Advisory Board Legendary Musician Simon Kirke - FREE AND BAD CO. Advisory Board Member & Special Projects , a division of the American Veterans Aid Fund that works with the music industry to raise funds for veterans and their families and create awareness campaigns. Simon Kirke was born in London on July 28, 1950 and spent his early years living in the borderlands of Wales. Leaving school at the age of 17, he returned to London and set about finding a drumming job in the booming blues scene. After a fruitless 18 months he was resigned to returning to the country when he met Paul Kossoff who was playing in a band called the Black Cat Bones. Simon was offered the drumming position in the band for which he played for 6 months. Simon and Paul Kossof left the band and together with Paul Rodgers and Andy Fraser formed Free. In the four years Free were together they had an enormous influence on many bands on both sides of the Atlantic. Their biggest hit “Alright Now” has become a rock classic and recently polled over 2 million plays on the radio. After the disbanding of Free in 1973, Simon and Paul Rodgers once again teamed up to form Bad Company. They were joined by guitarist Mick Ralphs (Mott the Hoople) and bassist Boz Burrell (King Crimson). Bad Company became one of the biggest and best live acts which have sold approximately 60 million singles and albums to date. As well as touring with Ringo Starr’s All Star Band on three separate occasions, Simon is an accomplished songwriter releasing “Seven Rays of Hope” in 2005. He has also worked on projects with Wilson Pickett, Bo Didley, Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis, Kieth Richards, Ronnie Woods, and Eric Clapton. A governor on the board of NARAS (the Grammy Committee) Simon now lives in Manhattan with his wife Lorraine and four children. Legendary Musician Marty Sanders - JAY AND THE AMERICANS Advisory Board Member ® & Special Projects Being born in Brooklyn at a time when only AM radio existed, didn't afford me many choices in the music I listened to, but the radio was always on & Mom played the piano & sang.. Dad, by his own admission was tone deaf.. I can remember harmonizing in my crib. One day while searching the dial on the radio, I was held captive by the plaintive honesty of a guy singing a country song. His name was Hank Williams & I became an instant fan, giving up my piano lessons for a pawn shop guitar (to my mom's consternation). I became somewhat of an anachronism wandering around on my bike, guitar on my back committing attempted sideburns & looking for other like-minded kids or trying to make converts. At about the same time, another form of music was being born out of the Black Race Music & kids my age were singing their versions on street corners, subways and hallways. Some were actually making records with local and sometimes national success. I sang along with these kids & started a duo with my neighbor Dave and some other 4 & 5 piece groups.. Most sang acapella but with my guitar they had an added benefit so I was always welcomed. We were doing local record hops and TV shows when we got word that a Baltimore DJ Fat Daddy had broken She Cried. When he saw us at our first out of town gig at the Rocket Room in DC he said "I thought you guys were black". It was at this time that I was asked to be a full partner in Jay & The Americans by their manager Danny Kessler. I was touched & honored until I discovered that I would be earning less money than as a hired hand! Of course with our continued success this became a non-issue…….. Walter E. Hughes, 504 PIR 82nd ABN Div. WWII Advisory Board Member and Special Projects Walter Hughes can’t remember ever not working. Born in 1925, he grew up during the Depression and lost his father, a coal worker, to black lung disease at a very young age. Walter worked a variety of jobs, from shinning shoes in front of saloons in Brooklyn to delivering telegrams and selling newspapers. At the age of 12, he started working as a deckhand on the Canal Tug Fidelity of the Conners Marine Company before his mother urged him to return to school. In 1939 he returned to working on the boats at the tender age of 14 and remained on the tugs after the war started, working for the War Shipping Administration. He rejected his deferment from the draft due to his status as a merchant seaman and enlisted in the Army in 1943. He volunteered for the Paratroopers, the new elite airborne troops, and after qualifying at Fort Benning, headed overseas as a replacement. He joined the 504th PIR in England and would take part in the Waal River Crossing to take the Nijmegen Bridge. He earned two Purple Heart Medals, the Bronze Star, and the Combat Infantry Badge and also served in Berlin as part of General Eisenhower’s Honor Guard. After being discharged, he returned to the tugboats where he worked on the East Coast and the Great Lakes. He married his wife Mary in 1952 and he left the tugs as a Captain in 1957. He worked in the office in the marine operations until his retirement in 1988. BWillie Advisory Board Member & Special Projects On the occasion of the American Veterans Aid Fund/ June 9, 2007 Inaugural Event I had the distinct honor of being on the same bill as Music Legend Simon Kirke and Walter E. Hughes, Sgt. 82nd Airborne Division WWII, Founding Chairman, Walter E. Hughes Tri-State Mid-Hudson Chapter 82nd Airborne Division Association. Seventeen years ago I wrote “Johnny” a tribute to our Desert Storm Heroes, a song which at the time the main character to me was an anonymous face. Saturday "Johnny" had many faces, I was completely humbled & extremely honored to be in the presence of so many real heroes. They thanked me for the song, but all thanks goes to them. Before Saturday my music didn't have the direction I wanted, now I know I want to put all my musical efforts into bringing the care, honor & respect these brave Americans have waited far too long for. I am so thankful for my freedoms; I will never forget our Veterans. God Bless. In 1999 Willie recorded the all electric CD "Bulletin". 2001 began an ongoing spot on 2 different WTBQ 1110am shows playing music addressing local issues & further charity work. In 2002 he released solo CD "Suburban Transmission". And at Jeff Babicz inaugural for his revolutionary guitar in summer 2004,was given the honor of Jeff using BWillie’ s recording of "Johnny" & "Fragments" to demonstrate his guitars. Also in 2004 fulfilled a lifelong dream of apprenticing to the late Master Luthier, Gary Emmons, a man who had a profound affect on him. But the proudest achievement to date is the involvement with our heroes and Vetunes. BWillie plays Babicz Guitars exclusively. Terence E. Cash Advisory Board Member Terence Cash served as a Captain in the United States Marine Corps from 1965 to 1972 and his service in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968 included time spent as Company Commander, Security Rifle Company in Dong Ha. He received a Purple Heart for injuries suffered during a rocket attack at Dong Ha and is currently undergoing treatments for Agent Orange related cancer. A married father of three adult sons, he lives in Atlanta, GA and has over 10 years experience in the financial services industry there. He currently holds memberships in the National Order of the Purple Heart, the Military Officers Association, and the Vietnam Veterans of America, Georgia Chapter. Mr. Cash resides in the Atlanta area, married with three sons. Brendan T. Burke Advisory Board Member Currently Director of Human Resources for Disney ABC-Media Networks and has 35 years experience in Human Resources. 1st Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, serving in Vietnam from 1969-1970, previously participated as a volunteer with the Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program. He is a graduate of Marist College and presently serves on their Board of Trustees. Kirsten J. Kupferschmidt Advisory Board Member Special Events & Projects K2 Global Communications Executive Vice President for Special Events and Projects, Kupferschmidt, is an event professional with over six years of experience. Her professional experience includes specializing in meeting and events production. She has worked for various non-profit organizations and Universities in the metropolitan area. Kirsten also consults on a project basis for select local charities. In addition to event production, she has extensive experience with individual giving, direct mail campaigns, sponsorship cultivation, and Board / Volunteer management. Ms. Kupferschmidt graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queens College of the City University of New York where she majored in History, with a concentration in American and East Asian histories, and a minor in Business and Liberal Arts (BALA). She is a member of the New York Metro Chapter of the International Special Events Society, where she served on the Board of Directors from 2004-2006 as well as on various committees. She resides in the New York Metro area. Corinne Trang Advisory Board Member CULINARY ARTS & EVENTS Corinne Trang is a New York-based, award-winning author. Her first book, Authentic Vietnamese Cooking: Food from a Family Table (Simon & Schuster, 1999) received Food & Wine magazine's 1999 Best of the Best Award and won Best Asian Cuisine Book in the World and Best Book on Asian Cuisine in English Award at the World Cookbook Fair 2000. Her newly released Essentials of Asian Cuisine: Fundamentals and Favorite Recipes (Simon & Schuster, Feb. 2003) covers Chinese cuisine and its influence on the major cuisines of Asia including Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. The book has received much critical praise with several starred reviews and a Best Book List 2003 mention from Publisher’s Weekly. The Washington Post pronounced Trang the “Julia Child of Asian Cuisine.” Trang's articles have been published in such distinguished magazines as Food & Wine, Bottom Line Personal, Health, Cooking Light, Organic Style, and Saveur. She is currently working on her next book, The Asian Grill: Great Recipes, Bold Flavors (Chronicle Books; 2006) to be published in the Spring. Trang holds a B.S. of Culinary Arts with a Minor in Business from Drexel University in Philadelphia where she is Chef and Associate Professor. She is a Culinary Instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) in New York City. Additionally, she has been a guest critic and lecturer at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams; California College of Arts & Crafts in San Francisco; University of the Arts in Philadelphia; Rhode Island School of Design in Providence; University of Applied Sciences in Cologne, Germany; Syracuse University; and the Center for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard Medical School in Cambridge. Most recently she was appointed Adjunct Professor of Communications in Nutrition and Food Studies at New York University. Trang is a frequent radio and television guest. She has appeared in many shows including “The Splendid Table with Lynn Rosetto Kasper (MPR); “Food Talk with Arthur Schwartz” (WOR); “Good Food Hour with Evan Kleinman” (KSRO); “A Chef’s Table” (WHYY-FM); “Good Food” (KCRW-NPR); “Executive Dining with Peter Elliot” (Bloomberg); “America’s Dining & Travel Guide with Pierre Wolfe” and “The Good Life with Pierre Wolfe” (Business Talk America); “B. Smith with Style” (NBC); “New Attitudes” (Lifetime); “Bay Café” (KRON); “Morning Show” and “Weekend Show” (News 12 LI); “Home Matters” (Discovery); “Martha Stewart Living” (CBS); “Cooking Live” and “Sara’s Secrets” (Food Network); and “CBS News: The Early Show” (CBS). In addition to her writing, she is a caterer and an accomplished food stylist, and food and travel photographer. Her work has been published in numerous books, magazines, and on the Internet. She is a member of the James Beard Foundation, the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Chefs Collaborative, and the New York Women’s Culinary Alliance. John E. Wehrum, Jr. Advisory Board Member John E. Wehrum, Jr. joined PLC Program in 1960 and upon graduation from Villanova University was commissioned and entered active duty in August 1965. He retired as a Captain in 1969 due to exacerbation of leg, arm and back injuries while serving with the Ninth Marine Amphibious Brigade in Okinawa. After entering Catholic University School of Law in Washington, D.C. in 1969 under the Vocational Rehabilitation Program of the Veterans Administration, he served as Student Bar Association President and Associate Editor of the Law Review. Upon graduating in 1972 with a juris doctor degree, he was appointed Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division for the Eastern District of New York where he was responsible for the investigation and prosecution of several organized crime, skyjacking, high jacking, international drug smuggling and bank robbery cases. In 1975 he was appointed Chief of the Official Corruption Bureau for the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office where he helmed the bureau responsible for the investigation and prosecution of criminal acts committed by public officials, employees and those enterprises which conduct business or provide services to government entities. By 1981 he had been appointed Division Attorney/Litigation Department for the New York Telephone Company. Five years later he began serving as Regional Director of ERISA Enforcement for the United States Department of Labor, a post he held until 2003. Now a practicing attorney, he is married and the father of four sons.