Redwood City – At his 90th birthday party, microphone in hand, Bob Hoover stood in front of an audience that came to celebrate his many accomplishments.
What they heard was Hoover – U.S. Air Force veteran, passionate fighter for civil rights and key figure in the creation of East Palo Alto – reflect on how the collective work of so many contribute to a city with a distinct identity.
“It is kind of interesting that a little place that’s two and a half (square) miles can influence so many other places,” Hoover said.
What he didn’t talk about (because he would never) is the influence he has had on so many people over decades of activism and leadership, from arriving to the Peninsula with $20 in his pocket in the late 1950s to mentoring generations of youth and future community leaders.
In honor of his achievements, the San Mateo County Veterans Commission has selected Hoover as the 2024 Veteran of the Year.
The community is invited to honor the 92-year-old East Palo Alto resident at the 9th Annual Veterans Recognition Lunch on Friday, Nov. 8, at the Westin San Francisco Airport hotel in Millbrae. Learn more and purchase tickets.
“Bob Hoover is a shining example of a leader in every sense of the word,” said Donna Vaillancourt, chair of the Veterans Commission. “Born and raised in the Jim Crow south, he served his country as an aircraft gunner and staff sergeant and went on to become a respected leader with a vision for his adopted community of East Palo Alto. We are the ones who are honored to honor him.”
The commission will also recognize Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, who has represented San Mateo County in Congress for 32 years and as a County Supervisor for 10 years prior to her election to Congress, as Patriot of the Year.
San Mateo County Supervisor Warren Slocum will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award and San Mateo Elks Lodge #1112 will be recognized as Enterprise of the Year. Ann E. Rondeau, Ed.D., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.), president of the Naval Postgraduate School, will deliver the keynote address.
The Veterans Recognition Lunch brings together past award recipients, veterans, current members of the military and many others to recognize outstanding contributions to the San Mateo County community.
The Board of Supervisors established the Veterans Commission in June 2015 with a mission to promote programs and policies that address the unmet needs of veterans in the county. The annual Veterans Recognition Lunch is a way both to highlight the contributions made by veterans, volunteers and local enterprises to the community while raising awareness about the availability of services for veterans.
What: Veterans Recognition Lunch
When: Friday, Nov. 8, 2024: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Westin San Francisco Airport – Millbrae
To purchase tickets: https://bit.ly/3XlEgkH
The 2024 Honorees are:
Veteran of the Year – Bob Hoover
Born in North Carolina, Hoover attended Penn State University and was a member of the U.S. national baseball team that played in the 1959 Pan American Games. He came west to earn a master’s degree from Stanford University.
During the 1960s, national civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael came to East Palo Alto and challenged Hoover to work with and educate youth in his community – the conversation stuck with him and set him on his life path.
Since that time, he has started numerous programs that serve youth including the East Palo Alto Junior Golf Program (which boasts a high school graduation rate about 90 percent) and the East Palo Alto Teen Summer Project, which teaches youth life skills through golf, making an undeniable impact in the East Palo Alto community.
He has also been a leader in the Live in Peace/Students with Amazing Goals (SWAG), where he has developed programs and services that reduced the drop-out rate of high school students.
Nominees must be San Mateo County residents honorably discharged from one of the U.S. armed services branches and “have gone above and beyond the scope of their daily work in service to the community.”
Patriot of the Year – Congresswoman Anna Eshoo
Nominees must be San Mateo County residents and a non-veteran who volunteer “serving veterans.”
Congresswoman Anna Eshoo is in the last year of a storied career representing San Mateo County. In Congress, she where she has served for 32 years, she consistently worked to ensure that our nation’s veterans have access to high-quality health care, working to end veteran homelessness and expanding economic opportunities for veterans.
In short, she has been a tireless advocate for military service members, veterans, and their families for decades. county and our country have been well served by her dedication and tenacity. Congresswoman Eshoo also served on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors for 10 years.
Enterprise of the Year – San Mateo Elks Lodge #1112
Nominees can be any for-profit or non-profit organization with significant operations in San Mateo County that serves the veteran community.
The San Mateo Elks Lodge #1112, an organization that has done so much locally to enhance the lives of veterans in San Mateo County, has a strong history of partnering with the San Mateo County Veterans Service Office and other veteran organizations to put on programming that helps improve the lives of active military, veterans and their families.
In the past year, the Elks Lodge has hosted the first annual Veterans Commission Service Providers Summit, the County Veterans Service Office Stand Down, the Hoover Institution Town Hall discussions on Veterans Needs and the Veterans Christmas Luncheon (a yearly event) – each of these events were successful and well attended.
Lifetime Achievement Award – Supervisor Warren Slocum
Supervisor Warren Slocum is in the final months of his storied career in public service in San Mateo County. For some 36 years, he has served the residents of San Mateo County – first as County Assessor/Recorder/Chief Elections Officer and for the last 12 years as County Supervisor representing District 4.
Veterans have always had Supervisor Slocum’s heart – he served in the Army in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. He firmly believes in leaving no soldier behind. Supervisor Slocum is known as the “Godfather” of the San Mateo County Veterans Commission, advocating for the creation of the commission to advise and recommend policies and positions on behalf of the County’s 27,000 veterans.
And because of his leadership and as a champion of veterans causes, the Veterans Commission was created in 2015 to work with the County Veterans Services Office to improve the lives of veterans and their families.
Marci Dragun
Chief of Staff, Supervisor Warren Slocum
650-576-7658