Two people immediately came to mind as the year began coming to a close and I knew it was time to select my fifth annual BrentWord Person of the Year, or as I have been known to call past recipients, my Brentwoodian of the Year. Either way, today’s the day. And I have two people I want to give shout outs to.
The first honoree isn’t in the U.S. Army or Marines but I would 1.) NOT want to meet her on the battlefield
if I was with the opposing force, and I would 2.) definitely want her watching my back if we served in the same unit.
Kim Wilson’s cover photo on Facebook features a quote from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream”: “And though she be but little, she is fierce.”
She is that, and more.
As stepmom to SPC Andrew Wilson, Wilson almost singlehandedly was responsible for the hero’s welcome the 2007 Brentwood Academy grad and young Army specialist received in December 2011 when he returned to Brentwood losing both of his legs to an IED in Afghanistan.
Thousands of people came out that dreary day to wave flags and signs along the route from the old Murray Ohio building to the Wilsons’ Bonbrook home off Sunset Road.
But that wasn’t the end of Wilson’s work. Far from it.
In June, the avid tennis fan and player organized the Serve to Build 2013 Ladies Tennis Tournament at Crockett Park in just three weeks. The tourney ended up attracting 75 participants and amazing community support. Kim wrote the non-profit Homes for our Troops organization a check for $17,300.
“Not too bad for a group of Brentwood moms rallying together to raise money and play tennis,” she told me.
The tournament raised funds to help cover the cost of building two specially-adapted homes this year – one for Andrew in Nolensville and another for Ben Maenza just over the Brentwood city limits in Davidson County.
Ben is the young Marine from Brentwood who lost his legs in October 2010 while also serving in Afghanistan.
Both of the Homes for our Troops-built houses were dedicated in November over Veterans Day Weekend (Click here to read story). Attending both was Perry Pratt of The Jones Company, which built both of the three-bedroom brick homes from Homes for our Troops’ blueprints.
Speaking to the large crowd gathered at one of the dedications – I don’t remember which one since I attended both and both were equally amazing events — Pratt shared details of his conversation earlier in the year with Kim and Andrew’s father Cliff. They had asked him if The Jones Company – who had built two homes the Wilson had lived in — would consider building one for Andrew through the Homes for our Troops program.
Pratt was already familiar with Andrew’s story. His sister Becky Gregory had led the effort to tie yellow ribbons around trees along the motorcade route for Andrew’s homecoming in 2011 and Ben’s the December prior.
Pratt told the crowd that after he said he thought his company could help, Kim asked him, “Now, what about Ben?”
Ben’s dad, Mike Maenza, had actually told Cliff Wilson about Homes for our Troops right after the two met at Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, Md. Mike encouraged Cliff to act quickly because of the long approval process.
When Kim learned about the program, there was no stopping her. Circumventing the non-profit’s typical protocol, Kim got to work lining everything up, from finding the lots to the builder to raising funds.
In a conversation with Pratt on Monday, he told me that every time any obstacle was encountered, “Kim said ‘I’ll take care of it’ and she did.” From the initial groundbreakings to the homes’ dedications, “she was involved all the way.”
“They did not know how to handle me,” she told me, thinking she was giving me information for a column on Andrew and Ben. But she persevered and in the end, everything worked out just fine for all parties involved.
Ben’s mom Jama Maenza describes Kim as “a great little cheerleader” in the best way possible. “She has lots of contacts and gets things done.”
Kim said the Maenzas “have been a pillar of support since literally days after Andrew was hurt.”
A few weeks ago I asked my 2011 BrentWord Person of the Year, retired Police Chief Ricky Watson what he thought of my choice for 2013. I had selected the chief for his role in rehabbing the Maenzas’ home so that Ben could come home that first Christmas after the October 2010 explosion that took his legs in addition to all of his work on behalf of the those who serve our military, active duty and veterans alike.
“Well, she would certainly get my vote,” he told me, mentioning the tennis tournament and other actions Kim has undertaken in behalf of the wounded warriors. “I hope she gets it.”
Kim remains active with the Wounded Warrior Project, Homes for our Troops and the Warrior Hockey Team Andrew plays on. She says she will continue to volunteer and raise money for them “every chance I get! I can never repay them for what they have done and continue to do for this family and so many more.”
For all of her tenacity and dedication, Kim Wilson is my BrentWord Person of the Year.
Read entire article: http://www.brentwoodhomepage.com/no-matter-the-title-brentwoods-best-in-2013-are-cms-14882#.UsLw2_RDvKA
Susan Leathers is co-owner and editor of Brentwood Home Page. Click here to read previous columns. Email her at [email protected].
