SAN ANTONIO -- She is a proud mom, a volunteer, and a real leader who gets things done and helps a lot of other people. Penni Salge is also the winner of the prestigious Jefferson Award.
Penni is president of the Canyon Lake Area Blue Star Mothers. The group always starts their meetings with the pledge of allegiance and a prayer. Then, it's down to business, which is really about passion and love.
Penni's son is an Army paramedic. But until he deployed to Afghanistan four years ago, she wasn't aware of any groups like the Blue Star Mothers. Penni found out there was a chapter just being set up at Canyon Lake and that Blue Star Moms are support groups for families of those serving in the military that date back to World War II.
Penni has helped the chapter grow from a handful to more than a hundred members, and she's gotten Blue Star Moms very involved in helping other groups, like the Build a Brigade, building homes like this one in Boerne for those wounded in war.
The heart of the work is building relationships to build strength.
"When you talk to other moms who have already been there and done that, it gives you that...They can answer a lot of questions that you don't really know," explained Penni. "I mean I was a new Army mom, so I had no clue about anything. My son had joined in June and was headed to Afghanistan in January. So, there was no time to adjust. So, it was a great organization."
So, it's a great place to share their joys and sorrows and make sure all of their sons and daughters and all the troops get as much support as possible.
"It means a lot to us, but it's more important...We want them to know they're not forgotten," Penni added. "And that even though it's not on the nightly news every night, what's going on over there, we haven't forgotten about 'em. And as one troop wrote back, every time we get a care package from you guys, I know that's one month closer to coming home."
