Tammy Duckworth to speak at NASA Education event

The National Association of Systems Administrators Education Corp., or NASA Education, a Crystal Lake-based nonprofit organization, will receive more than $1 million worth of grants and donations at a reception today at the Holiday Inn, 800 S. Route 31, in Crystal Lake.

L. Tammy Duckworth, director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, will unveil future plans of the IDVA during the program segment of the evening. She also will present two of the grants funded by the IDVA Scratch-Off Lottery Grant Program to NASA Education.

Patrick Winfrey, state director for Veterans' Employment and Training, U.S. Department of Labor, also will speak during the program.

A social hour and registration will be from 6 to 7 p.m., with the program at 7 p.m. The public is invited to attend this free event.

To RSVP, visit www.nasaeducation.org; call the toll-free number at (866) 338-4968; or e-mail an RSVP to Amy Johnson, event coordinator, at amy_ johnson@nasaeducation.org. Business attire is suggested.

Duckworth, who is a major in the Illinois National Guard, was awarded the Purple Heart after the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter she was co-piloting was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by Iraqi insurgents on Nov. 12, 2004. She was appointed director of the IDVA effective Dec. 15, 2006, by Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

"Of all the veterans' agency offices I have visited throughout the country, the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs by far provides the most comprehensive veterans' programming and support in any state, and this is due to Director Duckworth's efforts," said John Blanchard, who in 1999 founded NASA Education. Blanchard served for eight years with the U.S. Navy.

NASA Education's major programs are Project Fresh Start, a comprehensive vocational rehabilitation and community rehabilitation program for U.S. veterans who are newly released, displaced, disabled, homeless, unemployed or otherwise in transition; and the Stand Down for Veterans, which recently took place at YMCA Camp Algonquin and provided social services for 110 veterans.

Those to be recognized at the reception include service providers, volunteers, veterans' organizations, community organizations, businesses, grant makers, private donors and all others who have supported NASA Education's programs.