sorta weekly-ish) "No Dough Dinners" for troops and their families.

The idea behind these dinners is to provide a free meal to troops and their loved ones right before payday when the cash might not be flowing. Pretty cool, huh?

The particular No Dough Dinner I was in town for was a pancake dinner -- how fun! Let me tell you, conducting interviews, shooting b-roll and doing my job with the smell of bacon wafting through the error was a slow form of wonderful torture -- who can focus with bacon in the air? (Don't worry, I got some bacon at the end of the shoot.)

Here's a look at my photos from the event:

I think before I went on this shoot and talked to the wonderful staff, volunteers and patron troops USO Great Lakes, I didn't understand just how important these dinners were for everyone involved. For the troops, its a change to mix and mingle and get a quality meal in that takes different from the mess hall's grub. For volunteers and staff members, its a change to bond with troops and show the outside community the importance and impact of the USO on the surrounding community.

I just love being able to capture and share the importance of such a simple, yet important program, to the outside world.

Without further adieu, here's my video from my trip:

Volunteers are just so awesome, aren't they? My latest video for the USO.

BOO! Happy Halloween, you spooky one, you ;)

When I was down in Ft. Benning a few weeks ago shooting a few stories for the USO, I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down and chat with the October Sesame Street/USO Moment Maker of the Month, Elizabeth Gasper.

In my line of work with the USO, I get to talk to a lot of amazing people: Troops who have been injured; Stay at home moms who hold down the fort at home while daddy protects America overseas; Even 60-year-old grandmas who spend their days volunteering for free at their local USO center; And yes, people like Elizabeth Gasper, who are just trying to do the little everyday things to make a difference in their local community.

While Elizabeth has not won any wars or ever worn a uniform herself, she's played a key role in the web of support for those that do chose to put their lives on the line for our country. Elizabeth works for the Ft. Benning MWR, or, for us laypeople, the Ft. Benning Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation -- aka the people who help make sure troops and their families are happy and healthy participants their community.

While this might sound like any old desk job, the more I thought about the importance of Elizabeth Gasper's job to troops across Ft. Benning. Without people like Elizabeth, who would help plan fun family activities during the holidays? Who would ensure military families, and not just the troops, also receive the adequate care and entertainment they so desperately need during difficult times, like deployments?

It's for all these reasons that Elizabeth Gasper was awarded October's Sesame Street/USO Moment Maker of the Month Award, and the reason why I was able to do a video feature about her and her wonderful work with the Ft. Benning community.

A family's Sesame Street story: Tales from Ft. Benning

Remember a few weeks ago I mentioned that I was in Ft. Benning for work for the USO? Well, I finally finished the second story I shot from my trip!

It's a really special video about Samantha Curtis, mother of two, and her awesome family. Right now, Samantha's husband, Zach, is deployed, leaving her home with two kids under three.

While she does what she can to keep the kids busy while daddy's away, Curtis had the chance to go see the USO/Sesame Street show in Ft. Benning -- entirely for free -- and I got to tag along.

Here's their story: