Nusz Hall Dedicated To America’s Veterans

From The MSU Newsroom:

MSU President Mark E. Keenum, along with Tommy and Terri Nusz, unveil a commemorative plaque in the new G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Center for America’s Veterans at Nusz Hall. (Photo by Beth Wynn)

MSU President Mark E. Keenum, along with Tommy and Terri Nusz, unveil a commemorative plaque in the new G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Center for America’s Veterans at Nusz Hall. (Photo by Beth Wynn)

September 2, 2016
Contact: James Carskadon

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State University’s G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Center for America’s Veterans now has a new home at Nusz Hall.

MSU, military and congressional officials dedicated the new 7,500-square-foot building during a Friday [Sept. 2] afternoon ceremony. The ceremony featured remarks from U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, U.S. Representative Trent Kelly, MSU President Mark E. Keenum, alumnus and donor Tommy Nusz and Center for America’s Veterans Director Ken McRae.

Keenum said, “We want (veterans) to have a wonderful place, a center where they can come together and learn from one another, to share with another and to make that transition from military life – not only to civilian life – but also to student life.”

Tommy and Terri Nusz, who both graduated from MSU in 1982, contributed a significant gift that sparked the construction of Nusz Hall, which salutes multiple generations of U.S. military personnel. Nusz said observations from his wife helped spark the idea of building a new space for the Center for America’s Veterans. On Friday, Nusz commended the MSU personnel that worked to make the new veterans center a reality.

“I congratulate these men, along with Terri, on their vision becoming a reality that now sits at the front door of our great institution,” Nusz said. “I also want to thank them for recognizing the fact that while we can do a great job at advancing a lot of things in the areas of academics, research and athletics, all of that means nothing without the shield of those who preserve our freedom.”

Charles M. Nusz, the brother of former MSU football coach Dave Nusz (Tommy’s father) is a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II. Tommy Nusz is CEO and board chairman of Houston-based Oasis Petroleum, which he co-founded in 2007.

The Center for America’s Veterans at Nusz Hall features student support spaces, a computer lab, study rooms, a meeting area and administrative offices, which will serve the veteran community at MSU. Approximately 450 veterans and service members are students at MSU. Including dependents, the veteran community comprises more than 2,300 students on campus.

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Bordallo receives medal from National Guard Association

From The Guam Daily Post:

577a07d6db33d.imageGuam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo was presented with the Montgomery Medal by Brig. Gen. Roderick R. Leon Guerrero, the adjutant general of the Guam National Guard, and Maj. Manuel Duenas, current president of the National Guard Association of Guam, for the outstanding support she has provided to the Guam Guard for so many years.

The medal was actually awarded last year. However, Bordallo was not available to attend the annual National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) conference last year in Nashville, Tennessee.

NGAUS was formed in 1878 with the goal of working with Congress to better equip the militia. NGAUS’ mission has remained the same 138 years later, but its role has expanded as the Guard has grown from a hometown militia to an operational reserve, serving as a homeland force and in overseas operations.

Bordallo has helped to grow the Guam National Guard by securing funding for its modern, state-of-the-art facilities and helping soldiers and Airmen remain ready to serve the island and the nation.

The Montgomery Medal was first presented in 2004, providing the mechanism to recognize an individual (or organization) who provides outstanding support in pursuit of the NGAUS objectives.

The award bears former Representative Sonny Montgomery’s likeness on a five-sided medal. The shape is intended to symbolize not only his contributions to the Guard, but all U.S. military and veterans.

The medal is constructed in high relief to give the medal a look of great depth and dimension as opposed to a flat strike. The Capitol Dome rises from the top of the medal. “G.V. Sonny Montgomery” is inscribed at the top with “NGAUS” inscribed at the bottom and two stars on two of the sides. The medal is attached to a red and white ribbon.

Only one Montgomery Medal may be given in a single calendar year – Bordallo being one of only a dozen recipients.

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Montgomery Foundation honors MSU students for academics, leadership, service

From MS State:

MStateImageSTARKVILLE, Miss.—The G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Foundation is recognizing a group of Mississippi State students for exceptional leadership, service and academic prowess.

Four of the students are this year’s recipients of G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Foundation Leadership Awards. Each of them is receiving a $3,000 scholarship for the 2016-17 academic year. They include:

  • Matthew C. Crabtree of Saltillo, a senior finance major and member of the university’s Army ROTC program.
  • Breauna D. Gardner of Columbus, a senior kinesiology/clinical exercise physiology major and graduating member of the Montgomery Leadership Program class.
  • Kyle C. Johnson of the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Center for America’s Veterans, a second-year veterinary medicine doctoral student.
  • Cherry Murray of Tupelo, a senior business information systems major and member of the university’s Air Force ROTC program.

The four remaining students each are receiving $3,000 G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Foundation Academic Scholarships for the upcoming academic year. They include:

  • Eric W. Henry of East Spring Lake, North Carolina, a junior aerospace engineering major and member of the university’s Air Force ROTC program.
  • Kaitlyn N. Junkin of Grenada, a senior animal and dairy science major and graduating member of the Montgomery Leadership Program class.
  • Caleb C. Law of Glenwood Springs, Colorado, a senior criminology major and member of the university’s Army ROTC program.
  • Ryan J. Thomas of the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Center for America’s Veterans, an elementary, middle and secondary education administration doctoral student. He graduated this spring with a master’s in counselor education/student affairs from MSU.

Additionally, the Montgomery Foundation recently recognized senior mechanical engineering major Morgan K. Green of Olive Branch with a $250 scholarship for Best Montgomery Leadership Program Capstone Project of the Year. Titled “Project ENspire,” Green’s self-devised, one-day program brought engineering concepts to life by engaging fourth and fifth grade girls in fun and competitive hands-on activities.

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G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery – Aug 5, 1920 – May 12, 2006

sonny-montgomery-funeralRemembering Sonny on the tenth anniversary of his death.

Listen to a May 10 2016 radio broadcast of Richelle Putnam on SuperTalk Mississippi 103.3FM – “Looking Back at Sonny Montgomery with Bob Bailey”:

Carmen Wilder Receives Montgomery Leadership Award

From The Meridian Star:

carmen-wilder-awardCarmen Wilder, center, assistant director of Student Leadership and Community Engagement at Mississippi State University, was awarded the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Leadership Award for her work in service and leadership development in her role in the Montgomery Leadership Program at MSU. The Montgomery Leadership Program works with a select group of students who commit themselves to developing the leadership skills that transform lives – both theirs and others. With the Montgomery Leadership Program, Mississippi State recognizes the legacy of G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery, a 1943 Mississippi State alumnus and a 15-term U.S. congressman who authored the Montgomery G.I. Bill. A former “Mr. MSU,” he embodied the qualities of leadership, statesmanship, and public service that influenced generations of Americans. Shown making the presentation to Wilder were Montgomery Foundation board members Sid Salter, left, and Bob Bailey, right.

Read at Meridian Star

Rep. Sonny Montgomery Leads House In Pledge For First Time

From Politico:

On this day in 1988, Rep. G. V. (Sonny) Montgomery (D-Miss.) led the House for the first time ever in a recital of the Pledge of Allegiance as the initial order of business. This ritual endures in both the House and Senate whenever they are in session.

GVM Foundation Sponsors “The Moving Wall”

“The Moving Wall” is the half-size replica of the Washington, DC Vietnam Veterans Memorial and has been touring the country for thirty plus years.  When John Devitt attended the 1982 dedication in Washington, he felt the positive power of the “The Wall.”  He vowed to share that experience with those who did not have the opportunity to go to Washington.

John, Norris Shears, Gerry Haver, and other Vietnam veteran volunteers built The Moving Wall.  It went on display for the first time in Tyler Texas in October 1984.  Two structures of The Moving Wall now travel the USA from April through November, spending about a week at each site.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, “The Wall” now has carved into it the names of the 58,272 American military personnel (eight were women) who were direct casualties of the war, including about 1300 who are still considered Missing In Action (MIA) but officially classified as “Died, body not recovered.”  Each of the branches of the Department of Defense made and continues to make the determination of eligibility to have a name inscribed on The Wall.

You can learn more about this amazing tribute to fallen Vietnam Veterans here: http://www.themovingwallyazoocountyms.org

Sonny Montgomery: Citizen Soldier

Montgomery Congressional Collection Announced At MSU

From MSState.EDU:

Contact: Meg Henderson

081715Library-IMG_0200-(00000002)

The late congressman and MSU alumnus G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery recently was honored with the opening of the Montgomery Congressional Research Collection at Mitchell Memorial Library. Taking part in the ceremony were (l-r) Robert J. “Bob” Bailey, president emeritus of the Meridian-based Montgomery Foundation; Kyle Steward, MSU executive director of external affairs and former senior Montgomery staff member; U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper; and Jerry Gilbert, MSU provost and executive vice president.

STARKVILLE, Miss.—The G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Congressional Collection now is open to the public at Mississippi State.

On the Aug. 5 occasion—what would have been the former U.S. representative’s 95th birthday—the university formally dedicated the collection in its Congressional and Political Research Center at Mitchell Memorial Library.

University officials said the collection includes more than 1,200 cubic feet of correspondence, memos, speeches, floor statements, photographs and memorabilia about the longtime public servant and MSU alumnus who died in 2006 at age 85.

The files cover the Meridian native from his time at the McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, through his student leadership at then-Mississippi State College to his World War II military service in Europe, where was awarded a Bronze Star with Valor. The collection also highlights his public service career that began with a decade in the Mississippi Legislature, followed by 30 years in Congress that concluded with retirement in 1997.

U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper, Montgomery’s 3rd District successor, joined with members of the Meridian-based Montgomery Foundation to help announce the collection’s formal opening.

Jerry Gilbert, MSU provost and executive vice president, said “from his years as a Mississippi State student throughout his lifetime, Sonny Montgomery was considered a leader who worked tirelessly on behalf of those he served.”

Noting how the congressman’s “leadership and people skills served him well throughout his career,” Gilbert also praised Montgomery for being “a devoted and loyal friend of Mississippi State and one who frequented the campus throughout his life and whose legacy can been seen throughout the campus.”

During his time in Washington, D.C., Montgomery gained an international reputation for his tireless work on behalf of American military veterans. In addition to visiting Vietnam repeatedly throughout the war and assisting in the return of prisoners of war, he most notably led in securing an extension of the G. I. Bill—an effort that his colleagues renamed the “Montgomery G. I. Bill” in tribute.

Additionally, the collection illustrates the close friendship between Montgomery and former President George H.W. Bush. The two met on their first day in Congress in 1967 and remained friends for the remainder of the congressman’s life.

In his remarks, Harper praised Montgomery for serving the district and nation “with integrity, compassion and hard work.

“His efforts on behalf of our country’s veterans and the people of Mississippi are still realized today, and we are eternally grateful,” Harper said.

“Sonny loved Mississippi State University, and I know that he would be proud of the new G.V. ‘Sonny’ Montgomery Collection,” he continued. “I hope that this collection will be a reminder of Sonny’s esteemed public service for generations to come.”

The Congressional and Political Research Center is open 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday. For more information, visit http://library.msstate.edu/cprc/index.asp.

For more on the Mississippi State University Libraries, see www.library.msstate.edu.

MSU is Mississippi’s flagship research university, available online at www.msstate.edu.

G.V. ‘Sonny’ Montgomery Foundation donates $50,000 to MAEC

From The Meridian Star:

This conceptual drawing depicts what the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center will look like once completed.

This conceptual drawing depicts what the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center will look like once completed.

Posted: Friday, May 29, 2015 4:07 am

    The G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Foundation will donate $50,000 to the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center, the organization’s executive director and president, Brad Crawford, announced.

“This world-class facility is just what former Congressman Sonny Montgomery had in mind when he established the foundation with one of his primary objectives to …’encourage leadership and support educational activities …’” Crawford states in a press release.

Construction of the MAEC is expected to begin this fall.

“The MAEC will educate and inspire children of all ages in the fields of literature, performing and visual arts, design, music and the culinary arts while simultaneously entertaining in-state and out of state visitors,” the press release states.

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