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Mike has served the nation and his community in an exemplary way. After high school Mike was drafted into the service. He was a marine and he received the Purple Heart from injuries received in Viet Nam. After he completed his military service, he returned to Abilene and he held several jobs. In 1979 he went to work for the Texas Workforce Commission. He retired in 1999. After his retirement he started to volunteer in the community, serving on numerous non-profit board and committees. He also started the web site HispanicAbilene.com where he covered committee organizations, mainly Hispanic events, for 12-14 years. In 2012 he started the web site ArroyoCatclaw.com to archive the 100s of photographs that were taken during his time with HispanicAbilene.com.He currently serves on the Hispanic Heritage Display committee, Habitat for Humanity of Abilene, McMurry College Education Advisory board, The Swenson House Historical Society, Military Order of the Purple chapter, and he is a Texas Veterans Commission commissioner.

The Taylor Jones Humane Society is a place where animals are cared for with love and compassion.Melissa Oneill does an excellent job of explaining why the shelter exist.

Memorial Day is a sacred and solemn holiday. It is the day that we remember men and women that paid the ultimate price for their country. In this episode the names of several men are mention that Parker or Miller were affiliated with directly or through associations.Robert J Griggs Jr. He was a Korean War Era casualty on August 12, 1950. He served with honor in the United States Army.On 27 October 1967, Specialist Four Evaristo Martinez III was serving with A Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, in Quang Tin Province, South Vietnam. On that day, SP4 Martinez was killed in action after sustaining wounds from small arms fire.2nd Lt. William Robert “Bill” Reese, 24, of Abilene, Tex., killed Feb. 14, 1968, near Ca Lu in fighting at “Valentine’s Ridge.” He was among six killed by a direct hit from an enemy mortar.CPT Otha Lindsey Poole, he had enlisted in the United States Army. Served during the Vietnam War. Poole had the rank of Captain. His military occupation or specialty was Rotary Wing Aviation Unit Commander. Service number assignment was 5421450. Attached to 44th Medical Brigade, 68th Medical Group, 45th Medical Company. During his service in the Vietnam War, Army Captain Poole experienced a traumatic event which ultimately resulted in loss of life on February 5, 1969. Recorded circumstances attributed to: Died through hostile action, air crash on land. Incident location: South Vietnam, Long Khanh province. Poole was from Hempstead, Texas.During this episode Parker recites his poem "Where was the Band" As we celebrate Memorial Day let's remember freedom is not free. Many men and women have paid the ultimate price for what we enjoy today.

Juneteenth is an outgrowth of Gen. Gordon Granger arriving in Galveston, Texas on June 19th, 1865 and announcing that the slaves were free. This announcement was made 2 years earlier to the rest of the Country.Dee Moore, who currently serves as the President, of The Abilene Black Chamber talks a little about the Chamber, Juneteenth and some of the benefits of attending the celebrations.Every citizen of Abilene and the surrounding communities are invited. Moore believes the celebration could be a catalyst for better understanding between neighbors.

Josh Haynes, owner of Abilene Motors Magazine LLC has certainly overcome the odds and he's continuing to rise. Josh lost both of his parents at age 3. He attended 5 different high schools. His life has had a series of disruptions despite all of the challenges Josh managed to graduate from McMurry University. He has also started several business.Josh's ultimate goal is to give hope to those around him. If you are looking for hope this podcast might be a good starting place

Carol King shares the role guilt played in her life and how she finally over came this burden. It was a winding road with many ups and downs and tremendous doubt at points along the way.Today Ms. King is a College graduate, Assistant Speech Pathologist with the Abilene Independent School District, and a published author, Blessed But Not Broken (Vol.3) The Power of Transformation.If you or someone you know is burden with guilt this episode could provide a roadmap for you to get through it.

This is an amazing story my wife and I over heard Mr. Collins talking as we were having lunch at a Denny's in Abilene.Mr. Collins was in Vietnam at age 16 serving as a "Grunt, Jungle Rat", titles given to the men that did his type of work. I call him a HERO.I think this is a very interesting interview in light of what's going on in Afghanistan. Mr. Collins has some thoughts on how we should be approaching it.

This event would change the world for so many people in different ways. One individual who changed by it was Nadine Ramsey. Her story is told in the book “Taking Flight – The Nadine Ramsey Story”. A very inspirational story that tells all of her peaks and the valleys.In October 1944 Nadine Ramsey was thirty-three and she was flying the cutting-edgeP-51 Mustang to New Jersey, its last stop before heading to the war in Europe. The irrepressible young woman from Wichita had long been determined to fly and the gathering storm clouds of World War II had provided an unexpected opportunity. Taking Flight is the inspiring story of a girl from Depression-era Kansas who overcame tremendous challenges and defied convention to become an elite pilot – one of the few American women to fly fighter aircraft during World War II.Taking Flight follows Nadine as she became one of 1,102 women to join the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots and one of only 303 WASPs to take to the skies in military cockpits, transporting aircraft to bases across the nation for use in the theaters of war. This book marks her milestones: the first Kansas woman to earn a commercial pilot license; among the earliest women to fly the US Air Mail; one of only 26 WASPs who flew the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, a fighter aircraft-and the first woman to own one; the only woman in the country to instruct male pilots to fly fighter planes after the war. Disbanded in late 1944 to make way for male pilots and barred from piloting for commercial airlines, the WASPs spent the next three decades fighting to win veteran status.Taking Flight: The Nadine Ramsey Story is a profile in courage of a woman who helped clear the flight path for today’s female combat and commercial aviators.

Food Bank of West Central Texas is a non-profit 501 (C) 3 community service organization that collects donated food to distribute to other non-profit agencies serving the needy of the Big Country. In the 13 county service area of the Food Bank of West Central Texas (FBWCT), approximately 50,000 people live in poverty and too often miss meals or experience hunger. The Food Bank’s clients include working-poor families with needy children, seniors subsisting on fixed incomes, and possibly even you or your neighbors in times of disaster.

Deydra Williams and Elyse Lewis are a powerful team when it comes to promoting women health especially when it comes to Breast Cancer.They have a friendship that was born out of adversity and a vision. Deydra's motivation came from taking her mother, Sue Elliot to doctors appointments during Sue's battle with Breast Cancer. Unfortunately Sue did not survive. Deydra had noticed that she saw very few African American women during those doctors visits. She wanted to sound the alarm and encourage more African American Women to get mammograms'. She was introduced to Elyse Lewis, Community Initiatives Coordinator at Hendrick Health. Dedyra and Elyse had similar visions and they begin to work together.The story did not end with them working together. About three years into their work together Dedyra was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. This podcast covers Breast Cancer from every aspect.