On Veterans Day last year, a plaque was installed on the Fox Lot in Los Angeles to honor all Fox colleagues who serve and have served in defense of the United States. In honor of Veterans Day this year, Fox Vets laid a wreath on the plaque and erected flags representing each branch of the military, including a POW/MIA flag in remembrance of prisoner-of-war and missing-in-action service members. Colleagues from across the city gathered at the Veterans Day BBQ and shared their personal stories of service or stories of a family member who served.
“Fox Vets provides us with the opportunity to acknowledge and support the amazing men and women within our organization who have served, as well as those of us with family members and friends who have served, past and present,” said Brian Keane, EVP and Chief Operating Officer of Blue Sky Studios. Keane is an Executive Sponsor for Fox Vets, along with Jeff Dow, EVP, CIO of 20th Century Fox.
Fox Vets co-chairs Annelle Despaignes and Fernando Rivero, both veterans, participated in the events. Annelle served in the U.S. Army Reserve for 10 years. Upon transitioning out of the Army, she sought an opportunity with FOX Sports, where she currently works as a Senior Production Operations Coordinator. After coming to Fox, she continued to support her fellow brothers and sisters in arms by creating Fox Vets, a Colleague Network and Resource Group (CNRG) to connect veterans working at 21CF. She found a partner in Fernando, who in addition to being a Senior Writer/Producer for FX On-Air Promotions, is a U.S. Navy Reserve, Lieutenant Commander (O-4), and Afghanistan Campaign Veteran.
For 98 years, Americans have remembered those who served our country in uniform on November 11 – first as Armistice Day and then, since 1954, as Veterans Day. In this 99th year of commemoration, the Department of Veterans Affairs broadened that tradition of observance and appreciation to include both veterans and military families for the entire month of November.
