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| LIFE IN SOLERA | APRIL 2022 | 27 If you have a few minutes to spare, at either end of our Clubhouse hallway you will find something special. First, mounted to the wall beside the Art & Crafts Room is a large, wooden United States flag. It was handmade by resident Ron Bogle and presented to Solera. Ron made a similar flag to be a part of the raffle prizes at one of our Support Our Troops fundraisers. He also presented one to the Beaumont Police Department. Thank you, Ron, for your patriotism. In the glassed-in shadow box beside the Art & Crafts Room door are a couple of United States flags, folded in triangles. They are accompanied with letters and certificates. They were presented to Solera by service members who had family ties to our community. The upper one was presented by an Army Major, a member of the 82nd Airborne. We supported him on his two one-year tours to Afghanistan, and when he did a tour in Washington D.C., we supported his old unit. After his first one-year tour in Afghanistan, he gave our community a lecture on his tour. After his second tour, he, along with his family, were the guests of honor at one of our troop fundraisers. I have a wooden plaque on my den wall like the one in the showcase. The lower flag and written material is from a Navy Seal; by the very nature of their duties, much of it is guarded in secrecy. His first tour was in Afghanistan, that much I could tell from the address on the packages I would send him. On his second tour, we mailed his packages to a Navy address in Virginia. On his third tour, the packages went to an individual who turned them over to the Navy for shipment. He presented me with a flag, which I turned over to our Flag Brigade. His flag is flown on special holidays in front of the Clubhouse. On the other end of the Clubhouse hallway, next to the kitchen, is our community Troop Bulletin Board. This board has been part of the Solera community for well over a dozen of our 16 years of sending care packages to our service men and women. Thank you for caring. ~ Jesse Donardt SUPPORT OUR TROOPS The Flags were raised on Tues., March 2 for Viet Nam War Veterans Day. There are no occasions in April to raise the flags. Thank you to those few dedicated resident volunteers who are up "at the crack of dawn" on these special days to raise and lower our flags. To contact the Flag Brigade, email Nick Gercis at nick.gercis@ gmail.com. Jesse Donardt is a resident of Solera and someone who cares for our troops overseas. Jesse collects things that our troops need and enhances the morale and well-being of these troops worldwide by shipping care boxes containing items specifically requested by them. Please support Jesse and the SUPPORT OUR TROOPS program. Jesse can be reached at (951) 845-9028. To all veterans, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!! Billy (Mitch) Mitchell is a resident and veteran who voluntarily works with individuals and the Veterans Administration (VA) in order to assist veterans in obtaining veteran benefits. If you are a veteran and interested in finding out which benefits you may be eligible to obtain, contact Mitch at (951) 797-0800. FLAG BRIGADE VETERAN ASSISTANCE Billy (Mitch) Mitchell is a resident and veteran who has voluntarily worked with individuals and the Veterans Administration to assist Veterans in obtaining benefits. If you are a Veteran and want to know which benefits you may be eligible to maintain, contact Mitch at (951)-797-0800.