USO Honors Service Members of the Year, Military Supporters During 42nd Annual USO Gala

The USO was honored to host government and military leaders, members of Congress, as well as business and community leaders during the 42nd USO Gala, at The Anthem, a premier music venue and auditorium in the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood of Washington, D.C., April 11, 2024.

USO supporters gathered in support of America’s service members and their families. The special evening raised support for the USO’s mission of strengthening the well-being of the people serving in America’s military and their families, while celebrating the 2024 USO Service Members of the Year.

Lisa Marie Riggins, Regional President USO Southeast Region, provided the opening remarks, welcoming all distinguished guests and award recipients to the joyous occasion.

“Good evening, everyone! Thank you for joining us tonight for the USO Service Member of the Year awards,” said Riggins. “The USO is a vast and global organization which is all made possible by the generosity of our private donors, many of whom are with us tonight.”

Riggins was accompanied by two-time Super Bowl champion Vince Wilfork, who joined in the celebration as the co-emcee for the evening.

“ It’s an incredible honor for me to be here with all of you tonight,“ said Wilfork. "It’s always a privilege to honor our service members and their families.”

The presenting sponsor of the event – Boeing, was represented by President and CEO of Boeing Defense, Ted Colbert, who reflected on the partnership Boeing shares with the USO in supporting service members and their families across the globe.

“On behalf of The Boeing Company, it is truly an honor to be with you all tonight as we celebrate the global impact of the USO and pay tribute to the men and women in uniform,” said Colbert. “The origins of both Boeing and the USO share a common thread in our commitment to serving those who serve us.”

“At Boeing Defense, Space & Security, we’re honored to work alongside our military partners, providing them with the necessary tools and capabilities to carry out their missions safely and effectively,” added Colbert. “Boeing remains steadfast in our commitment to the USO as we both continue to carry on the missions we embarked upon decades ago.”

A highlight of the evening’s event was recognizing and awarding of the Service Members of the Year from all seven branches of the armed forces.

Each year, honorees from the different military branches are nominated by their command leadership for performing extraordinary acts of bravery that exemplify the values of the Armed Forces and the USO. Throughout the evening, each U.S. Service Chief or representative, called their respective branches Service Member of the Year on stage to personally recognize their heroic and selfless actions.

This years’ Service Members of the Year awardees recognized during the ceremony were:

• Capt. James Horn | USO National Guardsman of the Year 2024
• Sgt. Tanner Welch | USO Soldier of the Year 2024
• Machinist Mate 2nd Class Royston N. Pitt | USO Sailor of the Year 2024
• Sgt. Brett D. Meil | USO Marine of the Year 2024
• BM2 Class Joshua Marzilli | USO Coast Guardsman of the Year 2024
• Senior Airman Travis J. Spong | USO Airman of the Year 2024
• Master Sgt. Louis Perry Jr. | USO Guardian of the Year 2024

The non-military award of the evening – presented by Lisa Marie Riggins went to Steve Cannon, who serves as Vice Chairman of AMB Sports and Entertainment – who received the USO Merit Award. The award is presented to a well-respected public figure who exemplifies a profound dedication to our nation’s military, utilizing their creative influence to raise awareness, serve our military communities, and embody the mission of the USO.

In 2018, Cannon and then-Falcons Head Coach Dan Quinn spearheaded the first NFL team-directed USO Tour, visiting service members at various bases throughout Iraq and Kuwait. More recently in the summer of 2023, Cannon took another Falcons delegation on a USO tour to Romania and Bulgaria and was the first sports franchise to visit service members in those remote locations.

Included in the evenings program was a live performance by four-time Grammy nominated country music artist Mickey Guyton and the Six String Soldiers, a country music group comprised of U.S. Field Army Band members.

The evening concluded with a special tribute to country music legend and long-time USO supporter Toby Keith, who participated in 18 USO tours starting in 2002 performing for more than a quarter of a million service members, creating memories that will last a lifetime.

SPONSORS & SPECIAL THANKS

Presenting Sponsor: Boeing

Diamond Sponsor: Google Cloud

Gold Sponsors: Bell Textron Inc., BAE Systems

Silver Sponsors: Amazon Web Services, Giant Food, LMI, ServiceNow, Universal Technical Institute

Bronze: American Airlines, RTX, Consumer Technology Association

Patriot Sponsors: Atlanta Falcons, Cisco, Curt Kolcun, GDIT, Harkins Builders, Leidos, Lockheed Martin, Maximus, Meritalk, Microsoft, Navy Federal Credit Union, Planet Technologies, Prudential, SAIC, T-Mobile, Horvath and Partners Management Consultants Inc., World Wide Technology/Intel

Freedom Sponsors: Events DC, iHeart Media