USO volunteer wins hearts of servicemembers, wins prestigious award

Published Nov. 17, 2006
By 1st Lt. Chris Sukach
436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Embracing Marine Cpl. Warren Mausteller, with a warm motherly squeeze, Lisa Stagg, Delaware United Services Organization Center manager here uses few words, but her smile says it all.

"Hey Marine," she beams.

"Hey Ma'am," replies Corporal Mausteller, a Motor T operator from the Marine Barracks Corps "8th and I" located in Washington, D.C.

The comfort of their interaction seems to suggest more than their brief words convey.
"We're a very big extended family," says Mrs. Stagg, referring to her service member 'children,' who constantly transit the Delaware USO Lounge in the Passenger Terminal here.

They call her the 'USO Mom.'

This year, the 'USO Mom' was chosen as the winner of the Delaware Governor's Outstanding Volunteer Service Award for Community Service. Nominations for the recognition came from across the state, but Mrs. Stagg's family approach to volunteering was key to her selection as the award recipient, according to Joan Cote, Delaware USO president.

While now employed full-time by the USO, Mrs. Stagg first volunteered with the organization back in June 2003. In fact, she found out she'd received the Governor's award on the day Ms. Cote decided to hire her to a full-time paid position.

"(Mrs. Stagg) did stuff way outside the realm of a volunteer," said Ms. Cote. "She used her own money; her own off-duty time to support these men and women."

Mrs. Stagg remembers an Army private recently on leave from duty in Iraq, waiting to meet his family in the PAX terminal. She offered him some pizza and he accepted. Six weeks later, the same private returned to the USO Lounge to say, "Hi," to Mrs. Stagg on his way back overseas. When she found out his layover here consisted of four days, she not only made sure the private had three meals daily, but put him up in a room in her home for the duration of his time here.

The private still calls her "Mom," and even phoned her from his post in Germany a month later to say he'd received a Purple Heart for his actions in Iraq.

"I just feel like somebody's mom needs to be out here taking care of them," says Mrs. Stagg of her Dover 'adopted kids' from every branch of the service.

Lisa Stagg began volunteering at the Delaware USO when her own son and his wife, both Army combat medics, returned from a 16-month deployment in Iraq. Prior to their return, Mrs. Stagg had been busy raising her grandchildren during their parents' deployments.

"When they came home," said Mrs. Stagg of her son and daughter-in-law, "I had a lot of free time on my hands. I was very thankful both came home okay and wanted to do something to support the troops," she said.

While working a full-time job off-base, Mrs. Stagg began volunteering with the USO, working evenings at the Passenger Terminal here.

During one of those evenings, she met an Army private from Fort Hood, Texas, transiting the terminal trying to get to his brother, who had been injured in Iraq and was at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Even though the hour was late, Mrs. Stagg, whose shift at the USO was almost over, volunteered to drive the private to the hospital.

When the two arrived at Walter Reed, the private asked Mrs. Stagg a single question.
"He grabbed my hand and said, 'Will you go in there with me?'" said Mrs. Stagg.
Not only did she accompany him into the hospital to visit his brother, she also stocked the visiting room's mini-fridge with food for his mother and sister's arrival later that morning.

She did all of this without seeking reimbursement of her money, time or effort.
The family still keeps in touch with Mrs. Stagg, whom they refer to as their 'USO Angel.'
For Mrs. Stagg, the gratitude of her servicemember children is enough.

"When you see the men and women coming home or deploying, needing your support and they're very appreciative ... it just pays you, right here in the heart," says Mrs. Stagg.