FORNEY, Texas — It was April 28, 2009, when United States Army Sergeant Michael Beeson’s life changed forever.
FORNEY, Texas — It was April 28, 2009, when United States Army Sergeant Michael Beeson’s life changed forever.
Beeson, while stationed in Iraq on transfer to Afghanistan, was injured in a mortar blast while in his living quarters that day. While his injuries were not apparent from the outside, nor life-threatening, according to Beeson, they were extensive.
Beeson later transferred back to the United States for recovery when he medically retired in San Antonio in 2011 with his family — wife, Roxanne, and two children, Taylor and Gorman.
Last month, the Beeson family was present when another life changing moment occurred — the groundbreaking of their new Forney home thanks to the Smiles Charity group and thousands of North Texas donors.
The groundbreaking was held on February 20, 2016 at the site of the Beesons' new home on Sweetwater Trail in the Windmill Farms community.
Smiles Charity, founded by McKinney orthodontist Dr. Jennifer Buchanan, hosts annual concerts to raise money to fund homes for wounded veterans.
“It’s our small way to say thank you to our veterans,” said Buchanan.
Buchanan said Smiles Charity wouldn’t be possible without the help from her committee members, corporate sponsors, donors, and volunteers.
The next Smiles Charity concert will be held on Sunday, May 29, 2016, from 5 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. in McKinney at Adriatic Village. The concert will feature country star Frankie Ballard.
“Today, with this house being built, McKinney and Forney will forever be linked together,” McKinney Mayor Brian Loughmiller said. “Because we are now together as communities who support our military and support our veterans.”
Forney Mayor Pro-Tem Raymond Stephens and council members Robbie Powers and Cory McGee attended the groundbreaking ceremony.
“Its really great to see organizations like Smiles to take care of these guys,” stated Forney Mayor Pro-Tem Raymond Stephens, a retired Marine. “Thank you for doing this for this family and for our community.”
“Forney welcomes you to our community,” Stephens said addressing the Beeson family.
“For Centurian [American] and Sienna [Homes], we are delighted to be part of this project and excited to be able to build this home,” Centurian American Vice President Brad Biber said. “This means a lot to us.”
For Beeson, who now ministers to fellow veterans, says he has a hard time feeling deserving.
“I’ve heard that word a lot lately,” said Beeson. “I have a hard time with that because I did my job like everyone else.”
“Beeson is a huge bright light in a dark place,” a fellow veteran said. “A lot of times he doesn’t think he deserves the credit that he gets but, he does. He and his family are going to thrive here and be monumental.”
“This is not just a house for a random guy, its a home for a family that gave everything they had," he said. "I know they are going to be even brighter than what they know,” he said.
