Gift to AFAS will provide opportunities for Airmen and their families to pursue educational dreams.
Maureen Agan Bray has many family ties to the military. Her father, retired Major Joseph Vincent Agan, spent his career in the U.S. Air Force; her sister worked at Walter Reed Medical Center; and her brother-in-law retired from the Army.
It was because of her father’s time in the USAF that Maureen learned about the General Hap Arnold Education Grant program offered by the Air Force Aid Society as she began her college search. And it was the grant support from AFAS that allowed Maureen to graduate from Barat College in Illinois in 1971. Attending college might not have even been possible with her father’s retirement approaching. Maureen used her double degree in history and education to teach and then work for a historic site in Virginia over the course of her career.
Giving back to the family that supported theirs was important for Maureen and her sister, Mary Jo Hedlund. Gifting $100,000 to AFAS after Mary Jo’s death, Maureen established two General Hap Arnold Education Grants in perpetuity, one in Mary Jo’s name, and the other in Mary Jo’s husband’s name, Col Kenneth W. Hedlund, M.D. (Ret)
“The education grants are an opportunity to express my sister’s wish for wanting to provide a means for military families to get a better education,” Maureen explained. The grants, through AFAS, will help airmen, active and retired, and their families “get the education they need to be successful in life.”
What does Maureen think all Airmen and their families should know about AFAS? The many different ways that AFAS can help, including educational scholarships and emergency assistance.
Maureen currently lives in Wichita, Kansas, and plans to move with her husband to New Mexico soon to enjoy their retirement.
The Air Force Aid Society is the official charity of the US Air Force and has been meeting the unique needs of Airmen and their families since 1942. AFAS works to support and enhance the USAF mission by providing emergency financial assistance, educational support and community programs. Last year alone, AFAS provided nearly $15 million in direct assistance. Visit afas.org to learn more, apply for assistance or make a donation.