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 – 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 – Levi “L.J.” Guerra

United States Marine Corps Sgt. Levi J. “L.J.” Guerra was born on February 25, 1997, in Moses Lake, Washington. She graduated from Warden High School in the Class of 2015 and from Big Bend Community College, Washington, Class of 2016.

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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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Forever Orange Hometown Hero Robert L. Gang Jr. ’39, L’42 Passes Away at Age 104

Gang passed away on Feb. 18, 2023, a few months shy of his 105th birthday. The World War II and Korean War Army veteran, attorney, outdoorsman and world traveler demonstrated the meaning of the phrase Forever Orangein his loyalty to his alma mater and his determination to serve others through the skills he learned as a student.

Hometown Hero: Jennifer Aquino

United States Navy Veteran Jennifer Aquino is a native of Puerto Rico. She enlisted into the United States Navy in 2003 She attended boot camp at Great Lakes, Illinois, and later become a cryptologic technician collector and interpreter. Petty Officer Aquino served aboard the Nuclear Aircraft Carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower. She also served with the Navy Information Operations Command in both Virginia, and South Texas for a total of 14 years of honorable service.