Fort Hood Sentinel (Fort Hood, Tex.), Vol. 74, No. 31, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 11, 2016 Page: 9 of 24
twenty four pages : ill.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
• I
I
0 .
4;’ ’
I
J
Jt ’ a r
■ T**4I
It—/7
!p ’S®J
*f
$•'
-ii
c'y <•■ •■>
BV
m nfl
■— **" ■ •’’
■!■■■
k^fv^SS
[La \r-
at ~
*k> -~ ,■ <-<—FT-'^'s
>
21
sCf" -f
g|f J
r
/
&
^•-
©
*
V
atrj
1
'?
i
Ki —
w&js
I B
/ 'X I
I -, ’ k A
i
■
b I "*'* J^F
r
I
■
'■••a
■
a
1
L*
<u
w
'i^'» yS
JW
l!IB£sw
jK
a.1-
■i^a: 7^i_
Fair provides information, resources
More than 1,000 Soldiers, veterans, retirees and Family members visited the Aug. 4 Hood Howdy at Club Hood.
In addition to the information fair, Hood Howdy offered a mini-career fair and a mini-health and wellness fair for
visitors.
Photos by Kelby Wingert, Sentinel Staff
Spc. Frank Bynum, 53rd QM Co., learns more about the surrounding com-
munities from Jodi Bailey, Harker Heights Chamber of Commerce, at Hood
Howdy, Aug. 4, at Club Hood.
BY KELBY WINGERT
Sentinel Staff
More than 1,000 area new-
comers filed through Club
Hood for the semi-annual Hood
Howdy welcome event, Aug. 4.
The event, which has been
going on for more than 20 years,
also included a mini-health and
wellness fair and a mini-career
fair. It’s put on through a part-
nership with Army Community
Service and Fort Hood’s Direc-
torate of Family and Morale,
Welfare and Recreation.
Tomya Hearon, ACS outreach
program coordinator, has been
in charge of putting together the
semi-annual event for the past
11 years. Planning Hood Howdy
begins with reaching out to local
agencies - both on Fort Hood
and out in the greater Killeen
area - to see if any are inter-
ested in setting up booths during
Hood Howdy. This year, Hearon
reached out to 117 agencies and
about 90 participated this time
around.
“A lot of times the Soldiers and
the Families don’t know what’s
available to them off post, as well
as what’s available to them on
post, so we try and bring all that
information together in one
place,” Hearon said.
Hood Howdy is
meant to be a
“one-stop
shop
visiting Hood Howdy events for
the past two years.
“It’s really nice,” she said. “It’s
the best I’ve ever been to and it’s
great because they tell you about
what’s going on in the area.”
Jackson said this time she made
sure to check out the mini-career
fair because she’s getting ready to
retire and wanted to see what her
options were in the area.
In addition to information
booths from organizations on
Fort Hood, like ACS, CYSS,
Robertson Blood Center and oth-
ers, many businesses and organi-
zations from outside the gate
set up booths as well, including
local restaurants, H-E-B, den-
tal clinics, Killeen and Harker
Heights Chambers of Commerce
first started, Hearon said. With
its growing success, it moved
from being an annual event to a
semi-annual event, and attract-
ed attention from other Army
installations.
All Army installations host
monthly newcomers orientation
classes for Families newly-arrived
after a permanent change of sta-
tion. ACS at Fort Hood want-
ed to take it one step further,
Hearon said, which resulted in
the creation of one of the biggest
events on Fort Hood every year.
“Other installations don’t
have anything like (Hood
Howdy),” she said. Representa-
tives from DFMWR and ACS
at other Army installations have
approached Hearon and her staff
on how they can run an event
like Hood Howdy, she added.
“(Hood Howdy) is a way to
integrate Soldiers and their Fam-
ilies into the community,” Heron
said. “It’s like welcoming them
to their new home and get them
comfortable.”
Hood Howdy also provides
booths with information from
veteran’s outreach organizations
and other organizations geared
toward veterans and the Temple
VA.
Hood Howdy happens
twice a year. The next
event will be in early
spring of 2017.
Representatives from DFMWR Fitness led Zumba dances during Hood Howdy at Club Hood, Aug. 4. The demon-
stration gave newcomers a look at the dance-style workout, one of the many fitness classes DFMWR Fitness offers
to Fort Hood Families.
for resources and information”
about Fort Hood and the sur-
rounding communities, Hearon
said. While the event is generally
geared toward newcomers, it is
often frequented by those who
have been in the area for a while,
looking to learn more about
the area. She said Hood Howdy
averages about 1,500 attendees
each time.
The mini-career fair is perfect
for military spouses new to Fort
Hood, as well as those who have
been around and for Soldiers
getting ready to transition out of
the Army, Hearon added.
Staff Sgt. Geraldine Jack-
son, 36th Engineer Bri-
gade, has been
and more.
ACS provided refreshments
for those in attendance and
DFMWR Fitness provided some
entertainment and activities like
Zumba in the great hall. Hearon
said CYSS and other organiza-
tions off post will also set up
demonstrations at Hood Howdy,
like for spin classes, belly dancing
lessons, martial arts and more.
Heron said ACS is always look-
ing for volunteers to help keep
Hood Howdy running smoothly.
This time, she only had about
four volunteers helping out.
The two-decade-old newcom-
ers information fair was origi-
nally unique to Fort
Hood when it
E
Ml
O
0
Thursday, August 11, 2016
www.FortHoodSentinel.com
0
X
WEE CO MIX G
a
HEWCOMESS
SECTION B
B2
Pets
Health Works
B5
Traveling Soldier
B8
Q
Oj
c J
& ■'
41 in
- X;
/ '
» C
£
/
.A
•I * •
FT
- ■___
5
■*
□Ml
3
3
I
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Pruden, Todd. Fort Hood Sentinel (Fort Hood, Tex.), Vol. 74, No. 31, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 11, 2016, newspaper, August 11, 2016; Fort Hood, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1205041/m1/9/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Casey Memorial Library.