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Army veteran outlines July 18 veterans fair at Mid‑America Veterans Museum, seeks partners and volunteers
Summary
Heidi Knapsack, an Army veteran and ReEmerge member, told the O'Fallon Veterans Commission she aims to hold a grassroots veterans fair on July 18 at the Mid‑America Veterans Museum to raise awareness of the museum and connect veterans with services; she reported outreach to about 32 organizations with roughly 15 expressing interest and asked the commission for contacts, volunteers and publicity.
Heidi Knapsack, an Army veteran who volunteers at the Mid‑America Veterans Museum and is a member of ReEmerge, outlined plans for a veterans fair during the O'Fallon Veterans Commission meeting on June 15.
The event is scheduled for Saturday, July 18, from 9 a.m. to noon on the museum grounds. Knapsack said the fair’s goals are twofold: to bring veteran organizations together so they know one another’s services and to raise community awareness of the museum, which "is our community veteran museum," she said.
Knapsack told commissioners she had reached out to nearly 32 veteran organizations and that about 15 had expressed strong interest in participating. Organizations she named or referenced include ReEmerge, Gray Horse Equestrian, Jeeps for Heroes, Marine Corps League, American Legion (Posts 313 and 388), Vietnam Veterans of America (Saint Charles County), AmVets Post 106, the Commemorative Air Force (Missouri Wing), Operation Zero, Heroes on the Water, Team River Runner, Life Waters, Welcome Home and a VFW post. She said some groups had been slow to respond but that she would continue outreach and asked the commission to pass along contacts and publicity assistance.
Commission members and attendees offered practical suggestions: recruit VA and Missouri Veterans Commission representation or at least printed materials if staff cannot attend, involve VA service officers (a Derek at the museum was identified as a contact), invite suicide‑prevention resources such as Bill Sifford with AmVets, contact Bowie Funeral Homes or Frontier Integrated Health for support or refreshments, and engage Boy Scout troops, National Honor Society students or other volunteer groups to help with setup and operations.
Knapsack described ReEmerge as a veteran fitness and peer‑support program that began as a nine‑week course and now provides ongoing workouts and peer support; she said the program has about 68 members and roughly 40–45 veterans attend regularly. The museum operates on donations and volunteer support, she said, and additional publicity and partner participation would help sustain it.
Knapsack offered flyers to the commission for distribution and said she would email the event flyer so members could share it with their networks. Commissioners invited her to return for a fuller presentation at a future meeting.
Next steps: Knapsack will continue outreach and provide the commission with a flyer by email; commissioners and members offered to share contact information and help publicize the July 18 fair.
