‘Don’t lose focus on freedom. ‘ First woman commander of Ellenton VFW reflects on Veterans Day
Four years after she first knocked on the door of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9226 in Ellenton, Karen Hernandez serves as post commander.
“This is the friendliest post. I feel like these are my brothers and sisters,” said Hernandez, a 53-year-old Navy veteran of the first Gulf War. “They are like my family.”
Women who command or have commanded a VFW post in Manatee County are a rarity, but Hernandez said the 272 members of the post and more than 200 auxiliary members have embraced and strongly supported her.
Even from the moment that she showed up unannounced at the front door of the post at 3511 12th St. E. with her DD Form 214, the official record of her military service.
“Everybody acted like they already knew me,” she said of the instant camaraderie and respect that she experienced. “It was over-whelming and kind of surreal.”
Bob Reynolds, the past post commander who now serves as quartermaster, calls it one of his greatest honors to pass command of the post to Hernandez.
“She is a shipmate. She is vibrant and has a great personality. She can make you laugh when you are sad. She’s going to be a great commander,” Reynolds said.
“We were an all-state post for the past two years. I have a good feeling we are going to make it again,” he said.
Hernandez, a native of Pensacola, enrolled in Junior ROTC in high school. After graduation, she enlisted in the Navy in 1985, attending boot camp in Orlando, and communications school in San Diego. Highlights of her eight years of active include duty as a communications specialist in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Keflavik, Iceland. She left active duty as a petty officer, second class, equivalent to a buck sergeant in the Army.
In civilian life, she worked for the Board of Health in Las Cruces, N. M., before getting back into the telecommunications sector. In 2006, she became a massage therapist. ”I went from high stress to zero stress,” she said of the career move.
Veterans Day falls on Wednesday, and Hernandez has some specific thoughts about the holiday.
“It is important that we don’t lose focus on freedom. It’s not free. I want people to understand the sacrifices that have been made to maintain freedom,” she said.
To help ensure the lessons of freedom are not forgotten, VFW posts sponsor Patriot’s Pen, an essay contest for elementary and middle school students, and Voice of Democracy for high school students.
The post opens 11 a.m. Wednesday and veterans and their families are welcome to stop by for a free lunch, Reynolds said.
The post was chartered in 1978. “I want the people to know we are here to support the veterans and the military. We want the people to know we are here,” Reynolds said.
For more information about VFW Post 9226, call 941-776-4182.
