This year’s Leslie L. Megyeri Community Grant Award (CGA) went to the Army Distaff Foundation (ADF), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Established in 1959, the ADF was created when it became apparent that aging widows and female relatives of U.S. Army servicemen lacked the ability to sustain themselves. The “Founding Mothers” — bold, spirited, solutions-driven, and growth-minded — had the vision to create a place of “security, companionship, and purposeful living”

that would serve as a shining example for others.

The Knollwood Senior Living facility in Washington, DC, owned and operated by the ADF, is the current home of Kathy and Leslie Megyeri. Kathy, the GBU Foundation’s newest cheerleader, was a 30+ year English teacher in the DC suburbs. Leslie worked in Washington for House Rep. Jack Brooks on the Judiciary Committee. Kathy notes that moving in those Washingtonian circles influenced them and their imperative to giving back.

Leslie, a former president of the Hungarian Reformed Federation, has been an ardent supporter of GBU Life’s charitable giving program for many years because he realized that historically, as far back as in the early 1800’s, fraternal organizations provided a sense of belonging and community — and part of giving back to any organization is community involvement. “The Community Grant Awards program is rooted in the belief that strong communities are built when we

come together to support one another”, said Leslie.

The Knollwood Senior Living Facility was established by Mamie Eisenhower as a retirement home for widows of military officers who, in many cases, needed financial help in their final years as their husbands’ small pensions could not meet their demands for care. Twenty years later, spouses were allowed entrance, and today, nearly half of the residents are military related. Knollwood resident Ellie Wheeler, 97, said that she learned of GBU Life and its charitable giving program for the first time and was proud that it was part of Pennsylvania’s history because she and her husband lived in Carlisle, PA during his years at the Army War College.

It is the hope that other GBU Life members like Leslie and Kathy Megyeri will give even more to expand the CGA program and demonstrate that with GBU Life’s help, strong communities thrive when people come together and support one another to honor the true meaning of the word fraternal. Kathy added, “I wish to say thank you to GBU Life’s leadership, and Ken Elliott (Senior Charitable Partnerships Specialist) in particular, and other GBU Life members who want to be part of a powerful segment of fraternal life. GBU Life is indeed setting the example for other fraternals”.

Ken Elliott, GBU Life Senior Charitable Partnerships Specialist, presents award to J. Hunter Moore, Knollwood President and CEO, and Army Distaff Foundation Board Member.

Ken Elliott with Knollwood resident Ellie Wheeler.