Return to the "POINTER VIEW"
                         March 8, 2002

Academy honors community volunteers

Story and photos by Pfc. Nate Jastrzemski
Staff Writer

Ask any one of them why they do it and you’ll probably get a different answer.

Job experience, service to the community, filling a need. No matter what the reason, volunteers at the U.S. Military Academy help to make the quality of life better for everyone.

USMA honored some of its volunteers Feb. 26 during a spotlight luncheon at the West Point Club.

Master Sgt. Greg Brown and his wife Laurie contribute thousands of hours in support of youth football.

Brown is the Division III (12 and 13-year-olds) Head Coach for the ‘99 and ‘00 seasons. He also serves as the Vice President of the Highland Falls chapter of the Orange County Youth Football League.

Brown conducts and supervises practices from August through early November, spending every weekend from Labor Day until Veterans Day coaching and attending games.

Laurie Brown is the Chapter Treasurer and Administrator for the Division III OCYFL. She helps with the administrative data necessary for roster certifications, accounting for the equipment, scheduling referees and setting up the concession stand for all the home games.

Brown coordinates the annual end-of-season banquet, orders trophies and attends monthly meetings. In addition, she maintains e-mail contact with league officials and communicates the results of the games to the News of the Highlands newspaper.

Master Sgt. Brown works for the AG and Laurie Brown works full time at ACS. They have two sons.

Lt. Col. Daniel Ragsdale and his wife Cindy are active volunteers for the Catholic Chapel of the Most Holy Trinity’s Religious Education program.

Ragsdale serves as a lector and is the altar server coordinator. He is also the assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 23, Hudson Valley Council, Boy Scouts of America.

Ragsdale serves on the USMA Values Education Program, where he is the chair of the Company Value Education Team for Company B-3.

He was also the group leader for the West Point Elementary School Nature Trail Project and on the planning committee for his 20-year West Point graduation reunion.

Ragsdale is active in the Company Academic Counselor program, the West Point Speakers Bureau and is a mentor for the Army football team.

Cindy Ragsdale is active in the West Point School’s Parent Teacher Organization, serving as the co-chairperson of the Hospitality Committee and the co-chair of the West Point Elementary School Carnival 2000/2001. She also serves as a room representative at the elementary and the middle schools.

Cindy Ragsdale has worked with youth soccer and was a co-coach for the youth 9 and under in 2000. She and her family sponsor cadets and are supporters of the Women’s basketball program. They also involved in God’s Gang and they have served as a core family for this program.

Diana Soliday served as President of the West Point School PTO from 2000-2001. She coordinated events and fundraisers such as the book fair, the gift-wrap fundraiser, the box-top program and the discount cards.

She also volunteers a great deal of her time at both the West Point elementary and middle schools, helping in both the classrooms and the offices.

Thanks to Soliday’s efforts as PTO president, more than $10,000 were raised and given back to the school.

Claire Ressler is currently the treasurer for the West Point Girl Scouts and responsible for service unit finances as well as 14 troop accounts.

She has also served as a Girl Scout leader for many years and service unit representative for the Sarah Wells Council. Ressler has sponsored the Girl Scout annual father/daughter dance for three years.

Ressler also volunteers her time as the treasurer of the Women’s Reading Group, participating in the Gourmet Club and serves on the West Point Women’s Club board as the 1st Vice President and the scholarship and grants chairperson.

She is active in Sacred Heart School and all of her daughter’s activities. She has lived at West Point for many years and held the Girl Scout program together through numerous transitions.

Agnes Adamczyk works as the part-time station manager for the Red Cross and has devoted thousands of hours to the Red Cross at USMA. She is present at every blood drive from start to finish, at every training class offered and is available to all the volunteers.

In addition to Adamczyk’s volunteer work with the American Red Cross, she has served on the West Point Women’s Club as the Parliamentarian and the scholarship committee chairman. She is an active volunteer for the Chapel of the Most Holy Trinity and participates in the Military Council of Catholic Women. She is a supporter of all the O’Neill High School activities and has always opened her home to Cadets and high school students alike.

Jeff Bell is a Red Cross Volunteer who travels from Garrison, N.Y., several days a week to volunteer his time to the West Point Community. He has been a Red Cross volunteer at the information desk in the Hospital for more than two years and has recently taken on an extra shift.

Bell works at each blood drive, providing information and help with the registration of the blood donors. He has become well acquainted with the hospital, its staff and many of the regular patients. He is always ready with a smile and can talk with even the most frustrated patients in a way that makes them feel better.

The recent changes with Tricare, especially for retirees, have caused a great deal of confusion and this "front-line" volunteer’s diplomatic skills have been immensely valuable to the hospital and the Red Cross. Bell volunteers his time while working as a real estate agent in Garrison and serving as a consultant at St. Basil’s Academy.

Janice Smith has served the West Point community as the parliamentarian and the treasurer of the West Point Women’s Club. She maintains a large number of cadet uniforms that have been rented and sold to make money for the Women’s Club.

Smith is very active in the Lutheran Chapel here at West Point. She is also a member of the PX-Commissary Council and volunteers her time helping at the Tax Center each winter and spring.

Chris Yuengert is currently serving as the West Point Women’s Club President, presiding over 270 members.

Yuengert governs the club’s many activities and fundraisers which annually garner approximately $20,000 for the West Point community in the form of scholarships and grants.

She also volunteers her time at the Catholic Chapel of the Most Holy Trinity, at the West Point Schools, and is active in the events at O’Neill High School.

Yuengert serves as the National Military Family Association representative and treasurer of the Daughter’s of the United States Army here. She has given thousands of volunteer hours to our community and is a mentor for young spouses and cadets in her role as the spouse of the Regimental Tactical Officer for First Regiment.