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Small Request Turns Big For Troop Aid Group

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 28, 2008

SAN ANTONIO - Judith Markelz has relied on volunteers for years to help the war wounded and their families.

They've brought meals, DVDs, event tickets and an endless supply of cookies to help comfort those whose lives suddenly were upended by a bomb or a bullet.

So when new volunteer Les Huffman arrived in January 2007 at the chaotic 1,000-square-foot room used for the Warrior and Family Support Center and asked what Markelz needed, the program manager said a new video game system.

But Huffman, the president of a small commercial development firm, wanted to do more. When Markelz conceded she could use a little more room, that's what she got: a $5 million building funded by private donations and designed like a house, with a therapeutic garden, classroom, video game room and kitchen.

"I asked for an Xbox 360 and I got a 12,500-square-foot building," she said with a laugh. "Nice trade-off."
Markelz gets the keys to the place at Fort Sam Houston on Monday. It will be the first center of its kind built on an Army post.

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