News Search

Recruiters Join Forces at Mid-Ohio Raceway

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Holli Snyder
  • 179th Airlift Wing Public Affiars
LEXINGTON, Ohio --  Recruiters from the 179th Airlift Wing, 178th Fighter Wing and 200th Red Horse Squadron were representing the Ohio Air National Guard August 5 through 7 at the Mid-Ohio Raceway.

The recruiters were present to promote the Ohio Air National guard, pass out information to potential recruits and interact with race fans to inform them of all the great things the ANG has to offer.

The Air National Guard had their 30-foot mobile recruiting trailer set up, "which incorporates as much about the Ohio ANG units as possible. It's literally a 30-foot billboard and it has gotten us a lot of attention," said Master Sgt. Dana Togliatti, Recruiting office supervisor for the 179th AW.

There was also an ANG car on display, an Xbox 360 simulation game and the ANG tent to draw in visitors.

Master Sgt. Jodi Welch, the Recruiting and Retention Non-Commissioned Officer for the 200th RHS Port Clinton, was invited to take part in the American Le Mans Series pre-race activities on Saturday by the Magnus Racing team. It is a tradition to have a female hold the American flag during the National Anthem and pre-race activities.

The Magnus Racing team is based out of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Long Island, N.Y.. The team competed in the American Le Mans Series GTC class with gentleman driver and team owner, John Potter and pro-driver, Craig Stanton.

The recruiters have been involved here since 1996, "and the event just keeps getting bigger and bigger each year," said Togliatti. When asked about the best part of being at Mid-Ohio,Togliatti responded, "interacting with the people. The race fans are hugely patriotic and they support us."

The Army National Guard also had a very large presence at the event last weekend. Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Kinnamon, Kilo Company, Recruiting and Retention Command, discussed the importance of recruiting at events such as the Mid-Ohio race. "It shows what we do and continue to do for our nation," said Kinnamon.

Another large part of their efforts at Mid-Ohio was the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve function that took place over the weekend. "We basically took care of our civilian employers. They had a meet and greet and luncheon with Panther racing and VIP treatment at the track. They take care of our soldiers and families and this is an opportunity to take care of them," said Kinnamon.

The Army Guard had a display of the JR Hildebrand National Guard Izod Indy Car, a National Guard Indy Car simulator, as well as static displays of a Humvee and an Armored Security Vehicle.

Hildebrand is the driver of the National Guard Izod Indy car and raced in the Honda Indy 200 on Sunday night.

The Mid-Ohio Raceway holds numerous events throughout the year.