Fort Hood recognized service members and civilians across the installation during the Hood Heroes Ceremony and Luncheon, Feb. 9 at Club Hood.
Award categories included "Military Volunteer of the Quarter", "Top Service Provider" and "Environmental Stewardship" and showcased the many contributions that the individuals and groups made to the Central Texas community.
After returning from a yearlong deployment to southwest Asia, Spc. Luva Foss, a Patriot launching station enhanced operator/maintainer with 4th Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, logged nearly 100 volunteer hours with local schools, animal shelters and recreational areas.
"I like helping people a lot and I like animals a lot, so I thought it was a win-win," she explained.
Foss, along with Spc. Brent Owens, also a Patriot launching station enhanced operator/maintainer with 4-5 ADA Regt., received the Military Volunteer of the Quarter award for 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade.
Owens volunteered at the Formula One United States Grand Prix in Austin.
Though he did not know he would receive the award for his volunteer work, Owens said receiving it was welcomed.
"It's always awesome to get recognized for the extra work that you do and it just motivates me to go above and beyond and volunteer more often," he said.
Foss said she believes Soldiers should volunteer because it is easy to do.
"You can volunteer two hours on the weekend and it counts still," she explained.
Owens also said Soldiers should volunteer because the positives outweigh any negatives.
"You just gain experience," he said. "I've always had good experiences volunteering and it was definitely worth my time."
In the future, Owens said he plans to take emergency medical technician courses to continue his volunteer efforts in the community.
A major part of the Fort Hood community is the 1st Cavalry Division, which houses approximately 23,000 Soldiers.
Meghan Killen earned the Fort Hood Civilian Employee of the Quarter award for her work as the Family readiness program coordinator for 1st Cav. Div.
"(1st Cav. Div.) never participated in Hood Heroes until I came on board," she said. "That's the biggest thing."
Killen multitasks between advising the division's leadership on military Family concerns and overseeing its Family Readiness Support Assistant program.
As the FRPC, Killen helps Families and Soldiers, she said.
"If the Soldier knows the Family is taken care of while they're downrange, they're going to be more at ease," she explained.
Killen is also a military spouse whose husband has deployed, and still her job does not stop.
"My husband just got in from Korea on Friday, but we're still doing meetings to readjust Soldiers to coming back," she said.
Through their selfless contributions and efforts, the awardees are creating a better environment for Fort Hood and its surrounding areas.
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