After a long battle with cancer, Retired Colonel William Groninger passed away on Friday, September 2^nd.  The following Tuesday, on a beautiful Fall day, Tom & Andrea Brett had the honor of singing “Wind Beneath My Wings” at his graveside service at the Springfield Veteran’s Cemetery.  Our sympathy and prayers go out to his beautiful wife, Lynn, and all of his family and friends who mourn his loss.  Bill will definitely be missed by everyone who knew him.

Retired Colonel William G. Groninger

The first recipient of the Bretts for Vets Award is a man who is highly respected in the Branson, Missouri community, Retired Colonel William G. Groninger.  Bill was born in the small town of Port Royal, Pennsylvania. The town was so small, that there were only 16 students in his graduating class!  After high school, Bill went on to receive a bachelor's degree in math and science.  From there he felt it was his duty to volunteer for military service and he joined the United States Air Force, where he served for 20 years.  During that time, he flew 100 missions over North Vietnam, he was an instructor pilot, he earned his Masters degree in psychology, and then stepped into the cockpit of the fastest, highest- flying manned aircraft the Air Force ever built, the SR-71 "Blackbird".

In Branson, Bill’s name has become synonymous with the word “Veterans.”  He served as Executive Director of the Branson Veteran's Task Force for three and a half years.  While in that position he developed the "Branson History Project" which video records Veterans telling of their service, and, through his efforts, Branson became the only archive site for those records outside of the Library of Congress.  He co-created the Avenue of Freedom with its 92 flags along Gretna Road.  He established the Branson Veteran’s Task Force Bugle publication which was distributed to Veterans quarterly across the country, welcoming them to Branson.  Bill received the Bridge Builder Award for his focus on building an educational bridge between veterans and school students by having our military heroes interact with children at assemblies, telling their stories and teaching the proper way to fold the flag.  He received the 2003 Governor's Humanities Award and served as an advisor to the governor on behalf of Veterans.  Following his service with the Task Force, Bill became President of the Local Vietnam Veterans Chapter 913 and held that position for a four year term.  He was honored in May with their first Member of the Year Award.

Bill has long had the reputation for being Branson's go-to-guy for veterans.  As a result of this, Bill has responded to many late night phone calls, rushing out the door to pay for a room and some meals for a Veteran who wandered into town looking for help.

Bill is also a devoted father, with a son in California, a daughter in Philadelphia and a step-son in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  He and his beautiful wife, Lynn, who celebrated their 10^th anniversary on July 4^th, are proud of their combined family, which now includes 8 grandchildren. 

The Bretts could not think of anyone who would be more deserving of the first Bretts for Vets Award. His example of hard work, dedication, service and patriotism is an inspiration to all. 

Thank you, Bill, and congratulations!