Program: Snowball Express & Major General (retired) Rich Mentemeyer

Register here (Through EventBrite – We are not registering through PayPal any longer)
Date: Monday, October 5
Time: 11:30am-1pm
Location: Fort Worth Petroleum Club, 777 Main Street

All are welcome, membership not required, please join Fort Worth SAME on October 5^th to learn about Snowball Express, the organization dedicated to serving the children of our fallen heroes, by:

Francis X. “Buck” Kern, Executive Director, Snowball Express & Major General (Retired) Rich Mentemeyer

Since 2006, the mission of Snowball Express (SnowballExpress.org) has been a simple, yet profoundly important one: Provide hope and new happy memories to the children of military fallen heroes who have died while on active duty since 9/11. We bring children together from all over the world for a four-day experience filled with fun activities, like sporting events, dances, amusement parks and more. Parents of children of the fallen often tell us that their child is reserved, withdrawn or unwilling to talk about their loss. Participating in Snowball Express changes that, making each child feel special and giving them an opportunity to share their feelings about losing something so precious, their parent.

Using a volunteer team, Snowball Express creates a weekend of events to connect the children and surviving spouses of the fallen with others going through the same experience. The children who attend our annual event walk away knowing they are not alone, and that we honor the sacrifice their parent made while serving our country. Children often return year after year to reunite with the friends they have made through Snowball Express.

Snowball Express Executive Director, Francis X. Kern “Buck” has more than 30 years of executive management experience with extensive experience in retail operations, corporate loss prevention/security, and remodel operations.  Prior to Snowball Express, he was  Director of Operations for Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Texas.

Buck is the son of the late Commander Francis X. Kern III (USN ret., served from 1942 to 1970). Cdr. Kern served as a Naval Intelligence officer for more that 25 years. Buck was privileged to witness the example of his father’s service to this great country, and to learn from the example he set.

Buck resides in Dallas with his wife Nina.

Major General (Retired) Rich Mentemeyer is majority owner of Tritech Construction after more than 32 years of distinguished military service.  A command pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours, he has extensive planning experience and was the initial Director of Mobility Forces for Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.  A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Air War College, Webster University, and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, he serves on several non-profit advisory boards including Snowball Express and the SMU Lyle School of Engineering Knowledge.

During Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan (2001), General Mentemeyer was the initial Director of Mobility Forces.  As such, he was responsible for providing all of the theater airlift and refueling capability for the combined joint force deployed to the Middle East. During Operation Provide Relief, the Somalia Humanitarian mission in 1992, the general was the Joint Task Force Director of Operations, in charge of the airlift of relief supplies. He also served as Ambassador Oakley’s military adviser when the U.S. mission moved into Mogadishu, Somalia.  General Mentemeyer is a command pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours in airlift, refueling and training aircraft..

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