HHC 1-17 "Buffalo" finds new home at TVC through Project Partnership

Submitted by Scott McCrea
Phone: x2857
07/21/05

The UAF Tanana Valley Campus is partnering with a Fort Wainwright unit,"the HHC 1-17 Infantry", to assist the soliders and their families during upcoming deployment to Iraq. TVC is one of several organizations and businesses in town that will be offering assistance to the various units scheduled to deploy next month. The outreach effort, known as "Project Partnership"?, is being coordinated by the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce.

"We’re honored to play a role in this vitally important program,"? said TVC Director Rick Caulfield. "The faculty and staff at TVC are looking forward to reaching out and lending a helping hand to the soldiers and their families during what has to be an anxious time for everyone involved."?

TVC will be working with the unit’s Family Readiness Group (FRG) to identify activities that will be of benefit to the troops and their families. TVC is joined in its partnership of the HHC 1-17 Infantry by Splash’n Dash Car Wash.

One of TVC’s first projects was to construct a sign for the 1-17 "Buffalo Garden"? at the Fort Wainwright entrance. The sign features the mascots of the various units being deployed. TVC is currently housing the HHC 1-17 mascot, a buffalo, at the Tanana Valley Campus Center during the unit’s deployment. The buffalo, who goes by the name of "Al" is located in the TVCC Ruth Lister Student Gathering Area.