New director wants to revitalize USO

Deborah Fisher is ready for the USO of North Carolina Jacksonville Center to regain its prominent position in the community.

“I think it is critical to make this USO successful,” said Fisher, who was recently named director of the Tallman Street center after serving three months as interim director. “This is the longest continually serving USO in the world. We are responsible for bringing the USO mission to the largest Marine Corps base in the world as well as other military in the area.”

She said she hopes to bring the center some much needed consistency and continuity after a frequent turnover in directors lately.

“I wanted to make a commitment to that. I know how important it is to the community and I’ve seen how much the community will do for it,” she said. “We have a great staff here now and I think we’re all going to be around for a while — continuity and consistency is what it’s all about.”

Prior to coming to Jacksonville, Fisher served as executive director of the USO in Northern Ohio for five years, overseeing five different locations — Cleveland, Toledo, Youngstown, Akron and Canton. She left her job as an advertising account executive at Cleveland Magazine to take the position after a stint volunteering.

“They were both great jobs, but when they asked me to take the directors job I had to make a choice, and I chose the USO,” she said.

Her first initiative after accepting the interim position in Jacksonville was the revitalization of the Beirut Memorial Room. Lowe’s Home Improvement and Freedom Furniture stepped up to provide the makeover. Then through its Lowe’s Heroes Program, the two local Lowe’s stores provided the manpower and materials to spruce up the entire center inside and out for the holidays.

Fisher said she still has a housekeeping wish list, including new furniture for the media room. More importantly, she said, she wants to reach out to the family members of military personnel.

“The first quarter of next year Camp Lejeune is deploying some 16,000 troops; that’s going to be a lot of family members left behind,” she said. “We have some great programs to keep the family members connected with their deployed service member. We want to let them know we’re here and what we can provide.”

She said there is also discussion on finding additional USO locations within Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point manned by volunteers, as well as a kiosk at the Albert J. Ellis and New Bern airports to provide information.

“We’re doing more and more up at Cherry Point, and we’d like to continue to do more so they can take advantage of our services,” she said.

After meeting Fisher as interim director, Joseph Traumer, the president of Onslow County Council of Veterans Organizations, said he knew she would be suitable for the job as center director.

“She’s outstanding,” he said. “She’s already made things happen and is a very positive person. She will be very good for active duty, retirees and their families.”

With her experience and her overall qualifications, she rose to the top over the other candidates, said John Falkenburg, president of the USO of North Carolina.

“We needed the right person for the position — that is our flagship center where everything was grown from,” he said. “The Marines in Jacksonville are very, very special to us, and as with our other locations we want to make sure we have the best and the brightest at all four locations and I am confident we have that … She is a loving, caring and completely dedicated to our troops.”

Contact staff writer Suzanne Ulbrich at 910-219-8454 or sulbrich@freedomenc.com.