The day Joanne Blanck walked into Military Missions to see if she could lend a hand, no one could have foreseen the role that she would eventually take on in our organization.  She responded to a request for volunteers that we posted in the local paper a couple of years ago, and now she is practically running the place!

We have many volunteers who come and go.  Many volunteer once. Others volunteer for a season or two.  Still others have been coming around for years, but few have been willing to take on the leadership role and the responsibility that Joanne has gradually and willingly taken on over the past couple of years.

Joanne is what most of us would call a blessing from Heaven.  She retired from a full time job several years ago, and continues to be involved in volunteer service in other organizations besides Military Missions Inc.  She and her husband, Tom, both give much to our organization as well as several others.  If they aren’t giving to an organization, they are helping a friend or family member.

Besides the fact that Joanne serves on our board, and makes sure our office is staffed with volunteers with a job to do, she always has a huge smile on her face and she makes everyone who walks through our door feel welcome, special, and important.  She knows the troops on our list by name and she looks out for each and every one of them as she goes about the planning she does each month.

I couldn’t begin to count the hours that Joanne gives each week, but I think it’s safe to say that we would have to pay her overtime if we were in the business of paying people by the hour.  Anyone who has come into our office has seen Joanne in action, but what we see in the office is just the tip of the iceberg.  She spends lots of time answering emails and phone calls outside of office hours.  She comes in on evenings and weekends when there is a task to be done, and she spends a lot of time planning for events and activities.  Did I mention that she often accommodates the schedules of many who can’t come in during our office hours to participate?

Joanne recruits her husband for all sorts of jobs that need to be done around the office, and I guess he caught the fever too because this is the second year that he has handcrafted over a hundred games to be included in our care packages.  This couple obviously never stops doing for others.

The time given by Joanne can only be matched by the heart and humility with which she gives.  She makes sure that everything in the office is in order and ready to go, and that we have the manpower and the donations to get every task completed. She goes beyond the call of duty to make sure that the boxes are special for our troops and she creates some amazing gift bags which are given to our Veterans each month.

If we had more people like Joanne and Tom Blanck, who were willing to give so much of themselves for others, this world would be a much happier place.  We are so blessed to count Joanne and  Tom as members of our Military Missions family.