USO Board Of Governors Approves USO for TIA

Posted Jan 19, 2012 by Howard Altman

Updated Jan 19, 2012 at 05:29 PM

The folks who’ve been trying to bring a USO Center to Tampa International Airport – a story I first wrote about back in July - got a huge boost from the USO Board of Governors.

The USO Board of Governors voted on January 18th, 2012 to approve this new USO, according to Walter Lamerton, the Trinity realtor who has been pushing the effort. 

According to a letter from Lamerton:

The USO HQ Staff said, “Many have applied, but this is the first Chartered USO Center approved in the nation in over 20 years.”  A team of volunteers from the Tampa Bay community worked many months to research and submit compelling justification to the USO.  The USO staff said, “This was the best Business Case they have seen.” 

Tampa International Airport commits to building this new USO as part of their Main Terminal Modernization Program.  Construction is set to commence in March 2012 and completion scheduled for 1 July 2012.  Your continued support is greatly appreciated as we strive to ensure our actively serving military and their families are provided “A Home Away From Home” as they transit Tampa International Airport.

The USO requires three years of annual operating funds in reserve prior to the opening of this new center.  The USO annual operating budget comes to approximately $315,000.  An additional $75,000 is necessary for the needed furnishings—we are hoping for in-kind donations to take care of this expense.  There will be one executive director and two mangers to manage and train the some 300 to 500 volunteers necessary for a seven day a week operation and most likely 24 hours a day.  The USO has 16 current programs to serve our active military and their family members.  There are many programs such as Ride 2 Recovery that the USO is a major sponsor of.  This years Ride 2 Recovery will begin in Tampa and end in Jacksonville, FL. 

The Tampa International Airport USO has the potential to serve over 300,000 actively serving military and their family members who will annually transit the airport—the budget equates to about one dollar per person each year.

Our next step is the creation of a corporation which will fall under the USO’s tax exempt status, register with the Florida Division of Consumer Services and begin to solicit sponsors and donors.  We anticipate establishing the corporation and going live with our new website www.USOTampaBay.org within two weeks.  Your consideration in sharing this great news with as many as possible is much appreciated.  Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.