Maxwell Air Force Base Holds Appreciation Ceremony for Goodwill Ambassadors
Maxwell Air Force Base recognized local volunteers who help make life for international military students easier. A goodwill appreciation ceremony was held tonight on base for them.
Hundreds of people of all different nationalities and cultures came to the Maxwell Club for an evening and eating, drinking and giving thanks to those who serve by volunteering
Joel and Sharon Grasse accepted a goodwill ambassadors award Tuesday night for their volunteer efforts at Maxwell Air Force base. The couple has been sponsoring international officers for the past 10 years, helping make their transition to the states a little easier.
“This year we are sponsoring a couple from Egypt and also an officer and a couple from Germany,” Joel told Alabama News Network.
The Grasses, as well as other Montgomery residents, volunteer to sponsor officers and their families from around the world. Jesse Laroche is from Australia and has been in Montgomery for about eight months with his fiancé. He says the sponsors are greatly appreciated.
“They’re really here for any types of questions we have and for some of the international students here, the transition and the culture change is a lot, the south is different for even Americans so obviously they’re here to show us around and make us feel at home.”
Volunteers who have served at least five years were honored Tuesday night. And Colonel Michael Peterson says the International Officers School is always looking for more sponsors.
“The volunteers, the sponsors are absolutely critical,” he says. “They really help us accomplish our primary mission of building parternships. They’ll meet these students at the airport when they arrive, take care of them the whole time they’re here and give them a great send off.”
But those who sponsor international officers say they don’t do it to get recognized, they do it to because they believe its right.
“It’s really unnecessary,” Sharon Grasse says of the award. “We get more out of it than anything you know.”
“Of course, we get probably more out of it than they do because we interchange with them and learn about their customs and their country,” Joel adds.
One couple at tonight’s awards ceremony was recognized for 55 years of volunteer services with Maxwell, meaning they’ve been sponsoring international families for that long.
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