Veterans Connection 10/15/2025

Freedom Whiskey will once again hold their Veteran's Day celebration at the Miamisburg Moose Lodge. Three Road Junction will perform with dinner catered by Heather's Café and desserts provided by Five Loaves Bakery.

This year's celebration will honor Veteran of the Year Fred "Rico" Rojas. From Freedom Whiskey:

After serving more than 25 years in the USAF, Fred retired in 2011 and settled in Centerville with his family. Since that time, Fred has selflessly dedicated his time to serving our local veteran community.  It’s hard to find a notable effort or activity where Fred isn’t quietly working hard behind the scenes while publicly praising others.  He never waits to be asked, and always shows up to help in any way necessary. 

In addition to working a full time civilian job at WPAFB, Fred is is past Commander of Centerville VFW Post 9550, volunteers with Honor flight, hosts a monthly veteran’s breakfast, speaks at the Veterans Recognition ceremony at Centerville High School (where Veterans are invited to come in and talk with high school students and answer questions), delivers and installs flags for the Noon Optimist Avenue of Flags, and has become an integral member of the of the Freedom Whiskey annual Veteran’s Day Event team.

The Veteran's Day Celebration will benefit the following charities:

• Operation Cherrybend
• The Mathile Center for Mental Health & Wellness at Dayton Children's

We’re creating something special for 2026 — a Montgomery County Veterans Service Commission Calendar that celebrates you, your service, and the places your military journey has taken you.

What We’re Looking For:

• Photos of yourself during your time in service, or with your buddies (because we all know- those friends are forever friends)

• Photos you took while serving — capturing places the military took you

• Patriotic photos, or images of our community through your eyes as a veteran

Whether they’re snapshots from the front lines, base life, or right here at home, your photos will help us create a powerful tribute to those who served. We'd even be ok with the then and now- of you in basic training- and you now in your VFW hat- or trying on the old uniform. We can even take the now photo if you want to dress up.

If there's a short story to go with them- great.

How to Send Them:

• Email your digital photos to surf@thenextwave.biz

• If you only have prints, no problem — we can scan them for you. Call us at 937-228-4433 (ext. 2) to make arrangements.

Deadline:
We need your photos as soon as possible so the calendar can be designed and printed in time.

This project won’t be complete without you. Please take a moment to share your memories — and help us show Montgomery County what service looks like.

A lovable golden retriever named Snaxs has helped the Dayton VA roll out its new Federal Electronic Health Record (EHR) deployment. At recent events for the VA's Change Leadership Team (CLT), the service dog accompanied informatics team member and veteran Joel Legawiec. 

The friendly dog drew visitors to Joel's booth and helped him provide veterans with information regarding the upcoming deployment. Snaxs was so popular the team found new ways to incorporate him, such as passing out lanyards and signing people up for training events.

In honor of his service, Snaxs was awarded the title of honorary super user. Super users are VA staff who provide essential support to their colleagues during the Federal EHR deployment process.