3 minute read
An Ongoing Duty
On July 6, 2020, we lost an icon of music and philanthropy in Country Music Hall of Famer Charlie Daniels.
We did not see it coming. He had not been sick. He hadn’t slowed down. In fact, prior to the pandemic, Mr. Daniels was on track to perform a record number of concerts in 2020.
Like everyone who loved and admired Mr. Daniels, we had not imagined a future without him.
At all times, we at the Daniels Center are aware that Charlie and Hazel’s names are literally on the front door. Their commitment to caring for the military is a constant reminder to always do more than is needed.
Not too long ago, Charlie Daniels Jr. wrote an article about accepting the Merle Haggard Spirit Award on his father’s behalf. He wrote that when he was on stage himself, the lighting often would cast a shadow from his own hat that made it appear that his father was standing nearby wearing his iconic cowboy hat. He wrote that he was comforted to know that Charlie Sr. was still with him.
I was moved by that story, and that’s the image I hoped to capture on the cover of this Journey magazine. The message? Just like Mr. Daniels’ continuing impact on the world through his music and charity, we too are continuing the mission to grow how we assist military people, wherever they reside in the world.
At the time of Mr. Daniels’ passing, we were experiencing a worldwide health crisis. Looking back, I am most proud of our availability and adaptability during that strange time.
We did not close the Daniels Center for even one day during the pandemic.
Part of our challenge, especially then, was to ensure that people understood that we serve EVERYONE in the military community—veterans, current service members, dependents and spouses, JROTC and ROTC cadets, MTSU students, and those unaffiliated with MTSU.
This unrestricted mission has not changed since we opened the center’s doors on Nov. 5, 2015. But it was vitally important that this message was communicated during those lockdown days. We needed our community to know we were open and had resources to share beyond MTSU. We refocused our efforts on fundraising and distributed more than $100,000 to veterans and family members during that period.
We further leaned in to connecting veterans with their Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits. We now routinely host VA PACT Act workshops both for the community and for companies bringing in their veterans as a group. We have become a field office for the Tennessee Department of Veterans Services and have a Veterans Service Officer (VSO) stationed in the Daniels Center. We have hired a second person to assist military-connected people with employment.
The bottom line: We are proud to be part of the legacy of Mr. Daniels. We will always keep moving forward, trying to expand our (and his) reach.
