Mother's Day is coming fast - May 9th.
It is the day we think of and thank our mom's for all of the sacrifices and love they provide us. 1350 Distilling would like to thank and send our love to all of our mothers, and Kandis and Abbie, our partners. We also raise a glass and give thanks to all of the mothers in service for our military and first responders. This ABSOLUTELY includes military wives and first responder wives, because we know and appreciate your additional sacrifices.
Are you a mother-in-service, military or first responder spouse or have a friend or family member you would like to toast for Mothers' Day? We would like to bring attention to them and thank them for their sacrifices. They can be: active-duty or retired, still with us or only in our memories, daughters, neighbors, nieces, cousins, you name it. We want to hear from you. Please share photos, names and what they mean to you. Mom's out there. Toot your own horn too. I know a number of you that are doing it all and we want you to raise a glass (or two) this May 9th on Mothers' Day with us!
For Mother's Day, we would like pay homage a woman we lovingly refer to as "Momma B", Bonnie Burckel. We have a portrait of her hanging on our Wall of Honor. She is an amazing person, mother, wife, friend and retired Lieutenant Colonel of the United States Air Force. She has kindly provided a brief biography of her service that we would like to share with you. We love you, Momma B!
Lieutenant Colonel Bonnie Burckel is the third daughter of “Doc” and Sally Richmond. Born and raised in small town Ohio and the daughter of a veterinarian, she grew up around mud, hay bales, 4-H friends, and Friday Night Lights. Bonnie graduated from The Ohio State University in 1986. Just like her dad, she joined the Air Force through Ohio State’s Reserve Officer Training Corp (AFROTC) program and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant immediately upon graduation. Her father was in the first ever AFROTC class at Ohio State and took history classes in the same AFROTC “Detachment 645” classrooms that Bonnie did 30+ years later. She retired in 2013 with nearly 27 years of service in our United States Air Force. Her career took her to Kessler AFB, Mississippi; Kirtland AFB, New Mexico; Peterson AFB and the Air Force Academy, Colorado; Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH; Ramstein AB, Germany and Baghdad, Iraq. Her most cherished memories are from her year in Baghdad, serving not only our Nation but the Iraqi people and learning the true grit of our American military forces when the going gets tough. She was awarded the Bronze Star, the fourth-highest individual military award for meritorious service in a combat zone. Bonnie is happily married to Mr William (Bill) Burckel and is the proud mother of 4 children and Discovery Canyon Campus graduates: Billy, Jessie, Benjamin and Joey. She and her husband live in Colorado Springs, Colorado and still cheer for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Bonnie is forever grateful to her parents for their love, support, wisdom and rearing of this spunky, always-into-something, little girl. And, for her husband Bill for loving that little girl all along.
Bonnie would also like to encourage young adults to consider the military life.
You will enjoy serving with the best America has to offer to the world!
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