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AMVETS presents Silver Helmet Award winners for distinguished service

	LADIES AUXILIARY HUMANITARIAN AWARD John L. Cassidy For more than 20 years, John L. Cassidy has devoted himself to Special Olympics. In the early 1980s, he was instrumental in creating a winter sports training program for special athletes in Kansas after convincing Special Olympics officials there that a winter games program for Special Olympians was a viable idea. Since 1990 the Heartland Winter Games, as the competition is called, has grown into a regional event, with more than 400 participants annually. The retired executive chaired the games for six years and remains active as a coach and director of alpine events.
	SILVER HELMET AMERICANISM AWARD Cloyde C. Pinson, Sr. A World War II veteran with 43 years of military and civil service, Cloyde C. Pinson, Sr., was instrumental in the creation of the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery. For more than a decade, he led the fight to establish the cemetery—which opened in 2000, some 12 years ahead of its original schedule—as the final resting place for Texas veterans, one million of whom live within a 100-miles radius. The life member of Texas Post 17 (Irving) also chaired the Greater Dallas Veterans Foundation, orchestrating its production of Veterans Day parades in the local area.
	SILVER HELMET REHABILITATION AWARD Margaret M. Baumann, M.D. As associate chief of staff for geriatrics and extended care at Edward Hines, Jr., VA Hospital near Chicago, Dr. Margaret M. Baumann has been actively involved for almost 20 years in the Illinois AMVETS reactivation project at the hospital. Through her efforts and those of her staff, new protocols and rehabilitation programs have been developed to help close to 100 veterans overcome the debilitating effects of long-term hospitalization and return to leading productive lives in their communities. These highly successful reactivation procedures have found application throughout the VA healthcare system as well as in the private sector.
	SILVER HELMET CIVIL SERVANT-OF-THE-YEAR AWARD Merle J. Pratt A U.S. Navy veteran, Merle J. Pratt has served since 1991 as deputy director of the Environmental Background Investigations Unit for the Ohio attorney general. During this period, he has actively pursued enforcement of the state’s environmental laws to ensure the health and welfare of its more than 11 million citizens. A staunch veterans advocate, this life member of Ohio Post 89 (Columbus) chaired the Governor’s Veterans Advisory Committee and currently serves as president of MilVets, an organization that honors military personnel and veterans in the Columbus area.
	SILVER HELMET SPECIAL AWARD Rena Tarbet Prior to becoming national sales director for Mary Kay, Inc., Rena Tarbet rose to prominence as a leader in sales for the Dallas-based corporation. As the head of its top sales unit, with sales in excess of $1 million annually, she still found time to involve herself in various community programs for the betterment of others. In demand as a motivational speaker, the Colleyville, Tex., businesswoman has transformed her long-standing battle against cancer into a source of encouragement for many, including cancer patients and their families who have seen her inspirational video “Circle of Hope.”
	SILVER HELMET AMVET-OF-THE-YEAR AWARD Jimmy T. Smith For more than 40 years, Past National Commander Jimmy T. Smith has compiled a distinguished record of service at every level of AMVETS. A life member of Tennessee Post 2 (Oak Ridge), the U.S. Air Force veteran has served as president of his department’s state service foundation since 1984. In this capacity, he not only conceived the idea of installing a foundation-funded veterans memorial at each of Tennessee’s 13 welcome centers, but also worked diligently with state and federal lawmakers to make the addition of a third veterans home in the Volunteer State a reality.