FORT DRUM, NY — The Northern New York-Fort Drum Chapter of the Association of the United States Army is pleased to announce its 2023 AUSA Volunteer Family of the Year, the LTC Mark Gillman Family. The recipients will be recognized at its Annual Dinner on May 23 at Windmill Acres, Watertown. The family also will be submitted to AUSA National for consideration as the AUSA National Family of the Year.
LTC Mark Gillman with his wife, Jana, and children, Grant, Sophia, Annmarie, and Jonathan are this year’s Volunteer Family of the Year. Taking care of families is the center of the Gillman’s core values. Mrs. Gillman works full time as the manager of the post Thrift Store, but still devotes time and energy to helping her families and Soldiers in her Battalion. She organized a Coffee Group for Spouses as well as hand sewing burp cloths for every new “Sapper” (baby) in the Battalion. Mrs. Gillman directly coordinated a Chick-fil-A fundraiser where they sold over 400 sandwiches to provide funds for the battalion’s Engineer Ball to offset ticket prices for Soldiers. She also delivered sandwiches at 2AM to ensure Soldiers received them before they left for the Joint Readiness Training Center.
As a family, they helped to organize and run different events at the Battalion organization day and their Halloween Trunk or Treat. The family is active in their community church, and in helping neighbors and friends whenever they are called upon.
LTC Gillman is a member of the 2 Battalion, 41st Engineers, 10th Mountain Division (LI).
The AUSA Annual Dinner is open to the public and tickets may be purchased online at https://oneausa.org/event-registration/.