Volunteer Spotlight: Janet Maclure
By: Emily Witter, USO-Metro
USO-Metro volunteer at the USO Wounded Warrior and Family Center at Fort Belvoir, Janet Maclure, hosted a Memorial Day cooking class on May 21st featuring a stars and stripes salad, sweet potato fries, turkey sliders, spicy black bean dip and pudding cake. These healthy Memorial Day foods brought out military members and families that were ready and eager to learn. With the fresh ingredients laid out on the kitchen island, USO-Metro wanted to learn more about the cook behind the counter.
When asked about cooking she said, "I feel like cooking brings people together. It's a family kind of thing." When Maclure isn't in the kitchen, she spends her time helping others. Being the spouse of a veteran, she says she's always had a great respect for what service members and their families do for the country. However, after the death of a close friend that was serving in Afghanistan, she felt she could do more.
"There's nothing you can really do except be their friend and I wanted to do this for them ... just to be there and help."
In addition to holding healthy cooking classes at Fort Belvoir's USO Center, Maclure is also an Arlington Lady, a group of volunteer woman who attend funerals of service members buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
"One Arlington Lady goes to each funeral at Arlington's National Cemetery, and you have an honor guard member who escorts you. Right after the honor guard presents the flag to the family, you talk to the next to kin, give them a card from the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and you're kind of like the personal side."
Maclure says she strives to make a difference in everything she does, and when asked why she does volunteer work, she said, "I over volunteer myself, and I do too many things, but I love all of them."
Active duty military members, their families, National Guard and Reservists interested attending Janet's next cooking class and other fun USO-Metro events, you can sign up to USO-Metro's weekly newsletter below! bit.ly/1k4TPqC
« Back to News