Music

The Fisher House Foundation History

The songs are about life; love, hope for the future, loss, homecomings, God, pride of country and family and the ultimate military sacrifices; combat and death.

Pauline Trost, wife of Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Carlisle Trost, presents to Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher the need for temporary lodging facilities for families at major military medical centers.
Two Fisher Houses open:
Total Fisher Houses open: 2
The Fisher House managers hold their first annual conference in Washington, DC.

Six Fisher Houses open:
Total Fisher Houses open: 8
Fisher House Foundation, Inc. is established as the national not-for-profit organization to assist in the coordination of private support and encourage public support for the Fisher House program.

Three Fisher Houses open:
Total Fisher Houses open: 11
David Coker joins Fisher House Foundation as its first employee - he becomes the Foundation's Executive Director and establishes offices in Rockville, Maryland.

Seven Fisher Houses open:
Total Fisher Houses open: 18
Four Fisher Houses open:
Total Fisher Houses open: 22
Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center; Denver, CO is transferred to the Department of Veterans Affairs - this Fisher House now supports families of patients at the Denver VA Medical Center.

One Fisher House opens:
Total Fisher Houses open: 23
The Fisher Children's Center at Camp Pendleton, CA is dedicated as a Fisher House affiliated project.

The Fisher House Foundation Board of Trustees approves adding the building of Fisher Houses to its corporate purposes (previously carried out by the Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher Armed Services Foundation).

M. Anthony Fisher, Zachary Fisher's nephew and a managing partner at Fisher Brothers, joins the Fisher House Foundation Board of Directors as the Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer.

One Fisher House opens:
Total Fisher Houses open: 24
Zachary Fisher passes away June 4, 1999.

Arnold Fisher, Zachary's nephew, becomes Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Fisher House Foundation.

One Fisher House opens:
Total Fisher Houses open: 25
A June 15 ceremony in Portsmouth, VA marks the 10th anniversary of the Fisher House program.

Kenneth Fisher, Zachary Fisher's grandnephew, joins M. Anthony Fisher as Vice Chairman of Fisher House Foundation.
Fisher House Foundation, in cooperation with the Defense Commissary Agency, announces the Scholarships for Military Children program - each recipient will receive a $1,500 scholarship grant, funded primarily by commissary business partners.

Three Fisher Houses open:
Total Fisher Houses open: 28
Two Fisher Houses open:
Total Fisher Houses open: 30
As the number of service members wounded or injured in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom increases, Fisher Houses truly become "home-away-from-home" for the families of these heroes.

Fisher House Foundation Vice Chairman, Kenneth Fisher succeeds his father, Arnold Fisher, as the Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Fisher House Foundation.

Audrey Fisher, wife of Arnold Fisher, accepts the role of "Fisher House Ambassador" and begins visiting each Fisher House on a regular basis; she is joined on visits by Nancy Edelman.

One Fisher House opens:
Total Fisher Houses open: 31
Fisher House Foundation partners with "Operation Hero Miles", a program through which the public donates frequent flyer miles to assist service members in Iraq and Afghanistan to return to the United States on rest and recuperation of emergency leave; the program expands to include free air travel to hospitalized service members for leave or pass, and is extended to their families.

One Fisher House opens:
Total Fisher Houses open: 32
One Fisher House opens:
Total Fisher Houses open: 33
Fisher House Foundation Chairman Kenneth Fisher meets President and Mrs. George W. Bush in the Oval Office to represent Fisher House Foundation at a meeting of selected members of "America Supports You" organizations.

Two Fisher Houses open:
Total Fisher Houses open: 35
Fisher House Foundation Chairman Kenneth Fisher is appointed by President George W. Bush to the "Commission on Care" for America's returning Wounded Warriors.

Fisher House Foundation Vice Chairman Arnold Fisher serves on the Independent Review Group established by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to talk to patients and family members about their experiences with military medical care.

Three Fisher Houses open:
Total Fisher Houses open: 38
Fisher House Foundation Chairman, Kenneth Fisher, is honored by US News and World Report as one of "America's Best Leaders" in the philanthropy category.

Fisher House Foundation partners with the National Military Family Association to provide scholarship grants to military spouses.

Four Fisher Houses open:
Total Fisher Houses open: 42
Fisher House Foundation is designated as the official nonprofit partner for the Indianapolis 500, the largest single sporting event in the United States.

One Fisher House opens:
Total Fisher Houses open: 43
President Obama announces the proceeds from his children's book "Of Thee I Sing" will benefit Fisher House Foundation's "Heroes' Legacy Scholarships" for the sons and daughters of fallen/disabled service members.

Ten Fisher Houses open:
Total Fisher Houses open: 53
Fisher House Foundation has received an A+ rating from the American Institute of Philanthropy in its "Veterans and Military" category for six straight years. Out of 42 charities rated, Fisher House Foundation is one of four charities to receive an A+ rating.

Fisher Foundation has received the seventh consecutive four-star rating from Charity Navigator - an accomplishment attained by only the top two percent of non-profits they evaluate.

A new Fisher House replaced the Nightingale House at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio in April. The Nightingale House was an Air Force housing duplex converted to meet needs similar to Fisher House. It served families well for 21 years and was demolished earlier in the year.

Minneapolis VA Health Care System became the first VA Medical Center to receive a 2nd Fisher House in March.

Two more Fisher Houses will open:
Total Fisher Houses open by the end of 2011: 56

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The Fisher House Foundation History