Hospitalized Veteran to receive “Distinguished Veterans Award”
from Cincinnati Councilman Kevin Flynn

Ron Combs, from Westwood, was chosen as the 2017 recipient of Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries’ Distinguished Veteran Alumni Award.    

The award was to be presented to Mr. Combs at Goodwill’s annual Veteran’s Luncheon by City Councilman Kevin Flynn.   However, Ron Combs had to be admitted to Cincinnati VA Medical Center and would not be able to attend the luncheon.   When Kevin Flynn was informed of Ron’s hospitalization, Mr. Flynn said he would like to visit Ron at Cincinnati’s Veterans Hospital and present him with the award, as planned.

Mr. Flynn will present the distinguished veteran’s award to Ron Combs at  11:30am on Thursday, November 2^nd  in Cincinnati VA Medical Center’s Community Living Center ” Honor Harbor”   (1 South)

Ron Combs served out of Ft. Bragg South Carolina as a Specialist E4 and a member of the Army’s Combat Engineer’s Battalion. He saw action in Grenada and, after four years of service received an Honorable Discharge.

After the army, Ron couldn’t find work, that along with a compulsion for gambling and the death of his mother he became homeless.  

Ron lived in the woods for a long time. He lost touch with reality and began to feel nobody cared. He was considering suicide. Luckily his brother and sister found him in the woods, brought him home and contacted Goodwill.

At Goodwill Ron was given a decent place to live, the tools he needed to keep a job and help finding a job.    

Today Ron has his own apartment has been employed since 2009, and says he owes his life to Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries.

Contact:

Michael Flannery
Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries
513 207 0719

Todd Sledge
Cincinnati VA Medical Center
513 861-3100 xt6001