Shelton man wins national award for work with veterans

DAR President General Merry Ann Wright presents Al Meadows of Shelton with the National Outstanding Veteran Volunteer Award for 2011 at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. /Credit: Convention Photography Services, Inc.

Shelton resident Al Meadows, public relations officer for AMVETS Post 43, was presented the National Outstanding Veteran Volunteer Award for 2011 from the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution at its National Defense Night July 1 at the 120th Continental Congress in Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.
A notification letter stated, “The selection committee was truly impressed by your dedication to our veterans, and your work with Operation Gift Cards is inspiring...”
Since October 2005, the Operation Gift Cards’ 73 monthly/bimonthly visits have presented 11,600 thank you kits which contained $232,000 in post exchange (military department store) gift certificates to wounded troops in military hospitals in Washington, D.C. and Bethesda, Md.
An additional $153,690 in other gift certificates and special group product donations (Girl Scout cookies, corporate gift certificates, etc.) have been delivered to the Soldier Family Assistance Center, the Fisher Houses, the Mologne House, the Navy Lodge, the Red Cross, and the Bethesda Casualty Affairs Office at the Walter Reed and Bethesda military bases, along with more than $50,000 worth of items on the “wish list” for both the wounded troops and their families (over $435,000 total).
Meadows is a combat wounded Vietnam veteran. He created Operation Gift Cards with a goal of having a different group of co-sponsors collectively purchase, each month, between $3,000 and $5,000 in post exchange gift certificates in order to present all visited wounded patients in Walter Reed and Bethesda military hospitals with at least three “Thank You” kits containing at least $60 in gift certificates.
Operation Gift Cards had been successful for the past five years and 11 months due to the 173 representatives who have visited wounded troops on behalf of the 60 cosponsors and the thousands of veterans and civilians who have made monetary or item contributions.