Fort Belvoir, Va. (May 1, 2014) - The current Fort Belvoir USO Warrior and Family Center manager has a long Family history of military service.
Ranna Armstrong, who became the manager of the USO at Fort Belvoir Feb. 3, said her appreciation for current servicemembers is one reason she decided to take this position.
"Every generation of my Family has served in some capacity," said Armstrong. "My dad was in Vietnam, my grandfather and some great uncles were in World War II, my great-grandfather was in World War I. I really value what the military does and what people sacrifice to keep our nation safe."
Armstrong is married to a former Soldier. Though she has no first-hand experience as a military spouse, she appreciates the culture the Soldiers and their spouses live in.
"I met my husband after he got out of the Army," said Armstrong. "I value his service to our country. I have a number of friends who have served, so I'm somewhat familiar with military culture."
Her first few months with the Center have gone well as Armstrong says she has been "welcomed by the installation, volunteers and staff." Armstrong is amazed by the Center's volunteer force since volunteers are the "life-blood" of non-profit organizations.
"Our building would not function without our volunteers being willing to come in and do the grunt work that needs to be done to keep a building of this size in operation," said Armstrong. "It's been amazing to see the capacity of our volunteers in action."
The USO Warrior and Family Center at Fort Belvoir is the fifth non-profit organization Armstrong has worked for since 2002. She worked with The ONE Campaign prior to joining the USO, and also worked for organizations geared toward helping the homeless and ex-convicts recently released from prison. Armstrong also worked with an organization whose mission is to end child abuse and provide resource for parents to help reduce their stress, and another committed to developing a new generation of citizen leaders focused on service.
"I'm most drawn to the ones that are directly related to serving and helping people," said Armstrong.
Her decision to work for non-profit organizations comes from Armstrong's original career goal.
Armstrong earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in TV and Radio production from Radford University because of her desire to make documentary films that would influence positive social change.
"There's so many bad stories put out that I wanted to tell the good stories of what people were doing to make lives better for others," said Armstrong.
However, her career goal changed after watching several documentaries.
"I thought, 'I don't know if I want to be the story teller, I want to be the one making this stuff happen,'" said Armstrong.
Armstrong applied and was accepted in a Masters Program for Social Work at Virginia Commonwealth University where she focused on non-profit management and public policy.
Watching the individuals she worked with or helped grow is the major reward of doing non-profit work, according to Armstrong.
"I've been able to watch people become empowered, whether it was customers we are serving or volunteers doing and learning things they didn't think themselves capable of," said Armstrong. "That's the reward. You don't go into this career field expecting to make a lot of money."
Her desire to serve humanity, and help others grow is evident to coworkers at the Center, according to Pauline Ray, USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore Hospital services manager.
"Her creative spirit and energy is one thing I've enjoyed about working with Ranna, so far," said Ray.
One of Armstrong's goals is to build upon the partnerships the USO has on Fort Belvoir. She admits to having cried a few times listening to some of the stories customers have shared, and wants to make sure they continue to get the quality of service they are used to receiving.
"There are people in here every day that you sit and talk to, and learn about what they've experienced and what they are currently going through and it's impactful," said Armstrong. "So, I want to ensure our programming is meeting the needs of all the troops and Family members who utilize the center."
Social Sharing