You still have a chance to see 'Return to Pilsen!'

General Patton's Grandson, George Patton Waters the night of 11.12.13

Thanks to WLUK-FOX 11 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, we were able to share and premiere a very special documentary on our General George S. Patton Scholarship of Honor in Pilsen Czech Republic on 11.12.13.

The documentary also highlights the love the citizens of the Czech Republic have for Americans for helping liberate their country.  You won't want to miss it!

The film rebroadcast, commercial-free thanks to Amerprise Auto and Home Insurance on these dates:

December 14 – 5:00 PM

And on on CW14
Sunday, December 8:00 AM at 12 noon

You can also view it online here! http://www.fox11online.com/news/us-and-world/return-to-pilsen

What a night! 11.12.13

We knew the numerical day of 11.12.13 was a special one, but for Brian's Foundation it was amazing and memorable. We hope our 900 guests felt the same.

We packed a lot into one night, but thanks to dozens of folks behind the scenes and our amazing friend, board member and master of ceremonies, Darrel Burnett it was flawless.

As I sat next to Mom and Dad in the beautiful Meyer Theatre, I was in awe. I recognized many people from our community and also many people who I was seeing for the first time. The people around us laughed, they cried at touching moments and when they clapped I could feel their love and support with each sound.

Mayor Martin Baxa, Pilsen Czech Republic

We had many people who traveled to Green Bay, Wisconsin during the week of November 12th. For some it was their first time in the United States! The Mayor of Pilsen in the Czech Republic, Martin Baxa arrived at the very, very quiet Green Bay Airport on a Saturday night beaming, "This is my first time in the U.S." 

My first reaction to Mayor Baxa's comment was, "oh and it is winter weather here in Green Bay already" but we couldn't have been happier. Most of you know I live in North Carolina and when I travel back to Wisconsin, I am reminded of the kindness, the friendless and the warmth of the area...it is the heartland of America.

FOX 11's Mark Leland in Pilsenthis past May

Mayor Baxa gave a heartfelt speech that night (In English!). It was very powerful and energized the audience. We will share his special speech and the entire evening with you when we receive the recording from the event. It was incredibly moving. 

One of the reasons for their visit was for the premiere viewing a documentary done by WLUK FOX 11 on Pilsen's liberation festival, their love for Americans and our Scholarship there. 

Another special moment was having our first Brian LaViolette Scholarship recipient in town from South Carolina. He is no stranger to the cold weather, since he grew up here and was actually friends with Brian. Thanks to a board member's donation of air miles he could join us! 

We loved having him with us and know the audience was happy to see our first recipient... 20 years later. 

 And there was MAGIC! Justin Flom was astounding and performed many tricks, including an interactive card trick with the audience. As you know there are 52 cards in a deck and we have 52 scholarships presented annually. The audiences' costume deck featured one of our scholarships on each card! 

Look at my face as he performed this one...ha ha,but seriously how did he do that?!  

The Green Bay Preble Chamber Choir performed beautifully. Several soloists were also past scholarship recipients! Green Bay Preble Chamber Choir We had many more impactful speeches and touching moments on 11.12.13, including that our 'foundation family' has grown even more. 

 *All these beautiful photos (except the one of Mark Leland) are by friend and board member, Kim Klein Photography

The U.S. Postal Service Unveils the General George S. Patton Commemorative Envelope and Cancellation Stamp by Artist Nicolosi

November 11th is a very special day for our country.  Veteran's Day has been observed in our country since 1919.  General George S. Patton was born on the same day 34 years prior.

Thanks to artist, Nicolosi and the USPS, this very special commemorative envelope and cancellation stamp will be unveiled on November 11th in Green Bay, Wisconsin. 

November 11th is a very special day for our country.  Veteran's Day has been observed in our country since 1919.  General George S. Patton was born on the same day 34 years prior.

Thanks to artist, Nicolosi and the USPS, this very special commemorative envelope and cancellation stamp will be unveiled on November 11th in Green Bay, Wisconsin. 

We will be joined by General Patton's Grandson, George Patton "Pat" Waters and the artist, Nicolosi.  Both will be signing the signing the envelopes which will be 

General Patton's Grandson, George Patton Waters

available for purchase.  Part of the proceeds will go to Brian's Foundation!  

Green Bay's Post Master will also be there, as well as, a representative from the Czech Embassy and other local dignitaries.  

The public is invited to the unveiling on November 11th right before the United Patriotic Society of Green Bay's program at 10:00 am at Shopko Hall, 1901 S. Oneida St. Green Bay, WI 54304.  

This commemorative piece will be signed by both Nicolosi and Pat Waters.  If you can't make the unveiling, you can purchase online here.

ONE month from today!!

In just ONE month we will gather for a very special evening in downtown Green Bay!

Yes, the date is 11.12.13, because that is what we do. Some of you may remember our events on 9.9.99 and 11.11.11, but this one is unlike any we have ever attempted.

We have so many exciting things planned for the night, but to truly feel the impact, we highly encourage you and your family to be there!

A few highlights to expect on November 12th

• More details on the General George S. Patton Scholarship of Honor we established in Pilsen.  This year we were grateful to Bob Nueske for the opportunity to have WLUK Fox 11's very own Mark Leland and Tim Flanigan document Pilsen's Liberation Festival.

 11.12.13 will be the premiere viewing of a very special documentary on Pilsen, its  citizens and the love they have for America to this day.

• You will hear from 'ordinary people' who have gone on to do extraordinary things across this great land, including some of the Foundation's past scholarship recipients and Czech Republic dignitaries. 

• The Green Bay Preble High School Vocal Ensemble which includes former scholarship recipients will perform throughout the evening.

• Jaw-dropping entertainment by magician Justin Flom will leave you in awe. At 26 years old, Just in Flom is known around the world for his magic. Growing up in the Midwest, he started performing at a young age. After high school he toured with professional magicians and now regularly takes the stage at Hollywood's Magic Castle and has performed in 26 countries and on the Ellen DeGeneres show.

Tickets are going incredibly fast!  Get yours now at meyertheatre.org or at 800-895-0071

Across the Ocean...

I am excited to share a wonderful opportunity I had with you.  Thanks to a generous personal gift from my Aunt Sue LeTourneau, who is also a board member of Brian's Foundation, I was able to visit and meet with the Nidzica Community Foundation (Nidzicki Fundusz Lokalny) in Poland.

What a special time!  We partnered with the Nidzica Foundation 10 years ago and this year we presented our 60th scholarship there, totally $41,000.00.    

This was our first visit to meet them and after communicating with them through email for years, I was grateful for the chance to shake their hands, look them in the eyes and see their life.

These two great men picked me up from the airport...

Andrzej (my 'go to' for the past 10 years) and his son Lukasz.  They made me feel welcome the minute I stepped off the airplane.

I was able to spend three days with them... they showed me the area (which was beautiful), introduced me to so many remarkable people and on the last day, I had a chance to meet with past and current scholarship recipients and take part in the scholarship presentation.  

This is their Foundation headquarters.  Isn't it beautiful?  

It is in this sweet, collaborative pottery village which included other organizations. Did I mention that I learned how to make pottery for the first time from someone who spoke entirely in Polish?

Oh and umm, this is where I stayed...in the castle hotel, which is from the 13th century!

But one of the most joyous things for me was meeting the recipients and being part of the scholarship presentation.  

We have three incredible family sponsors (The Robert D. Nueske Family, Dr. and Sue Smullen and the Weyers Family Foundation)who award two scholarships a year to recipients in the Nidzica area.

Here are the names of this years' recipients and their field of studies.

Mateusz Smoliński Management and production engineering, Main Agriculture-School in Warsaw         

Krzysztof Szczephkowski Applied Linguistics, University in Gdansk

Renata Bruzdziak-Finance and Accounting-Main Trade School in Warsaw (School of Economics)

Małgorzata Młyńska--Environmental Protection, University of Warsaw

Daniel Traczewski-Economics/Finance and Accounting/Computer Science and Econometrics, University in Warsaw

Aneta Rudzińska-Materials Engineering, Politechnic in Gdansk

And the man on the left, Jarosaw Pluciennik, was our first scholarship recipient in Poland!  He now helps with their foundation.

I am so happy to share a small part of this visit with you.  Their kindness, graciousness and positive spirit will remain with me always.