Retired Army generals William Reno, Carl McNair, and Alberto Zapanta recently used appreciated stock to make 2015 end-of-year contributions to the National Museum of the United States Army. A gift of appreciated stock benefits both the donor and the Museum.
In 2014, LTG Bill Reno purchased 185 bricks to commemorate members of B Company, 4th Engineer Battalion, the unit he commanded in Vietnam. Reno’s more recent $50,000 gift in appreciated stock will be publicly acknowledged in the One-Star Circle of Distinction on the Museum’s donor wall. Reno, along with other Army general officers who are supporting the Museum, wants to see the Army have a national landmark that encompasses the Army’s entire storied history and honors all who have served, are serving, and will serve.
Commenting “I’m simply an Army retiree who is lending support to a most worthy cause,” MG Carl McNair’s gift in appreciated stock boosted his total giving to the Museum project to over $250,000.
Over the years, McNair has worked on and supported many military museums. The National Army Museum is especially important to him because he based his after-Army career on this 32 years of active service and now wants to play a role in helping build the Army’s capstone Museum. “Museums help visitors to understand and cherish their heritage, especially considering how many Americans have gone in harm’s way to protect the longest-lived and most successful democracy in the history of mankind, and I want to be part of that,” stated McNair, a long-time Army Historical Foundation Board (AHF) member and current advisor.
MG Alberto Zapanta’s $50,000 in appreciated stock places him in the One-Star Circle of Distinction. Zapanta, whose family enjoys a legacy of Army service and had roots in California before it was annexed as part of the United States, prides himself as continuing his role as a citizen-Soldier.
After commanding a ranger (LRRP) company in Vietnam, he served over 30 years in the Army Reserve and Army National Guard, was a White House Fellow with General Colin Powell, served in Department of Defense executive positions, and is currently the CEO of the United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce. Zapanta said he is supporting the Museum because he wants to see the Army have its rightful place among the other American services. “The Museum is long-overdue, and I want to help the effort financially and with my time and business experience by serving on the AHF Advisory Board.”
