Women Veterans Claim History through Pride-Filled Memorial
Last October more than 36,000 women veterans seized the opportunity to claim their history and honor the nearly two million women who served in the armed forces from the American Revolution through the present day at a Women in Military for America Memorial Dedication in Washington, D.C. The $22 million memorial was the result of more than 10 years of diligent fundraising, media outreach and special events planning.
Since 1986, when President Ronald Reagan signed a public law authorizing a national memorial to honor women's military service, The Women In Military Service For America (WIMSA) - a nonprofit organization of 25 employees - has embarked upon the arduous fundraising and public awareness mission. From the outset, the dedication events, a four-day jam-packed weekend of activities, were designed to instill pride in patriotic service by women veterans who for decades believed "they were just doing a job," says WIMSA President Brigadier General Wilma Vaught.
Washington, D.C.-based Susan Davis International (SDI) was charged with designing these Memorial events and raising awareness of a brand of military service that had gone virtually unrecognized for the last 220 years was. Starting with a WIMSA logo assignment in 1991, the agency's support evolved into an intimate partnership that demanded intensive strategic planning and a keen logistical sensitivity to the target audience of more than 30,000 women veterans, many of whom were elderly in their eighties and nineties. The Memorial dedication, which attracted numerous government, military and entertainment VIPs, involved six major events, starting with a black-tie gala and culminating with a candlelight march and memorial service.
In September, the campaign was recognized by the International Association of Business Communicators with a silver inkwell "Best of the Best" award and awards of excellence for "media relations," "script," "special events" and an award of merit for "special print communications."
Getting A Local Edge
A project of this magnitude demanded exhaustive research and aggressive fundraising efforts, says Gen. Vaught. It wasn't until the 1980s that women's military service was documented. "Until recently, no one had asked women about their experiences [in the military] and the military tends to honor the heroes on the front lines, not those who played supportive roles," says Gen. Vaught.
To publicize the Memorial, WIMSA and SDI launched outreach initiatives to women veterans beginning at least six years prior to the Memorial dedication via WIMSA's newsletter, a series of communications with veterans organizations and officials and through media coverage on a local and national level. The media relations strategy focused on educating media on a local level about the Memorial, which involved coordinating women veterans with reporters throughout the country. "We wanted to make this a local story with a national umbrella," says Susan Davis, president of SDI. The media were pitched with a variety of compelling story ideas, that ranged from women as spies to women shot during the American Revolution.
Ultimately the media were intrigued with the stories that women veterans were eager to share. Leading up to the dedication, SDI credentialed close to 500 local, national and international press to cover the events. WIMSA representatives landed national TV coverage on networks and programs like CNN, C-SPAN, CBS, The Today Show and Good Morning America.
Record Attendance
Each of the events had to accommodate thousands of guests, requiring more than 40 hotel bookings and more than 150 volunteers, according to Julie Hanson, SDI's VP. For instance, the gala event was attended by 5,000, the service luncheons were packed to capacity with 13,000 active duty and veteran women and the reunion reception generated more than 7,000 attendees. The dedication, which attracted the most attendance at more than 36,000 became the largest gathering of women veterans in our nation's history.
These events, which included an unveiling and presentation of the Women in Military Service Commemorative Postage Stamp, featured scores of celebrities from the military, government and entertainment sectors. Headlining celebrities included Vice President Al Gore, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Secretary of Defense William Perry, a 101-year-old World War I veteran and musical entertainers Kenny Rogers and Patti Austin.
"This [dedication] was a great coming together of eras for women veterans. Many active service women today are where they are because of their predecessors," says Gen. Vaught. (WIMSA, 703/533-1155; SDI, Susan Davis, Julie Hanson, 202/408-0808)
Drumming Up Corporate Support
In spite of the historical relevance of the Women In Military Memorial, the effort has garnered disappointing corporate support, says WIMSA President Brigadier General Vaught. The campaign is currently short $5 million and lacks support from seemingly obvious industries like defense and women's cosmetics. Out of 1,500 corporations pursued, only 150 small and large companies have supported the Memorial.
So far, corporate fundraising initiatives - which have attracted support from companies like AT&T, Eastman Kodak and US Airways - involve:
- Finding a high-ranking executive with decision-making power who has direct experiences with women veterans;
- Pursuing high-ranking women executives who are prone to appreciate the contributions of women veterans; and
- Following up on personal industry contacts of veterans organizations.