Hometown Hero

Hometown Hero – Rebeka Eaton

U.S. Army First Lieutenant Rebeka (Beki) Eaton, a native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, enlisted into the New Mexico Army National Guard as a cadet in 2017. She received a commission as an Engineer Officer in 2019 through the Army ROTC program at New Mexico Military Institute where she also earned her associate degree.

Hometown Hero – Keith Doss

United States Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer (Retired) and Syracuse University employee Andrew “Keith” Doss was born in Syracuse and lives with his family in Jamesville, New York. Keith enlisted and began his active-duty service in 1986 attending bootcamp at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Illinois.

Hometown Hero: Levi Reynolds

United States Army Captain Levi Reynolds was born in Kansas City, Missouri. Levi’s thirteen years of Army service began in 2010 when he enlisted in the Missouri Army National Guard as a Field Artillery Crewmember. By 2015, he commissioned into the Active Duty Army as a Finance and Comptroller Officer.

Hometown Hero – Denise Moore, G’21

U.S. Army First Sergeant (Retired) Denise L. Moore is the daughter of the late Marvin Ellis, and Vicky Dixon Pasley of Jesup, Georgia. She entered the United States Army in October 1992 and attended Basic Training at Fort Jackson, SC. Denise attended Advanced Individual Training at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana where she was awarded the Military Occupational Specialty, 73D, Accounting Specialist. On July 31, 2013, Denise retired after 20 years of active-duty Army service from Joint Base Lewis-McChord as a Senior Financial Advisor in the 593rd Sustainment Brigade.

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Hometown Hero – Chelsea Palmer

Petty Officer Chelsea Palmer was born and raised in Atlanta, GA. Her father formerly served six years in the U.S. Marine Corps, and she has two older sisters and one younger brother. Chelsea graduated from Riverwood High School in May 2011 and spent her freshman year of college attending Georgia Southern University. She would transfer to Georgia Military College while working as a kindergarten paraprofessional at a charter school in Atlanta. Searching for a way to make a greater impact on the world, Chelsea made the decision to enlist in the U.S. Navy and arrived at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Illinois in September 2019. Chelsea met and married her husband, Erik, after joining the Navy, and they have been married for three happy years, along with two cats.

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Hometown Hero – Laurie Coffey

Lieutenant Commander (Retired) Laurie Coffey hails from Corning, New York is the oldest of four girls. Commander Coffey’s early years were spent tinkering in her father’s “boat shop” and on nearly every playing field imaginable. Accumulating 18 varsity and 3 JV letters, she started competing on high school teams in 7th grade. She led Corning East to a 20-1 record in basketball her freshman year and a first-ever sectional title her sophomore year. Her lifetime of “firsts” included landing a spot on the roster of the boys’ high school lacrosse team in 1993. At boarding school for the final 2 years of school, she attended Phillips Academy Andover (Massachusetts), and her list of accomplishments continued to grow. She still holds the single-season scoring record in basketball, led the first boat in crew to a New England championship, and was inducted into the Phillips Academy Athletics Hall of Fame.

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Hometown Hero – Luis “Lu” Weierbach

United States Army CPT Luis “Lu” Weierbach hails from Hoosick Falls, New York. After winning a New York State high school wrestling title, Lu was recruited to wrestle at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 2014.

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Hometown Hero: Alexis Perez

United States Navy Mass Communication Specialist Second Class, Alexis Perez was born October 7, 1993, in Syracuse, New York. Lexie is a 2011 graduate of Marcellus High School, where she excelled in lacrosse. Her college journey started at Mount Ida College in Newton, Massachusetts where she played for Mustang Women’s Lacrosse Team from 2011-2013. She transferred to Marymount Manhattan College and in 2015 earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree.