Operation Song Receives “Service to Mankind Award”

Operation Song® was honored last night by the Sertoma Club of Nashville at their annual awards dinner (held April 27 at Hillwood Country Club). We were presented with a check for $3,000. Founder, Bob Regan, and Executive Director, Mike Byer, were honored to each be awarded the “Service To Mankind Award.” 

Sertoma was established in 1948 and its mission is to improve the quality of life today for those at risk or impacted by hearing loss and/or communication disorders through education and support.

We are grateful to Sertoma and its members for their dedication to the community and Operation Song®.

While he likes to leave the words to the veterans and songwriters, Byer accepted the award with a few words about Operation Song®.

“I was very fortunate when I came back from Afghanistan to become part of this organization,” begins Byer. “When veterans come home, they often feel alone. When you’re not in the military, you have trouble processing the things that you’ve gone through. The things that you don’t have, the community that you’ve lost, and doing that on your own is a struggle.”

Since 2012, Bob Regan, founder of Operation Song®, along with the help of songwriters, has written more than 1,400 songs with the veterans of WWII all the way up to present day. These songwriters help you achieve the goal of telling your story by taking your exact words and putting it into a song. Give it structure.

“These songwriters put the puzzle together right in front of you,” adds Byer. “It’s just an amazing experience. To this day, we’ve had countless veterans tell us that not only was a day with a songwriter better than years with a counselor, but we’ve had many of them also tell us that this saved their lives. So, we are truly grateful for your support.”