Valerie Halaby is the current president of Friends of Fisher House, Inc. a community group operating under the umbrella of the Fisher House Foundation in support of the West Palm Beach and Miami Fisher Houses. She is the past president and founder of SOS Support Our Soldiers, Inc., a Veterans’ support organization. SOS was established to follow the examples of the annual Jerry Lewis telethon for Muscular Dystrophy and Bob Hope’s USO tour to entertain U.S. military troops by producing the very first 24 hour online “$11 on 11-11” fundraising event via Livestream (an online streaming platform) on Veterans Day, 2009. Her passion for helping U.S. Military Veterans and their families was born of the gratitude she felt for their devoted service after our nation’s most terrible tragedy on September 11th, 2001. Her awareness of Veterans special needs became evident after receiving a special invitation by good friend Elaine Rogers, President of the USO Metro, to visit Washington D.C. for a V.I.P. tour of our nation’s Pentagon immediately following the 911 attack. During this visit Valerie spent time with patients at Walter Reed Medical Center; attended the Laying of the Wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery and had the privilege of sharing a private Pentagon visit with Army Vice Chief of Staff, General Keane (Ret.) and made many subsequent visits to participate with the USO in the years to follow.
While sharing conversations with wounded warriors at Walter Reed Medical Center and hearing the deeply moving stories of theses brave men and women, she became astonished to learn of the many unfulfilled needs and gaps in services that existed. Despite the government programs that are in place, soldiers having their hospital meals deducted from military paychecks was something impossible to believe. With this new awareness of the difficult challenges our military service members and their families faced, she realized a greater calling and became determined to seek ways to support these warrior families.
Valerie majored in Professional Aeronautics and Aviation Business Administration at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and earned a Master’s certification in Enterprise Configuration Management from the University of Houston. She currently enjoys a successful career in Engineering Configuration Management at Aerojet Rocketdyne, a Space and Missile Defense corporation that serves our troops stationed around the globe.
Valerie also enjoyed a successful career in the Real Estate industry and gained a vast array of experience from sales to construction to mortgage origination & securitization, and owned and operated A.B. Merrill, Inc. in for 16 years as a mortgage investment and trading company.
Valerie has also served on the The Palm Beach County Veterans Committee, Stand Down House/Love, Hope, Faith, Charity, Inc. and continues to maintain her strong ties to the USO, Washington, D.C.
Frank Hogan is CEO of Overseas Service Corporation, a worldwide sales and logistics company specializing in the Federal Government market. A veteran of the United States Marine Corps, Frank is a graduate of Boston University and Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. Frank has been a pioneer in sales to the U.S. military Commissaries, Exchanges and other government entities; is current Chairman of the Armed Forces Marketing Council; past Vice Chairman of the American Logistics Association, which bestowed upon him a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994. He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Trainor Endowment, which funds an annual award and lecture series recognizing excellence in the conduct of diplomacy; serves on the Board of Georgetown’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy. Frank is also a member of the Board of Fisher House at the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center, a “home away from home” for families of patients receiving medical care. Frank is married to the former Joanna Russell Robinson, niece of the late Senator Richard Russell of Georgia. They have seven children (one deceased) and ten grandchildren (one deceased) between them, and reside in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Jerold A. “Jerry” Klein serves as National Chair of the Veterans Benefits Committee for Vietnam Veterans of America.
Tom Corey currently serves as President of the Vietnam Veterans Peace Initiative.
Commander Michelle R. Watson assumed duties as Commanding Officer, Port Security Unit (PSU) 305, Fort Eustis, Virginia in October 2013. She is responsible for leading a 172 member expeditionary unit supporting national security, defense, and disaster relief operations for the Coast Guard and Naval Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) during OCONUS missions and forward deployments.
Lauren Berkson grew up in South Florida and has lived in Palm Beach County for more than twenty years, where she has had the opportunity to serve the community through various organizations and activities. She previously worked at the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches, and is now an active member of the Forgotten Soldiers Outreach and the Junior Achievement Committees. She is a board member for Friends of Fisher House, Wounded Veterans Relief Fund and Friends of Veterans, Inc.
Donna Katen-Bahensky was appointed as the Medical Center Director of the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center in February 2017 and served until her recent retirement in August 2019. In that role she oversaw the healthcare delivery to a seven-county area of South Florida Veterans and managed more than 2,600 staff members at the main facility in West Palm Beach and six Community based Outpatient Clinics.
Ms. Mulcahy was born and raised in a Naval Air Station town in Massachusetts. Her Dad along with 4 uncles and 1 aunt all served in World War II, one Uncle was Career Navy from WWII, Korea and Vietnam. She grew up an environment that respected our Military and love for our country. She graduated from Lesley University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Management. She has been in the investment industry for over 25 years in Boston, New York and now in Palm Beach. She attended a Fisher House fundraiser in Boston in 2009 and knew she found an organization that was truly making a difference in aiding our veterans.
A combat veteran of Vietnam, Mr. Phipps discovered the need for accommodations for a veteran’s family after he was transported back to the Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, military hospital after being hospitalized in Southeast Asia for several months. His family drove to see him and take him home for a ten day leave but, there were no facilities nearby for families of wounded soldiers who had to remain in the area until their loved one could be released.