EGLIN AFB - A refuge for families of injured and  sick service members is just a year away from  opening.

 Thursday's groundbreaking ceremony for the  Fisher House of the Emerald Coast marked the  success of two years of planning and fund  raising.

"We're going to be back next December to give a Christmas present to Eglin," said Tom Rice, a Fisher House board member.

Fisher House homes offer free temporary room and board to families of servicemen and women receiving medical care. Eglin's 10,000-square-foot facility will have 12 suites and be built across the road from Eglin Regional Hospital.

"It's a bed and breakfast and operates 24-7," Rice said.

"They call it a house, but we all know it is much more than that. It's a home," said U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, who attended the groundbreaking. "I look forward to coming back as we open the doors."

Since 2003, more than 30,000 U.S. soldiers have been wounded, said Maj. Gen. David Eidsaune, commander of Eglin's Air Armament Center.

"Doctors will tell you, it's just as important as medicine and surgery in recovery," he said of family support. "I take great comfort in knowing that our brave wounded have the family they need to nurse them back to health."        

 "This got started because of caring," said Trecia Chedister, a founding member and former vice president of the Fisher House of the Emerald Coast. "Fisher House at Eglin is a reality because of you, the community. Thank you for caring for these families. The Fisher House will pay it forward for many, many years."
Contributors included Army Rangers who collected more than $4,000 and Valparaiso Baptist Church, which raised $1,000.

Picture: Trecia Chedister, former Vice president Fisher House of the Emerald Coast Board, addresses the audience.


Rice said fund raising for the Fisher House was as simple as informing the public and answering the phone to say "thank you."

He talked of the "civic rent" that each person involved in this project has paid. "Each one has paid civic rent and continues to do so," said Rice.

The term comes from an Alabama mayor. "He said we're all obliged to pay our civic rent. Some pay a little, some pay a lot, some pay with all they have," Rice added.

To date, the Fisher House Foundation's 42 houses have helped more than 500,000 families, said foundation president David Coker. "As impressive as that is, it's not enough," he said.

The Fisher House Foundation operates on congressionally appropriated funds in areas with demonstrated community participation. The homes are supported through a congressional trust fund and community donations. Once the local board showed community support, the funds were matched.

"I love the fact that the military and the public care enough about the military to support the Fisher House," said Jane Eidsaune, wife of Gen. Eidsaune and an honorary board member.

Fisher House of the Emerald Coast will continue fund raising to support the cost of running the new house and for construction of future houses.

"In some ways, the Fisher House groundbreaking feels just like a finish line," said Tony Hughes, president of the board for Fisher House of the Emerald Coast. "It's not. It's a start."

To view more pictures of the event, please click here

EGLIN AFB - When Mary Taylor set up outside the base commissary selling raffle tickets to win a patriotic blanket, she had no idea pocket change would add up to $5,000.

"I was just asking for donations," Taylor explained, adding she thought high gas prices and the economy would keep people from purchasing the chances to benefit Fisher House of the Emerald Coast.

The Fisher House Program is designed to allow families to stay close to the military hospitals for free.

Taylor said she had been lucky as a Navy wife and Army mother that she never had to stay at a Fisher House, but she wanted to help those families who weren't as fortunate.

Taylor's husband, Lt. Commander Lloyd "Jose" Taylor, was a veteran of WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam Conflict. He passed away in 2005. Mary Taylor's two brothers-in-law, also veterans, died in 2006.

"I just wanted to do something in their memory," Taylor said.

Taylor came across a patriotic-themed blanket called "Grateful Nation" in a catalogue she had.

"I kind of wanted to cry because it was too late for me to get it for my husband," Taylor said. "Then it was kind of like he was whispering in the back of my ear."

Taylor purchased the "Grateful Nation" blanket and one called "Land of the Free."

For 10 days, she stood outside the commissary and in front of local Walmarts. The Army Rangers even shared their space at the Mullet Festival so she could spread the word about the blankets and Fisher House.

"I made $845 the first day," Taylor recalled. "I just squealed."

She remembers collecting money one day and meeting a young man who said he wanted to donate because his brother was just home from Iraq and in the hospital. Their mother was staying in a Fisher House to be near to him.

"It makes a difference to people," Taylor said. "It means a lot. We're a tourist community and the condo and motel prices are so high. We need this program here."

Fisher House of the Emerald Coast Volunteer Coordinator Stephanie Trigg said that Taylor's grass roots effort shows how much one person can do.

"You can tell she's a lady with a lot of passion and a real can do attitude," Trigg said. "Our Fisher House is being built on the hard work and dedication of community members."

Taylor presented a check for $5,076.53 to Fisher House of the Emerald Coast. For more information, or to donate, visit www.fisherhouseemeraldcoast.org.