Citizen Airman aided in her drive for excellence

by 1st Lt. Jeff Kelly
442d Fighter Wing Public Affairs

8/14/2014 - WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- Sixty miles is a long way to walk.

Senior Airman Thelma Smith had few other options to make the trip from her parents' home in Grandview Missouri., to Whiteman Air Force Base for her weekend commitments with the Air Force Reserve. That changed Aug. 8.

A recent divorce and a car with serious mechanical problems left Smith, a member of the 442d Fighter Wing Force Support Squadron, without transportation for months. She was forced to rely on her family, friends and even a few rental cars to fulfill her reserve commitment, get to her civilian job each day and to accomplish the day-to-day tasks required of a single mother.

But fortune smiled on this Citizen Airman when she received a refurbished 2001 Ford Explorer from an organization called "Cars 4 Heroes" at an event held at the Bi-Lo Country Mart in Warrensburg.

Smith was in tears as she received a hug and her new car keys from program founder Terry "Car Santa" Franz. A crowd of local citizens and members of her reserve wing applauded as she sat in her new vehicle for the first time.

"One drill weekend, she called me to ask if she could stay on base so she wouldn't have to spend as much money in gas for her rental car," said Senior Master Sgt. Travis Stickels, 442nd FSS Services superintendent. "This caught my attention and after talking with her I realized the desperate need she had for her own vehicle. She is such a tough and determined person that she never complained about her situation to anyone. We had no idea she was jumping through all these hoops to live up to her reserve commitment and to simply make ends meet in her civilian life."

Smith rented a car for three consecutive months to get back and forth from her parents' home in Grandview, where she lives, to make the trip to her reserve job during weekend unit training assemblies. The drive from Grandview to Whiteman Air Force Base takes roughly one hour.

Stickels received an e-mail from the Cars 4 Heroes program only a few days before he learned of Smith's situation.

"Sergeant Stickels told me about this program," Smith said. "That's how I got here today. I'm so thankful."

Smith, a reservists for six years now, has a 3-year-old daughter and is pregnant with another child due in September.

"I'm going to be able to keep the civilian job that I love because of this," Smith said. "I'm going to be able to support my two girls because of this. My family has been there the whole time for me through all of this but now having this car will help me so much."

In her application, Smith said she desperately needed the car to get to her "dream job" with the Community Blood Center, a position she has held since June 9. Smith's father had been taking her to work every day but now has a job opportunity of his own that means she would have to find another source of transportation to work, day care and appointments, she said.

Franz said that when he notified Smith that his organization was going to be able to help her and that she would be receiving a car, he immediately knew that the Cars 4 Heroes organization had made the right choice in choosing her as a recipient.

"I'm not fixing anyone's life," said Franz. "I'm just giving them a tool to get back on their feet. I do this for our veterans because they deserve it. You can feel the stress come off people when you can do something like this for them. But there is a little selfishness for me to do this too. It's just plain fun."

The program started as "Cars for Christmas" more than 20 years ago, Franz said, a giveaway that was open to any deserving person. But after meeting an injured Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran, Franz said the organization focused solely on helping veterans in need and has been donating cars to veterans weekly for the last nine years. All of the cars used by the organization are donated by people who want them to be used for a good cause, Franz said.

"She has been through a lot in the last year," Stickels said. "But she is on the up-swing now and this just tops everything. This could not have gone to a more deserving person. It's good to see when great things happen to great people. She loves helping others and it is great to see someone reach out to help her."

Smith's appreciation was evident in her smile and in the thanks she gave to everyone involved in the event.

"It still doesn't seem real but I'm so glad that it is," said Smith. "I'm so thankful. I've been given a fresh start."