Cpl. Rebecca Tolbert of the UTC Police Department is wrapped in the Quilt of Valor she was given as thanks for her service and sacrifice for the U.S. and UTC. Standing with her, from left, are Assistant Director of Veteran Student Services Squoia Holmes, UTC Police Officer Jason Tillison, Officer Adrianne Snyder, Capt. John Boe, Sgt. John West, Sgt. Edwin McPherson, Terminal Agency Coordinator Regina Shoulders and Security Officer Jeff Thompson.
Cpl. Rebecca Tolbert from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Police Department is the latest recipient of the latest Quilt of Valor. A veteran of the U.S. Army, Tolbert has been with the police department since 1998.
The quilt is given to an active duty or living veteran student, faculty or staff member at UTC who has been nominated by the university Veteran Student Services. Tolbert was chosen “based on her longstanding commitment to selfless service and sacrifice for our country and university,” said officials from Veteran Student Services.
Her quilt was made by quilters in locals in Cleveland, Tenn., who stitched it not knowing who would receive it, but requested it be given to a woman, VSS officials added.
The first Quilt of Valor was awarded in November 2003 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to a young soldier from Minnesota who lost his leg in Iraq. To date, 199,371 quilts have been given to U.S. veterans.
June Quilt of Valor winner
In June, Howard Neely, a security officer in the UTC Police Department, was given the Quilt of Valor. A veteran of the Korean War, where he served in the U.S. Navy, he has been working on campus since 2012, starting as a part-time employee and going full-time in 2017.
Security Officer Howard Neely, second from left, was a recipient of the Quilt of Valor in June. Behind him, left to right, are Emergency Management Coordinator Tim Pridemore, Deputy Chief Craig Hamilton (Ret.), UTC Police Capt. John Boe, Sgt. John West, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Emergency Services Robie Robinson, Cpl. Rebecca Tolbert, Sgt. Harry Wolverton, Sgt. Edwin McPherson and Chief of Police Bob Ratchford.
