ALEXANDRIA, Va.— A long and distinguished career in the Army left Greg Ransaw, manager of the Fort Hood branch of PenFed Credit Union, with a deep appreciation for the unique challenges faced by our men and women in uniform.
“One of the best things about my new career with PenFed Credit Union is that I get the opportunity to interact with Soldiers and other members of the military nearly every day,” said Ranshaw, a recently retired Army sergeant major. “However, I felt driven to find a way to do a little bit more, so I huddled with my leadership team, and in almost no time flat, we had a plan.”
The idea of sending care packages to service members who are deployed came out of a brainstorming session Ransaw held with his senior staff of Cherrie Aberle, Jesus Cerrillo, Elba Mercado, Amy Moree, Rebecca Salinas and Shiela Sampson. The staff members used their own funds to buy items for the packages.
“The entire team here at the PenFed Credit Union Fort Hood Branch enjoyed getting together to pack the boxes and prepare them for shipping overseas. Everyone was excited to be a part of something to benefit our folks in uniform,” said Ransaw.
The volunteer mission was especially personal for one PenFed team member at Fort Hood. Ashley Flores helped assemble a care package that would eventually reach her father, who is a command sergeant major deployed to Afghanistan. “After receiving the package, my dad wrote back saying that he’s looking forward to meeting the whole PenFed team, and that he and his Soldiers are thankful and grateful to have supporters like us. This was a wonderful opportunity to let my dad and all the other Soldiers know that they are in our prayers and thoughts,” said Flores.