In the News

Toni Hendrix was just 17 when she joined the U.S. Army, only on the condition she be stationed in Germany.

“I came from a poor family and it was a way to get a college education,” said Hendrix, who served in the military for seven years before returning home to Springfield.

It was also a chance for a young history buff to travel to places she had read about such as France, Italy and the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial.

On Monday, Hendrix was named the city’s veteran of the year and Matthew Ferri, who served 13 years in active duty and as a reservist in the U.S. Army, was honored as the city’s parade marshal.

The two received accolades from Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, Health and Human Services Director Helen Caulton-Harris and state Rep. Bud L. Williams. Retired long-term state Rep. Benjamin Swan, who is also a veteran, attended the event.

The two veterans will lead the city’s annual Veterans Day parade that will begin at 11 a.m. Monday. It will start at Springfield Technical Community College and travel down State Street to City Hall, where there will be a short ceremony.

Along with serving in the military, both were recognized for their volunteer service to help other people, including veterans, said William Walls, chairman of the Springfield Veterans’ Activities Committee.

“Service above self is something you live for your life,” said Ferri, who works in the city’s administration and finance office.

Before he thanked his wife Jennifer, three daughters and the Veterans’ Activities Committee, which selected the two veterans to be honored, Ferri asked for a moment of silence to remember veterans before him who died in war.

Hendrix has worked her entire career in nonprofits and is vice president of human resources for Behavioral Health Network. She also owns Smokey Joe’s with her husband, Joseph Hendrix. One of the many things the Behavioral Health Network does that she is proud of is work with veterans.

“I learned to be a leader,” Hendrix said, calling her seven years in the U.S. Army the best of times and the worst of times. “I learned to think strategically. I learned to care about people.”

This is the 38th year the city has continued the tradition of naming a veteran of the year and a parade marshal. Hendrix is only the fourth woman to be named veteran of the year, Walls said.

“It is because of our veterans America is still the greatest country in the world,” Sarno said before reading proclamations honoring Ferri and Hendrix. “We are the beacon of hope, strength, democracy and opportunity,”

Neal thanked the two for their service and reminded people the honor is coming on the eve of Election Day. Veterans defend the notion of democracy and the country’s ideas and ideals, he said.

“We are forever grateful to Mrs. Hendrix and Mr. Ferri, as well as their families, for their service and sacrifice. Our nation and community are better off because of their steadfast belief in our nation’s freedoms and values and their unwavering commitment to preserve and protect them,” Neal said.