Utah community in the running for its support of deployed troops’ families.

By Kristen Moulton

| The Salt Lake Tribune

Richfield’s warm support for families of deployed soldiers has landed it among 20 finalists for the national Joining Forces Community Challenge.

The challenge, begun last July by Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, is aimed at celebrating those who help improve the lives of military families.

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How to vote for Richfield

To read about Richfield and the other 19 finalists or to cast a vote, go to http://joiningforces.challenge.gov/. You can also see the video the Utah National Guard prepared about Richfield’s bid and find a link to vote from the Richfield Community Convenants page on Facebook. Supporters are allowed to vote once a day. The People’s Choice winner is to be announced on March 16.

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A people’s choice award will be awarded based on votes via the Internet, and judges will pick five other winners, to be feted at the White House.

The central Utah community of 7,000 is the only municipality among the finalists; the rest are organizations, ranging from the Pat Tillman Foundation, which gives scholarships, to Canines for Veterans, which provides service animals for wounded warriors.

That his city is one-of-a-kind is no surprise to Michael Turner, a Richfield City Council member who helped enlist businesses last year to be partners in the community covenant program launched by the Utah National Guard.

"I can’t imagine another community that puts so much out to these guys," said Turner, whose business, Mike’s Auto Clinic, has hired a veteran of the post-9/11 wars. "We really appreciate what these guys have done for us."

A battery of the Guard’s Second Battalion, 222nd Field Artillery is based in Richfield, and those soldiers have long enjoyed wide community support.

When they deployed in 2003, community volunteers put boxes around town to collect Coins for Camouflage Christmas and put on a Christmas party for military families with more than $35,000, Turner said. The children of those serving were given handmade chairs with their deployed parent’s name on each.

Richfield’s librarians go out of their way to get military-related books for children of deployed parents, and the city waives all utility — water, sewer, garbage — fees when a family member is deployed, whether in the Triple Deuce or active duty services.

"The families are without a dad or a mom for a period of time, and the money may still flow but it’s just kind of … to take that worry off the table for a bit," said Mayor Brad Ramsay.

Last year, the business community stepped up when the Guard designated Richfield a covenant community, Turner said. Some 85 percent of businesses became partners, promising discounts or even waiving charges for military families.

And when the 222nd deployed for the fourth time in a decade last summer, the community hosted a prime rib picnic and gave each family a pamphlet listing covenant partners who are there to help the families. The soldiers each took a copy to Iraq, as well, Turner said.

"I’ve had people call me from the national community covenants program. Some of the things we’re doing, nobody else had thought about doing. They’re looking at how to make it a national thing," Turner said.

The 222nd, which helped bring the war in Iraq to an end, returned in December, and now much of the community’s focus is on placing the soldiers in jobs, Turner said.

According to a news release from the White House, 300 groups were nominated for the honor. Michelle Obama and Jill Biden will pick five winners with the help of a panel of prominent citizens including Tom Brokaw and J.R. Martinez, a veteran who won last season’s "Dancing With the Stars" competition.

"These organizations are doing what they do best: providing financial assistance for scholarships and child care, working to build self-esteem in military teens, offering free photo sessions for military families, and so much more," Obama said, according to the release. "Creative ideas like these can be replicated in communities all across the country, and we can’t wait to see what Americans come up with next."

kmoulton@sltrib.com