"SOLDIERS OF TODAY AND YESTERDAY"

- Providing Honor, Dignity and Hope to those who have served us -

What is Soldiers of Today and Yesterday?

Our Historical Background

Throughout the years, Johnie Lee Qualls, a Vietnam combat Veteran, has counseled, guided and directed hundreds of fellow Veterans through the proper channels on how to obtain Veterans benefits and their rights.  When Johnie Lee retired in 2004 from his Insurance business, because of the lack of knowledge of fellow Veterans and the great need of assistance, he felt inspired to form a Veteran advocacy and service organization, Soldiers of Today and Yesterday, which is a Texas 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation.  

Our past experience

In the past 15+ years, Johnie Lee and his wife Gladys have been associated with many organizations. They have been active Board members of:  Independent Order of Foresters, Degree of Honor Protective Association, Midland Association of Retarded Citizens (MARC), Texas Fraternal Congress, Special Olympics Texas and Midland Team, The Knights of Columbus, St. Stephen's Women' organization, Bowling for Miracles to benefit Children's, Miracle Network, SPJST, a Slovanik Fraternal organization; Johnie Lee has served as the Commander for the Disabled American Veterans and is an active member of the VFW and American Legion.

Johnie Lee also started a Veteran's website, which is now ranked 3rd in the nation, The website www.styveteran.org provides up-to-date information on VA benefits, up-to-date news from Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world, a site where Veterans can locate other Veterans and share their experiences and stories. 

Our Mission

We are a Veteran Service & Advocacy and Community organization to those who serve our Nation and their communities.  Soldiers of Today and Yesterday (STY) provides moral and monetary support to the United States Armed Services, to those who serve and who have served, as well as those that unexpectedly find themselves victims of a disaster.  STY helps support the community by raising funds for various community non-profit organizations and for our Disaster Relief Fund.

STY is known throughout the community for the Brisket Barbecue fundraisers, where profits are donated to the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Knights of Columbus, Midland Soccer Youth Team, Royal Rangers of Harvest Time Church, Special Olympics and many other organizations.

As part of the Disaster Relief Fund, food, clothing, water and blankets were collected for the Hurricane Katrina evacuees. For several weeks after the disaster, our organization cooked for and fed several thousand Hurricane Katrina Evacuees and first responders at Kelly AFB in San Antonio.

There are many other instances where this organization has risen to the occasion to support Veterans and the Community.  Above are the most notable instances that provide the flavor of how STY turns its sense of mission and vision into action and project execution.  STY prides itself on volunteerism and programmatic efficiency while understanding that no one should look down on anybody, unless you plan to reach down and help them up.

Board of Directors: 

President and Founder-Johnie Lee Qualls (Ret. Sgt. - Army)

Vice President Jimmy Haines (Ret. Sgt. - Army)

Secretary/Treasurer-Gladys Qualls

Executive Secretary- Amanda Golightley

Director - Benefaction specialist - Chris Buck (Ret. Sgt. Army)

Director - Posttraumatic Stress disorder Counselor - Cherie Bedwell (Ret. Army)

Certified Public Accountant:      Martha Lawler Dunham

Attorney at law:                         Jeff Robnett

and: West Texas Service Member and Family Fund  (WTSMFF), Dallas OIF/OEF Service Member and Family Fund (DOOSMFF), OIF/OEF Service Member and Family Fund (OIF/OEF SMF fund) -  projects of STY.

Purpose of WTSMFF, DOOSMFF, OIF/OEF SMFF: Providing Honor, Dignity and Hope to those that have served us through moral and monetary support to the United States Armed Forces deployed in Iraq (OIF) and Afghanistan (OEF) and their families back home.

Our board members provide a plethora of experience, both military and community, that gives us a unique perspective of the needs and wants of our Service Members and their families as they Sacrifice to Serve.

Committee members:

Executive Director and Chairman - Johnie Lee Qualls (Ret. Sgt - Army)

Vice Chairman - Ray LeBlanc (Ret. PO3. - Navy)

Secretary/Treasurer - Gladys Qualls (STY Sec'y/TR)

Comptroller -  Susan Burns

Liaison/Logistic officer - Jimmy Haines (Ret. Sgt. - Army)

Chaplain/Grief Counselor - J ohn Rubalcaba (Ret. Sgt.- Army)

Director- Benefaction specialist - Chris Buck  (Ret. Sgt. Army)

Director - Dr. Jason Golightley (Ret. Army)

For the El Paso area:

Director -  Point of contact El Paso, TX.  -  David Garcia (Ret. - Army)

Director - Point of contact El Paso, TX. - Jeri Mark (Ret. -  Army)

Director - Point of contact El paso, TX. - Juan Ruiz (Ret. - Army)

Our projects were made possible by generous grants from the TRIAD fund of the Permian Basin Area Foundation, the Dallas Foundation, the San Antonio Area Foundation   and Golf Course Road Church of Christ.

For information on how you can help fund our organization, please contact us at the address below.

P.O. Box 4246 -  Midland, Texas 79704-4246 - Tel. 432-631-3429 - Fax. 432-694-6499

Website: www.styveteran.org - Email: styveteran@suddenlink.net