50th Anniversary Celebration & NCO Dinner 1/18/2008
The General John W. Vessey Jr. Chapter of AUSA celebrated its 50th Anniversary with a dinner on January 18, 2008. Honored guests included military and civilian award recipients. Over 100 people participated in this event.
Awards were presented to Soldier of the Year and the NCO of the Year from both the Minnesota Army National Guard and the USAR-88th Regional Readiness Command. Vessey awards (Corporate Member Salute and Civilian Salute) were presented to Minnesota Wire & Cable Co. for their exceptional work in 2007.
The guest speaker for the celebration was LTG Roger G. Thompson, Jr., USA (Ret.), AUSA Vice President, Membership and Meetings. The Honorable Mark Ritchie, Minnesota Secretary of State, and Mr. Dennis Donovan, Director of the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota, introduced the Warrior to Citizen Program and challenge coin. 
A $500 check was presented to the SSG Nathan Vacho Fund to support the fund’s goal of encouraging youth to enter the field of nursing. CSM Vacho accepted the check on behalf of the foundation named after his son who was killed in action in Iraq in 2006.
During the evening, a number of the Chapter’s Past Presidents were available to receive the 50th Year streamer for the Chapter’s flag.
