Aside from his service to veterans on campus, Medley is also involved in his local community. As a member of his local Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion and Honor Guard, he participates in numerous veteran activities including parades and funeral services. He is also a veteran volunteer with Amedisys, a medical and homecare provider in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, that sponsors various Veteran Appreciation Days throughout the year.
“With Amedisys, we go to different nursing homes and assisted living centers to visit the veterans that are there and to let them know that they are appreciated and haven’t been forgotten,” Medley said. This is significant to him because his father is a Vietnam War veteran who returned home in 1968 not receiving the kindness and appreciation shown to veterans today.
“Seeing the way society has changed its view of veterans, I am very appreciative of the acts of kindness people display because I know that there are many veterans that came before me that didn’t get to experience that kindness,” he said. “As much as they appreciate us, we appreciate them.”
Honoring veterans year-round
Every year, Penn State is recognized for its many programs and services available to veterans and, in 2013, the University Park campus was ranked the top university for veterans. This year, multiple Commonwealth Campuses — Penn State Abington; Penn State Berks; Penn State DuBois; Penn State Erie, The Behrend College; Penn State Harrisburg; Penn State Schuylkill; Penn State Shenango and Penn State York — and the Penn State World Campus participated in a survey for and received Victory Media and G.I. Jobs magazine’s “military friendly” designation for their outstanding work with veterans.
For the past three years, Penn State has hosted Military Appreciation Day, an event that takes place on a home football game day the week of Veterans Day. Seats for Soldiers, a program that provides free football tickets for active-duty members of the military, veterans, Wounded Warriors and Gold Star/Fallen families, is the centerpiece of the event, which is administered by Penn State’s Intercollegiate Athletics in conjunction with the University’s Military Appreciation Executive Committee.
This year’s Military Appreciation Day will be held on Nov. 15 for the Penn State vs. Temple football game.
“We had 100 participants in 2010 and 1,500 in 2013,” Michael DiRaimo, special assistant to the president for Governmental Affairs and chair of the Military Appreciation Executive Committee, said. “This year, we have roughly 5,000 members of the military and their family members participating.”
Prior to attending the game this Saturday, members of the military also will participate in a pregame tailgate at Pegula Ice Arena, where more than 200 volunteers, including senior-level University administrators such as President Eric Barron, will serve them food donated by corporate sponsors.
Also, through a variety of activities during Military Appreciation Week, Nov. 9-15, Penn State also is recognizing and expressing appreciation for all members of our nation’s armed forces — veterans, active-duty and reserve servicemen and servicewomen, and ROTC members — for their dedication and commitment to our country.
For more information about Penn State’s military appreciation efforts and for a schedule of events, visit http://military.psu.edu.