FORT INDIANTOWN GAP – Sen. Lisa Baker (R-20) has been inducted into the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs Hall of Fame.
Baker, a current member and past chair of the Senate’s Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, has been a strong voice for veterans’ issues and has pushed for several pieces of legislation that eventually were signed into law that aid and recognize veterans in the state.
During the induction ceremony on July 15, Baker told those gathered that “when running for the Senate, I never imagined that this was the committee I would chair, much less that the assignment would extend for such a period of time. It is an outpost happily far removed from political posturing, and a place where through concerted effort important results can be delivered.”
“It affords the chance to show respect for veterans every day, and not just on designated holidays. About veterans’ issues, it can never be said there is nothing to do; it should never be said that nothing can be done,” Baker said.
Among her notable efforts are the special veteran designation on state driver’s license to honor the service of the commonwealth’s 950,000 military veterans and establishing the “Honoring Our Veterans” Pennsylvania license plate, which raises money for the state’s Veterans’ Trust Fund.
“Her outstanding devotion to Pennsylvania’s veterans is evidenced by her work to secure funding for veterans outreach and support programs and her efforts to establish the Pennsylvania Veterans Trust Fund to help needy veterans and their families,” said Maj. Gen. Wesley E. Craig, the state’s adjutant general. “She has also advanced numerous bills to assist our deployed servicemen and women and veteran-owned businesses.”
Baker said that “legislative success is as much a matter of extensive teamwork as military preparedness is. The laws, programs, and funding achieved are a tribute to the veterans groups, the individual veterans, and the individuals within the DMVA who define and describe the mission for us, and to the legislators, leaders and members, who craft, push, and negotiate solutions.”
The DMVA Hall of Fame, established in 1998, recognizes unique and exemplary contributions to the department and/or to the Pennsylvania National Guard. This award not only recognizes significant achievements, but also the honor and prestige an individual has brought upon the department, the Pennsylvania National Guard and Pennsylvania veterans. Election into the Hall of Fame is the highest honor bestowed upon an individual by the department.
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