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Over the past months, “Operation Drive one” has been assisting military service members and their families by donating $20 per test drive at Ford’s on-base events for the National Military Family Association, one of the largest U.S. military charities.

Throughout it’s 10 base tour, Ford salutes military personnel, veterans, family and friends with events and prizes designed to provide a fun-filled day of entertainment including exciting driving challenges, interactive vehicle displays of Ford’s newest products and technologies and classic car shows, all while raising money for the National Military Family Association.

Each “Ford: Operation Drive one” tour stop includes “Drive one 4 UR Troops, ” a test drive program that allows individuals to test drive any new Ford vehicle and help raise money to support the troops and their families.

For each test drive taken at the event, $20 (up to $10,000) will be donated to the local chapter of the National Military Family Association (NMFA).

Additionally, Ford will salute twelve randomly-selected active duty and veteran service members with a trip to the Ford Championship NASCAR race weekend in November. From those twelve, two recipients will also win a new 2011 Ford Mustang and one grand prize winner will be awarded an exclusive Toby Keith concert for his or her home base. All current and former members of the military can enter to win at any of the tour stops or at www.fordoperationdriveone.com.

Read the full press release from Ford for more details.

The Writer’s Center is pleased to announce that it has received a generous grant from The National Endowment for the Arts allowing us to offer four tuition-free workshops for veterans and active-duty military. Two of these workshops are being offered this fall – led by James Mathews and Jehanne Dubrow – and there will be two additional workshops to follow in Winter/Spring 2011.

Please contact The Writer’s Center at 301.654.8664 for more details. Please note: Before you can register for these free workshops, you will need to document military experience.

Visit our www.writer.org for complete details about each workshop.

With school just around the corner, many states are beginning to promote their “Back to School Sales Tax Holidays,” which feature tax-free shopping for specified items.

Fortunately, for students in military families, the same items found at local Army and Air Force Exchange Service stores are free of sales tax every day. So how do local exchanges maintain this benefit during “tax holidays?” With an additional automatic reduction of up to eight percent on all specified back to school items, of course.

“AAFES already has the no tax policy, so to give military shoppers added value we take an additional percentage off back to school items,” said AAFES Acting Chief of Staff Col. Ada Conlan. “This time of year provides an excellent opportunity to emphasize that every day is a ‘sales tax holiday’ at the exchange.”

While select states participate in “Back to School Sales Tax Holidays” from July through November, a total of 15 exchanges will offer 4.25 to 8 percent off all qualifying products.

As a value-added service, all retail facilities in participating states will match the percentage discount for those specified categories up to 8 percent throughout the duration of the “sales tax holiday.” A list of ‘sales tax holiday’ states, along with effective dates, is located at http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/sales_holiday.html.

The Military Vehicles Exhibition & Conference is August 11-12 at the Cobo Convention Center in Detroit, Mich. Join the major stakeholders from DoD and military, OEMs, component manufacturers, service providers, and academia for a comprehensive exhibition, program updates, technical education, and networking opportunities – all under one roof!

Register to attend today and use code “MOAA” to receive 25 percent off the Main Conference or a Free Expo Pass.

eKnowledge Corporation, the leading supplier of interactive learning software for college test preparation, is donating $200 test prep programs to military families worldwide.  Note: There is a materials, shipping, and customer support fee that the service or family member is responsible for.

The SAT and ACT PowerPrep^tm DVDs include more than 11 hours of video instruction and 3,000 files of supplemental test prep material, thousands of interactive diagnostic tools, sample questions, practice tests and graphic teaching illustrations are indexed for easy use.

eKnowledge Corporation has extended the FREE SAT/ACT donation program through 2010. Eligible recipients include servicemembers from all branches of the military who are active duty, retired, veterans, Guard, Reserve, DoD employees, and civilians performing military support. Also eligible are relatives and dependants of anyone who otherwise qualifies from the prior list.

To place an order: www.eKnowledge.com/USA
Enter Sponsorship Code: 2AD9C5CCFD

For further information, please contact Lori Caputo, Director, Military Donation Programs, 951-256-4076
LoriCaputo@eKnowledge.com

Calling all baseball fans, and especially Nationals fans!

The USO is giving away tickets to active duty servicemembers for this Saturday and Sunday’s Nats games! Think of it as a “Thank you!” for your service to your country in honor of the July 4th weekend.

MOAA is helping the USO distribute these tickets- so  if you’re in the area and are an active duty servicemember you should stop by and say hello. And pick up some tickets while you’re here! We have 20 for each day to give away!

Please send an email to brets@moaa.org to arrange a pick up day and time starting tomorrow, and let him know how many tickets you need!

WASHINGTON (AFRNS) — Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki announced June 29 that the Department of Veterans Affairs is offering bronze medallions to attach to existing, privately purchased headstones or markers, signifying a deceased’s status as a veteran.

“For veterans not buried in a national or state veterans cemetery, or those without a government grave marker, VA is pleased to offer this option that highlights their service and sacrifices for our country,” said Secretary Shinseki.

The new item can be furnished instead of a traditional government headstone or marker for veterans whose death occurred on or after Nov. 1, 1990, and whose grave in a private cemetery is marked with a privately purchased headstone or marker.

Under federal law, eligible veterans buried in a private cemetery are entitled to either a government-furnished grave marker or the new medallion, but not both. Veterans buried in a national or state veterans cemetery will receive a government headstone or marker of the standard design authorized at that cemetery.

The medallion is available in three sizes: 5 inches, 3 inches and 1½ inches in width. Each bronze medallion features the image of a folded burial flag adorned with laurels and is inscribed with the word “Veteran” at the top and the branch of service at the bottom.

Next of kin will receive the medallion, along with a kit that will allow the family or the staff of a private cemetery to affix the medallion to a headstone, grave marker, mausoleum or columbarium niche cover.

More information about VA-furnished headstones, markers and medallions can be found at www.cem.va.gov/cem/hm/hmtype.asp.

VA is currently developing an application form for ordering the medallion. Until it is available, applicants may use the form for ordering government headstones and markers, VA Form 40-1330. Instructions on how to apply for a medallion are found on the VA website at www.cem.va.gov/hm_hm.asp.

Veterans with a discharge issued under conditions other than dishonorable, their spouses and eligible dependent children can be buried in a VA national cemetery. Other burial benefits available for all eligible veterans, regardless of whether they are buried in a national cemetery or a private cemetery, include a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate and a government headstone or grave marker.

The new medallions will be available only to veterans buried in private cemeteries without a government headstone or marker. Families of eligible decedents may also order a memorial headstone or marker when remains are not available for interment.

VA operates 131 national cemeteries in 39 states and Puerto Rico, and 33 soldiers’ lots and monument sites. More than 3 million Americans, including veterans of every war and conflict — from the Revolutionary War to the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan — are buried in VA’s national cemeteries on more than 19,000 acres.

Information on VA burial benefits can be obtained from national cemetery offices, from the VA website on the Internet at www.cem.va.gov or by calling VA regional offices toll-free at 800-827-1000. (Courtesy of VA News)

Like many of us, Dave Haglund knows a thing or two about having loved ones overseas serving our country. The Kitchen Tune-Up founder and president has four older brothers who served in the Korean Conflict and Vietnam War. One of his brothers, Lyle, made a career out of the military, serving for 21 years until he retired. Now, at the age of 80, he resides in a nursing home. “I have great respect for the men and women who serve our country,” explained Haglund. “I understand what it is like to have a loved one gone, fighting for our freedom. I wanted to honor them, and especially honor Lyle, who served three tours overseas himself.”

To thank veterans for all of their sacrifices they and their families have made, Haglund and Kitchen Tune-Up are offering 10 free franchises to honorably discharged veterans. This includes the franchise fee, exclusive territory, training and the start-up package. This program starts now and will run until all 10 franchises are awarded.

The Kitchen Tune-Up franchise has had a lot of success with working with Veterans in the past. Over 22 veterans currently work throughout the many Kitchen Tune-Up franchise locations and at the Home Office. “As a business owner and associate, I feel we need to do our part in showing appreciation,” said Haglund. “We have had many military veterans involved in our franchises that have been successful. Their service background has given them the leadership skills, work ethic, and dedication to teamwork that is necessary in running a successful Kitchen Tune-Up business.”

The military community has already showered the Kitchen Tune-Up office with e-mails and calls to thank us for our initiative. “We feel grateful that our company’s success has allowed to us to offer this program,” said Haglund.

Kitchen Tune-Up’s Veterans Program is offering one free franchise in the following territories: Savannah, Georgia; Mobile, Alabama; Biloxi, Mississippi; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Kansas City, Missouri; Memphis, Tennessee; Tallahassee, Florida; Omaha, Nebraska; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and San Antonio, TX.

If interested, applicants should contact Craig Green by phone at 800.333.6385 or email at craig@kitchentuneup.com

About Kitchen Tune-Up– Kitchen Tune-Up specializes in kitchen and bath remodeling. They offer wood reconditioning “Tune-Ups”, cabinet refacing and redooring, closet organization, custom cabinetry and acrylic bathtub liners. Kitchen Tune-Up has been ranked Entrepreneur Magazine’s #1 home remodeling franchise for 20 years and has more than 200 franchises in the United States and Canada. Learn more about other franchise territories that are available nationwide and in Canada at kitchentuneup.com or ktufranchise.com

We’ve highlighted the best parts below, but you can read the full release online, too…if you’re into that sort of thing. (Though truthfully there’s some good info AND a chart in there. And we know how you guys love charts!)

Chevrolet and USAA, a financial services provider for the military community, provided more than 21,000 discounts, for a total value of $24 million, to help U.S. troops and their families purchase a new Chevrolet in 2009. The result contributes to the industry’s best military discount program: the USAA and General Motors joint discount program offers the largest selection of vehicles and family-member eligibility of any car company…

Except for the $106,880 Corvette ZR1, every 2010 Chevrolet vehicle is eligible for both a GM Military Discount and an additional discount for USAA members. In most cases, the military affiliation discount can be combined with incentives available to the general public.

The GM Military Discount is offered to all active and Reserve members – and their spouses – of the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, National Guard and Coast Guard. Discounts typically range between $500 and $4,000 off MSRP, the suggested retail price of the vehicle purchased. In 2009, Chevrolet supported more than 5,000 customers through the GM Military Discount program, for a cumulative value of more than $12 million…

Military personnel can go to gmmilitarydiscount.com for more information, to apply for a discount code and to find the military price for the vehicle of their choice. More information about USAA’s GM discount and comprehensive auto buying services is available at http://tiny.cc/khujd.

Thanks to our friends at Blue Star Families, you can now get the following deal:

“Operation Appreciation: Blue Star Museums” is an initiative to provide free access to museums by military personnel and their families from Memorial Day, May 31st to Labor Day, September 6, 2010.

Nearly 600 museums have agreed to participate, including the Art Institute of Chicago, Dallas Museum of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Check out the full list of participating museums!

Questions about the program, contact Blue Star Families at museums@bluestarfam.org.