Microsoft Honors Soldiers Angels

At Microsoft's and USO's Salute to Our Troops yesterday, winners of the Microsoft Above and Beyond Awards were honored with a special production of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and a luncheon at the Rainbow Room. The Above and Beyond Award "recognizes the contributions of the military support community--family, friends, and other individuals--who brighten the lives of US Troops and their families throughout the world." One of the winners included Patti Patton-Bader founder of the organization soldiersangels.org which sends care packages and specialized computers to soldiers abroad.

Soldiers Angels' main initiative is its Project Valour-IT. This project has provided thousands of voice-activated laptops to injured troops. It was founded in memory of SFC William Ziegenfuss who served seventeen years in the United States Army as a medic. Previously diagnosed with Cancer, Ziegenfuss was wounded in Iraq in June 2005. During his time there, he kept a blog and wrote captivating descriptions of his experiences while informing his wife of his condition. However, his injuries hampered his ability to type. At one point, his disability became so severe that his hands had to be sewn onto his stomach. Luckily, a generous reader sent him a copy of Dragon Naturally Speaking Software (Nuance), which allows people to work their PC entirely by voice.

Ziegenfuss recognized the importance of this software and teamed up with Soldier's Angels in order to provide laptops with voice-controlled software. "When Major Ziggenfuss began using the software, he said that it was the first time he felt whole after being injured," said Patti Patton-Bader. "We're so lucky that we now have 180,000 members of Soldier's Angels, and we have presented 1,600 laptops to wounded soldiers most of whom don't have limbs or sight."

Other winners of the Microsoft Above and Beyond Awards included Brittany and Robbie Bergquist, fifteen and sixteen year olds who have raised nearly one million dollars toward the donation of more than 450,000 phone-cards equaling 2.5 million minutes of talk time for soldiers serving overseas. "We're all living proof that any little idea can leave a mark on the world," Brittany Bergquist said.

--Kevin Maney and Christine Lenzo

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