Special Operations Warrior Foundation Volunteer Receives President’s Volunteer Service Award
By Mike Bottoms
USSOCOM Public Affairs
 A quiet, unassuming, yet successful entrepreneur — and a true example of the American spirit — Joseph MacDougald was presented the President's Volunteer Service Award by President George W. Bush Feb. 17 at MacDill Air Force Base for his work with the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.
An expert in information technology, MacDougald volunteered more than 2,000 hours reconfiguring and designing the communication systems and Web site for the Foundation.
"I happened to be in my father's office one day when I heard a pitch for donations for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation and became intrigued by what they were trying to accomplish," he said.
MacDougald decided to pay a visit to the foundation to learn more about their cause. He learned the Foundation originated as the Col. Arthur D. "Bull" Simons Scholarship Fund in 1980, with the intent to provide college educations for the 17 children surviving the nine men killed or incapacitated at Desert One after the Iranian hostage rescue attempt. For more than 25 years, the foundation had one mission: to provide surviving children of special operations personnel killed in combat or training missions with a college education. A newer, additional mission is to assist wounded special operators with their immediate financial needs and meeting their long-term needs.
"In 2001, we were a small office with only three people and our Web based annual donations were only about $5,000 dollars," said Special Operations Warrior Foundation Executive Director Steve McLeary. "Joe came along and innovatively replaced our antiquated computer equipment through a matching program, and made our Web site easy to use, increasing our on-line donations to $200,000 annually."
The foundation currently has 626 children in the program. Today, 91 children have graduated from college and 97 children are enrolled. Next year, the Foundation expects to have 120 students in college.
MacDougald has volunteered for the organization for five years, ensuring they have cutting-edge technology to communicating with the families of the fallen. In addition, his work has located 50 children who are eligible for the program.
"It is an extremely gratifying feeling knowing you can really impact a young person's life in a tangible, positive way," MacDougald said.
He was also excited by meeting the President. "The president was very kind and sincere to me and thanked me for the work I've done for the community," MacDougald said. "I really don't think I deserve all this attention because the real heroes are the men and women defending our country, but receiving the award from the president is a day I will never forget."
|
