Bill and Evonne Williams are the co-founders of Patriotic Productions and its mission that include Remembering Our Fallen. They were the volunteer organizers behind multiple Honor Flights that took 3,500+ of veterans to their memorials in Washington DC.
Bill graduated from Dakota State College before spending most of his career in sales. Evonne graduated from Bellevue University and worked previously as the Executive Director of Make-A-Wish Foundation of Nebraska for 16 years. She also served as interim Executive Director of the Strategic Air & Space Museum before leaving to start Patriotic Productions with Bill.
Melissa Giller is the Chief Marketing Officer for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. She oversees the marketing, public relations and Center for Public Affairs programming for the Foundation.
Before coming to The Reagan Foundation, Ms. Giller was the Director of Marketing for Styleclick, a USA Network Company. Ms. Giller helped launch two separate business units for Styleclick: WebRadio.com, an online radio destination; and CyberMedia and Norton-Lambert, both software utility companies.
Melissa Giller holds a Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from U.C. Santa Barbara.
Captain Ben Williams, U.S. Army, is an attorney who serves on the Board in his private capacity. Ben enlisted in the Army in 2002, deployed twice to Iraq before leaving the military to pursue his education in 2010, and re-entered military service in 2013.
Ben has had a longstanding interest in veterans issues and has been involved with Patriotic Productions for several years.
Ben has a Bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a law degree from the University of Nebraska College of Law. He currently resides in Omaha, NE with his wife and four children, where he works for the Nebraska state Attorney General’s office.
Lieutenant General (Ret.) Roger Lempke is the Director for Military Affairs for Senator Deb Fischer. In this capacity he supports policy development and accomplishes case work for military veterans. As former Adjutant General for Nebraska he organized and led the Nebraska National Guard through its largest mobilization since WWII in support of the Global War on Terrorism.
Roger was named the 2007 Nebraskan of the Year by the Nebraska Rotary organization and honored as a Trailblazer by the NEBRASKAland Foundation. He was born and raised in Tecumseh, Nebraska, and graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1969. He and his wife Shirlee have lived in Lincoln since 1979 and have two grown children and four grandchildren.
Kevin Ryan is a Certified Public Accountant and Manager for McDermott & Miller in Omaha, NE. He had 25 years in accounting prior to joining them in 2011. He specializes in Tax Planning for Individuals and S Corporations, Payroll & W-2s, and Bookkeeping.
He holds an Associates Degree from the Nebraska College of Business.
Tom Williams is an Omaha native and a Marine veteran, having completed deployments to Eastern Europe and Afghanistan as an Infantry Officer. He has taken part in numerous events with Patriotic Productions, including Honor Flights, speaking engagements and many Remembering Our Fallen events.
He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and his MBA from Columbia University in New York City. He lives in Southern California with his wife and three sons where he works at Anduril Industries, a defense technology startup.
Gary launched his post-college career teaching Social Studies to junior and senior high school students. The Ohio University History major taught in suburban Atlanta and Boston before moving to Omaha to lead the aquatics department at a local community center.
He also served 18 years as vice president of a local manufacturing company that sold metal building materials across the country, primarily overseeing Purchasing and Human Resources, among other departments.
When the company was sold, Javitch turned his attention to more altruistic interests, earning a Master’s in Health Services Management, doing full-time nonprofit fundraising for a local hospital and a childcare organization. For the last 22 years, the 15-gallon blood donor also has worked part-time at a local medical center, helping to test and train future caregivers. He has also been a longtime advocate for organizations that promote a strong American-Israel relationship.
