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Mologne House Courtyard Program
An Expression Of Appreciation From The Entire American Community To All Who Serve In Our Armed Forces, Especially Those In Recovery at Walter Reed, And Their Families.
The Mologne House Courtyard Program started the same way as all the Yellow Ribbon Fund programs started: meeting the needs of injured service members that are not met by others.
The soldiers and their families living at Walter Reed talked about enjoying barbeques, playing with their children and just being outdoors with each other.
This is the Mologne House Courtyard, viewed from north to south, with the Mologne House in the upper area of the photograph, before we did any work.
The Mologne House Courtyard
Click picture for full-sized image.
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We built a beautiful new playground in just over 30 days last fall, opening it officially on October 14, 2007. We began excavation and construction of the first patio November 19, 2007, and, in less than 6 months, we completed three patios with four outdoor barbeque cooking areas and two fireplaces, wheelchair accessible walkways, and a gazebo-over 10,000 square feet in all. Prudential hosted our Grand Opening on May 3. It was a great success.
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| CBS newscaster Bob Schieffer, Garrison Commander COL Bruce Haselden, SSGT (ret.) Dan Nevins, SGT John Williams, HM3 (ret.) Jose Ramos, USN, and Mrs. Melissa Budreau watch Secretary of the Army Pete Geren and LCPL Tim Lang, USMC, cut the Yellow Ribbon. |
In just the first month after the opening, several thousand troops and their families have enjoyed barbeques, lunches, dinners, entertainment including a Wynonna Judd concert, children's activities, parties, and even a wedding reception. Many more activities are planned.
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Take a few minutes to see how the Yellow Ribbon Fund was able to accomplish this wonderful work.
From Ideas to Program Approval in Record Time
Two Yellow Ribbon Fund volunteers visiting Walter Reed, Brendan Quinn, the owner of Ernest Maier, Inc, a distributor of hardscaping materials, and his key employee, Ken Cook, visited the Courtyard pictured above a beautiful opportunity for better outdoor living. They decided to take action.
Brendan and Ken found another Yellow Ribbon Fund volunteer, Todd Hyer, a Land Planner at the prominent landscaping architect and engineering firm, George W. Stephens, Jr. and Associates, Inc. Todd convinced his firm to donate their time and expertise to convert Brendan and Ken's vision into designs and specifications to make the Mologne House Courtyard the most beautiful and useful facility of its kind.
Our Landscape Architect's Map - Todd Hyer, G.W. Stephens, Jr. and Associates, Inc
Click picture for full-sized image.
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The Mologne House, which you saw in the upper area of the photograph above, is on the lower side and the left side of this map.
Brendan and Ken recruited Pete Curro, owner of Woodfield Landscaping, Inc. to join the team. They then went to Walter Reed to find the right partners to make their dream a reality. There they met with Peter Anderson, General Manager, Mologne House, who introduced them to Don Chory, Master Planner, Department of Public Works at Walter Reed. Don Chory, a landscape architect and an amateur artist, was assigned to lead the Walter Reed team, as the Project Manager. This is Don's vision of the finished Courtyard.
Artist's Drawing - Don Chory, our Walter Reed Project Manager
Click picture for full-sized image.
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Don Chory took the lead in obtaining all the necessary approvals for the program. Denis Neill, co-founder of the Yellow Ribbon Fund, and a recipient of the President's Volunteer Service Award Gold Medal for volunteering over 500 hours last year, joined Don in working through the bureaucratic maze. Denis organized the Yellow Ribbon Fund team to work effectively with the Walter Reed team. In less than 3 months-record time-the project was approved by the National Environmental Policy Act Program Compliance Office, the District of Columbia State Historical Preservation Office, the U.S. Fine Arts Commission and the National Capital Planning Commission.
Financing the Program
Ed Quinn, another Yellow Ribbon Fund "Super Volunteer" and Vice Chairman of our Board, accepted the responsibility to Chair the Program. He took up the challenge of assuring that we would have enough money to sign contracts and actually pay for the work. Brendan and Ken had a "dream" budget, but they put together a very austere budget to get the program under way. Ed convinced two local couples, Daniel and Karin Akerson and Bill and Joanne Conway, to make extremely generous contributions. Ed then solicited another friend, Arthur Ryan, at the time Chairman of the Board of Prudential, to contribute an equally substantial amount and to host a Grand Opening. With these commitments we were able to begin construction.
Once we began the actual work, we revised the very austere budget to assure that the program would offer our wounded warriors and their families the very best in outdoor living. We decided that we would put the finest finishing touches on the patios, the outdoor kitchens, the outdoor fireplaces, the walkways and the Gazebo where we honor Rose Mologne. Denis Neill obtained grants from The Clark Charitable Foundation and the Clark-Winchcole Foundation to enable us to proceed with Brendan and Ken's "dream" budget. Other substantial contributions from Vincent Browning, R&R Mechanical, Frank Battaligno, Metro Test & Balance, and Mike McReady, JCM Associates, Inc., helped finish the job. John Leyes, another Yellow Ribbon Fund "Super Volunteer" and a recipient of the President's Volunteer Service Award Gold Medal for volunteering over 500 hours last year, assured that the program has impeccable financial records and stays on budget.
The Children Come First
The families made it clear that they wanted the playground first. Even before Ed could obtain the money, Cliff Plummer, Director, Army Customer Requirements, BAE Systems Electronics & Integrated Solutions, volunteered to manage the construction of the new Mologne House Playground. He and his colleagues contributed the seed money and found other financial support from Operation Homefront, and the Armed Forces Foundation. Under Cliff's daily management, we completed the playground in less than 30 days.
Here's what Cliff was able to accomplish:
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After
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As soon as Ed Quinn obtained the financing, Woodfield Landscaping brought in a highly skilled crew and went to work. Pete Curro and his key man, Mike Southard, began excavation on November 19. Ken arranged for Ernest Maier to start delivering materials that same day. The team started construction of the Upper Patio the next day and finished the laying paving stones before Christmas.
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| Here's the upper patio-before and after: |
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Before
After
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| And here are the lower patio-before and after. |
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After
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| We replaced some very difficult steps with beautiful wheelchair accessible ramps. |
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After
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| Our Walk of Appreciation, a wheelchair accessible walkway crossing the Courtyard toward the hospital honors all who serve, particularly those in recovery at Walter Reed. It eases the trip from Mologne House through the Courtyard toward the hospital. |
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| The Walk of Appreciation-before and after. |
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After
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Patti Kane, Manager, Home Builders Care Foundation, Inc. the charitable affiliate of the Maryland-National Capital Building Industry Association, heard about our plans, and she convinced her Board of Directors to approve the donation of the beautiful new Gazebo, honoring Mrs. Rose Mologne, Major General Lewis A. Mologne's widow.
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| The Rose Mologne Gazebo |
Mike, Rose, and Matt Mologne |
An Expression Of Appreciation From The Entire American Community To All Who Serve In Our Armed Forces, Especially Those In Recovery at Walter Reed, And Their Families.
The Mologne House Courtyard Program is part of a greater effort by the Yellow Ribbon Fund to assist in the transition of our wounded warriors, from the battlefield back to their unit or, more often, back to their local communities. We decided to give everyone an opportunity to say "thank you" and to assist these wonderful volunteers in this transition.
Paving Stones of all sizes show support on the Walk of Appreciation.
A Paving Stone on the Walk of Appreciation can be the keystone in a life-long relationship between the community and the wounded warrior and his or her family.
A Paving Stone also represents a significant contribution to our wounded warriors and their families through the programs administered by the Yellow Ribbon Fund. You can join us.
We are proud that the wounded warriors receive over 85% of every dollar that you contribute through the Yellow Ribbon Fund. This is how your gifts have been is used to help those who have been injured and their families, especially those who are at Walter Reed or Bethesda Naval Hospital:
- Over 8,100 free taxicab vouchers,
- Over 673 free rental cars for 34,500 days,
- Over 2,500 free hotel nights for over 685 families,
- Over 2,500 free nights in apartments for over 38 families,
- Hundreds of tickets for local events,
- Mentorships and internships for over 150 wounded warriors.
Join the Team with your contribution to the wounded warriors and we will recognize you on the Walk of Appreciation and the Honor Roll.
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Get Involved
