Our Award
This award was created in honor of Vet to Vet Tennessee and Knoxville Regional Veterans Mental Health Council’s co-founder Freddie J. Owens who displayed sacrifices both on and off the battle field throughout his life. Freddie exhibited kindness, honor, integrity, bravery, commitment and gallantry to promote a better life for others through a genuine, selfless pursuit. Therefore, we at Vet to Vet Tennessee annually issue this award to honor individuals who sacrifice and display this same commitment to our veteran population of our beloved advocate SSGT Freddie J. Owens who left us with a legacy. We hope that the recognition will serve as a visual testament of what our veterans meant to us and our country and to inspire others to continue to enrich the lives of those who serve us and for those who support them. [read more read less]
Who to Nominate/Eligibility Requirements
Two awards will be presented annually to veteran advocates who demonstrate the same ethos as Freddie J. Owens. We will honor one veteran/military individual and one civilian who have advocated and/or worked in some capacity to contribute positively to the lives of veterans and/or their families either spiritually, emotionally or physically. This may be through indirect forms of service, such as raising awareness through advocacy or through or direct involvement with this population in some manner (i.e. working as a practitioner).
General requirements are that the individuals be women as this honor is specifically designed address one of Freddie’s visions, which was to offer greater recognition to our women veterans while advocating for modifications in gaps of services to better fulfill the needs of women. As a community-based organization, it is also important that we award those working in areas we serve. Our nominees should complete their contributions in our communities East TN to allow us the privilege of recognizing those making an impact close to us. We require at least five-years as a veteran advocate or service provider. We are looking to honor volunteer service; however, if paid or job-related work demonstrates exceptional dedication, we are happy to accept nominations.
How to Nominate
Anyone may send in a nomination. When sending in a nomination, however, it is important to be able to provide clear examples of the work completed and of the characteristics/qualities of the person (similar to Freddie’s ethos mentioned above) driving the work. The more specific the extensive and specific the examples, the better chance that person has to receive the award because we are unable to see the work firsthand, so we are depending on you to provide us the greatest insight that you possibly can.
Nominations will be reviewed by our council and Vet to Vet Tennessee. Recipients will be informed by September 1, 2019. Awards will be presented at our annual Women’s Veteran Summit on October 3, 2019 at Rio Revolution Church in Maryville, TN.
Nominate Now
We encourage you to cast a nomination because the greater involved the community, the greater our empowerment and contributions to the population we serve. This will allow our mission and Freddie’s vision to spread and touch more and more lives. We will close nominations on August 15, 2019.
Just fill out the form online by clicking here or send us an email at info@tnvhc.org or speak to one of our council members, 865-336-2624) for guidance to cast your nomination.
Thank you for remembering and honoring our brother Freddie.[read/]