Leading the Cause to Aid Our Service Men and Women

DALLAS, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- America's troops fight battles overseas selflessly and bravely to protect our freedoms, but many times are left alone to fight their own battles at home. ReserveAid Texas, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing financial assistance to reserve and active duty military service members and their families, is partnering with NexBank as it provides sponsorship support for the group to raise awareness and funds at the third annual "Stars & Stripes Dinner."

New York Times best-selling author and Dallas native, Donovan Campbell, is the event's keynote speaker. Donovan, a graduate of Cistercian High School and a former Marine Captain, wrote his personal memoir, Joker One: A Marine Platoon's Story of Courage, Leadership, and Brotherhood, following his experience as a Marine commander in charge of a forty-man infantry platoon called Joker One. After graduating from Princeton, Campbell was motivated by his own patriotism and commitment to join the service, realizing that becoming a Marine officer would allow him to give back to his country, engage in the world and learn to lead.

"NexBank is a strong and active partner in our community and we as a company remain focused on the many pressing areas in need of our support. ReserveAid does an incredible job on behalf of all of us as citizens, taking responsibility to find solutions that focus on stepping in to help some of the bravest people in our country," said Davis Deadman, president and chief executive officer at NexBank. "As a company, we want to help and be there for soldiers who give selflessly to all of us as they navigate difficult times."

"This is our 3rd year sponsoring ReserveAid and we feel compelled to help support their efforts to provide needed services for many soldiers," said Deadman. "It's our great honor to even be considered a part of this whole effort."

This third annual "Stars & Stripes Dinner" will be held on Saturday, February 20, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, and ReserveAid board members Chris and Kari Mawn will serve as event co-chairmen. Other key sponsors include Highland Capital Management, L.P., 7-Eleven, Hayman Capital, L-3 Communications, Credit-Suisse, Equity Appreciation Partners Southwest, Epocal, Inc., Haynes and Boone, LLP, Investment Technology Group, Knight Capital Group, Lackey Hershman, LLP, Lockheed-Martin, Raytheon, Simons Petroleum, Strasburger & Price, LLP and Vought Aircraft.

"Since its beginning in October 2006, ReserveAid has already helped over 1150 families impacted by the Global War on Terror with over $2.7mm in grants distributed so far," said Chris Mawn, an Executive at Highland Capital Management in Dallas and member of the Board of Directors for ReserveAid. "A lot of these grants address basic needs, such as food, clothing, shelter and transportation, making them vital and so important for our service men and women."

ReserveAid Texas targets gaps in financial support that are not always met when reservists are called to duty. This includes reservists getting activated and their military pay is a fraction of their civilian pay, families whose civilian pay gets cut off and then there is a problem with their military pay starting (amount is wrong, first payment gets delayed, etc.), and veterans who have been injured and are navigating the VA benefits process. 

Currently, the law requires that only those called on active duty receive unpaid leave.  While Reserve Service Members retain long-term job security, many make significantly less than they would in their civilian lives. Accordingly, nearly 41 percent of Reserve Service Members are impacted by a pay discrepancy between their military and civilian salaries. These financial sacrifices are compounded for the 56 percent of Reserve Service Members that are married, most reporting a loss of income as a result of being called to active duty. ReserveAid Texas works to make sure our brave men and women are not penalized for doing so and their quality of life does not suffer as a result of their commitment to the United States.

"Our reserve members, while dedicated to our country and call to duty, are many times uprooted at a moment's notice and there can be lapses in pay or help needed to make payments when salaries many times decrease with deployment," said Deadman. "With the support of a great organization like ReserveAid Texas, these service men and women can focus their efforts on defending our great country, and not on their financial situations back home."

For more information about the "Stars & Stripes Dinner," please contact Polly Weidenkopf, 972-383-8080 or [email protected].

About ReserveAid:

Reserve Aid is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to providing financial support to the families of Reserve and Active Service Members in all five branches of the Armed Forces mobilized in the Global War on Terror. Reserve Aid makes unrestricted, need based grants to military families who have a Service Member on full-time deployment to a combat zone or homeland security position. Our goal is to alleviate the emotional and financial burdens placed on the men and women called to serve our country by supporting their families at home.  For more information, visit www.reserveaid.org.

About NexBank:

NexBank, SSB, is headquartered in Dallas in the NexBank Building, Galleria II Tower. Originally founded in 1922, the bank was purchased in 2004 by a group of Dallas-based investors who have refocused the bank to become a sophisticated and capable force in commercial real estate and specialty financing (local) and leader in deposit and savings rates. For more information, visit www.nexbank.com.

SOURCE NexBank