thedrifter
09-28-07, 06:52 AM
New services center opens aboard Camp Lejeune
JENNIFER HLAD
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Exactly 17 years after being dedicated as Russell Elementary School, Marine Corps officials rededicated a facility on Camp Lejeune's Brewster Boulevard as the Russell Marines and Family Services Center.
The center will house programs and organizations for service members and their families. Previously, the programs were placed wherever there was room, said Jay Sollis, director of Marine Corps Community Services Camp Lejeune.
Now, the building will be a one-stop shop for Marines and their families, Sollis said, housing the Transition Assistance Program, Personal Readiness and Community Support, Career Resource Management Center, Marine Corps Family Team Building, II Marine Expeditionary Force Family Readiness and II MEF Key Volunteers.
The center is named in honor of Lt. Col. William E. Russell, who served 23 years in the Marine Corps before his retirement in 1982. He then served the town of Swansboro as a commissioner and mayor until his death in 1990.
Russell was "a strong, but unselfish and compassionate leader," said retired Brig. Gen. Michael P. Downs, who spoke at Thursday's ceremony and also at the building's prior dedication as Russell Elementary School, when Downs was serving as the commanding general of Camp Lejeune.
While Russell was a strong proponent of education, it is also fitting that the center for Marines and their families will bear his name, said Russell's son, Swansboro Mayor David Russell.
"He was a 100 percent true family man," David Russell. "Before each deployment, he would remind his family that no matter where he was, he would be with them in mind and spirit."
William Russell was a great Marine, a great husband and a great father, Downs said.
"Bill epitomized what it means to be a public servant," he said.
Contact military reporter Jennifer Hlad at jhlad@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, ext. 8449. To comment on this story, visit www.jdnews.com.
Ellie
JENNIFER HLAD
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Exactly 17 years after being dedicated as Russell Elementary School, Marine Corps officials rededicated a facility on Camp Lejeune's Brewster Boulevard as the Russell Marines and Family Services Center.
The center will house programs and organizations for service members and their families. Previously, the programs were placed wherever there was room, said Jay Sollis, director of Marine Corps Community Services Camp Lejeune.
Now, the building will be a one-stop shop for Marines and their families, Sollis said, housing the Transition Assistance Program, Personal Readiness and Community Support, Career Resource Management Center, Marine Corps Family Team Building, II Marine Expeditionary Force Family Readiness and II MEF Key Volunteers.
The center is named in honor of Lt. Col. William E. Russell, who served 23 years in the Marine Corps before his retirement in 1982. He then served the town of Swansboro as a commissioner and mayor until his death in 1990.
Russell was "a strong, but unselfish and compassionate leader," said retired Brig. Gen. Michael P. Downs, who spoke at Thursday's ceremony and also at the building's prior dedication as Russell Elementary School, when Downs was serving as the commanding general of Camp Lejeune.
While Russell was a strong proponent of education, it is also fitting that the center for Marines and their families will bear his name, said Russell's son, Swansboro Mayor David Russell.
"He was a 100 percent true family man," David Russell. "Before each deployment, he would remind his family that no matter where he was, he would be with them in mind and spirit."
William Russell was a great Marine, a great husband and a great father, Downs said.
"Bill epitomized what it means to be a public servant," he said.
Contact military reporter Jennifer Hlad at jhlad@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, ext. 8449. To comment on this story, visit www.jdnews.com.
Ellie