Our commitment to freedom knows no bounds and as we salute of Veterans of many wars.
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson

Photo/Mamie Salazar-Harper

L-R standing - Keith Smith, Rent-A-Center HR Director for the Carolinas and Marine Corps veteran; Mamie Salazar Harper, Legislative Liaison for the Nationwide Rental Coalition; Eric Erlewein, Rent-A-Center Director of Strategic Planning; and Aaron Ingle, Rent-A-Center Real Estate Manager; pictured here with a group of WWII veterans hosted by Rent-A-Center. Also attending the event were Andy Trusevich, Rent-A-Center Vice President, Assistant General Counsel and veteran of the U.S. Army; and Bill Miller, MSC for Nationwide Southwest and member of the Board of Directors for the Dallas USO.

Rent-A-Center (NASDAQ:RCII) helped sponsor the 2008 Rotary Club of Dallas Salute to American Veterans fundraiser benefiting the DFW-USO. The event was held Wednesday in the Frontiers of Flight Museum inside Love Field Airport in Dallas. Rent-A-Center hosted four WWII veterans at the event and donated two flat-screen TVs and a computer for the silent auction.

Andy Trusevich, Rent-A-Center Vice President, Assistant General Counsel and veteran of the U.S. Army, attended the event along with Keith Smith, Rent-A-Center HR Director for the Carolinas and Marine Corps veteran; Eric Erlewein, Rent-A-Center Director of Strategic Planning; and Aaron Ingle, Rent-A-Center Real Estate Manager. Also attending was Mamie Salazar Harper, Legislative Liaison for the Nationwide Rental Coalition and Bill Miller, Marketing Specialist for Nationwide Southwest. Miller also serves on the board of directors for the Dallas USO.

The DFW-USO has welcomed more than 500,000 troops since 2004. Bill Miller has served on the Dallas USO Board of Directors since 2006. Miller says the USO is honored to welcome troops home. "It's an unbelievable sight to see when those troops get off the plane and they're greeted by hundreds of people," Miller said.

Rent-A-Center VP Trusevich said the company is honored to serve the men and women of our armed forces. "Rent-A-Center is very proud of the men and women who currently serve in the military and who have served in the past. We're proud to actively sponsor events like the Salute to American Veterans. It's the least we can do when we have military people serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world."

Andy Trusevich, Rent-A-Center Vice President, Assistant General Counsel and veteran of the U.S. Army

A veteran himself, an MP stationed at Ft. Carson, Colorado with the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division in the 1980s, Trusevich said Wednesday's ceremonies had a profound impact on everyone that attended. "For me personally it was such a moving experience to see veterans from the 'greatest generation.' I was honored just to be at the same table with them. It was an incredible experience." Trusevich said it is Rent-A-Center's goal to become a larger sponsor of the event.

Rent-A-Center supports military men and women around the country. One example cited by Trusevich is the Airport Attic, a service that provides support for soldiers and family members E-4 and below at Fort Bragg with furniture, household goods and baby items/clothing free of charge. Rent-A-Center operates a store on the base and donates to the Attic regularly.

Former Dallas Cowboy quarterback Roger Staubach introduced Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, the keynote speaker at the USO fundraiser. Mamie Salazar-Harper commended Senator Hutchison for her work on behalf of the USO. "The Senator worked with the Love Field Airport to put in a USO facility that was 100% funded with private money," Salazar-Harper said. "At Senator Hutchinson's request, the FAA and Homeland Security now allow families of servicemen and women to escort and wait with them at their departure gates."

During her speech, Senator Hutchison read from an email she received recently from Mrs. Springer, the mother of a soldier. Earlier this year, Mrs. Springer's son was returning to Iraq after two weeks R&R. With help from the USO, she was able to walk her son to the gate and wait with him until his departure. Mrs. Springer said in the email that a USO volunteer took a picture of her with her son.

Mrs. Springer's son was killed in action a short time later when a bomb detonated near his vehicle.

In the email, Mrs. Springer asked Senator Hutchison to thank the USO and its volunteers, many of which are vets themselves, for their acts of kindness to servicemen and women and their families who pass thru Love Field. Mrs. Springer said that she cherishes the photo she received from the USO.

Bill Miller, Nationwide Southwest with Mamie Salazar-Harper. Inset: Salazar-Harper with Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson at the 2008 Rotary Club of Dallas Salute to American Veterans fundraiser.

Senator Hutchinson said the difference between Americans and their enemies can best be described by the actions of the team who rescued Jessica Lynch. The commander of the team learned during the rescue that American soldiers were buried on the hospital grounds. Without the benefit of tools, they dug up every soldier's grave and loaded them on the helicopter with Jessica Lynch. Senator Hutchinson recounted the words of the Commander, "We dug with our hands and raced the sun. We never leave anyone behind."

The Senator said in her address, "Our commitment to freedom knows no bounds and as we salute of Veterans of many wars, we must stay true to the pursuit of freedom so that we will never have to tell our grandchildren and great grandchildren how it was back when America was still free."