A moment during the meeting’s citizens forum, however, made it anything but normal for Wood, as Martha Oakes presented him with a Quilt of Valor for his military service, much to his surprise.

“I had no idea (about it),” Wood said.

Wood, a major in the Army Reserve, where he has been serving for 16 years, said he has been to Quilts of Valor presentations in the past, but that it has been a while.

“I kind of understand and have seen what they’ve done in the past,” Wood said. “I was honestly taken aback and kind of shocked.”

During the presentation, Oakes said the organization has awarded over 250,000 quilts to active and retired military personnel.

“The mission of the Quilts of Valor foundation is to cover service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing quilts of valor,” Oakes said during the meeting.

“The top layer of the quilt represents the communities and the many individuals we are. The batting or filler in the center of the quilt represents our hope that this quilt will bring warmth, comfort, and peace to the individual who receives it.

The backing is the strength that supports the other layers. It represents the strength of the recipient, the support of his or her family, our communities, and our nation. The stitches that hold the layers together represent the gratitude of the maker.”

She ended her presentation with a message to Wood.

“It is my profound hope, Jacob, that this quilt will serve to remind you and others that your sacrifice has not been forgotten,” Oakes said. “May it bring you peace and comfort for years to come. Jacob, thank you for your service.”

Wood said he didn’t realize the connection of the Quilts of Valor organization to the city until now.

Oakes said that before the pandemic hit, she volunteered in the office, helping Rachel Hinde-Constantino, the city’s community engagement coordinator, and met Wood through that.

“Oakes has been a volunteer in the city manager’s office for a while,” Wood said.

She found out about Wood’s military service in February, just before he was scheduled to be deployed to Iraq.

“I thought, well, maybe I can have a quilt made for him and we’ll have it ready for him when comes home in December,” Oakes said in an interview. “Come to find out, he didn’t have to go over because of COVID-19.”

Oakes said Wood’s quilt is the second she has done for Quilts of Valor where she presented it in a ceremony, but she has been involved in helping others with the foundation.

“I have made quilt tops that I have donated to Quilts of Valor, they take them and find someone to quilt them and give them to a service person,” Oakes said.

Oakes said she found the pattern of the quilt in a magazine.

“This magazine has a lot of patterns that are suitable to the Quilts of Valor,” Oakes said.

The pattern features 36 stars that Oakes said made for some tiring work, but she was determined to get it done.

“I told myself every day I had to do two stars before I could do anything else,” Oakes said.

She estimated her work on the quilt took over 35 hours, and Wood was thankful for the time Oakes offered to make it.

“I feel honored that she would’ve thought of me and put in all that effort to put the quilt together,” Wood said.

Service history

In his time as a reservist, Wood has been deployed overseas twice, to Iraq in 2007 and to Afghanistan in 2010.

Wood was scheduled to be deployed again this year to support the Iraqi army. He left Salina in mid-March for Fort Hood, Texas, to prepare for that deployment, and then the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S.

“We were (there) for about a week and they told us the mission in Iraq was changing,” Wood said.

He stayed at Fort Hood for about 30 days until he was sent to Dallas, where his unit began to prepare to help with field hospitals set up in large cities to assist with COVID-19 relief.

“They really just didn’t need the field hospitals the way they thought they were going to, so they ended the mission there as well and sent us all home,” Wood said.

After being gone for almost two months, Wood returned to Salina at the end of May.

A family affair

Wood knew something was up just before the presentation when he noticed his family was at the meeting.

“I heard my son whispering ‘Dad!’ and I turned, thinking what in the world is going on here?” Wood said.

He was grateful that his family was there for the quilt presentation, as they offer him so much support, particularly his wife, Jacqueline.

“Being in the Army Reserve is probably a lot harder on my family than it is on me,” Wood said.

He said Jacqueline has to take care of their four kids when he is gone for deployment or training. While his time away from family is pretty structured with a set mission and orders to follow, he said, his wife’s life is completely changed.

″(We) got married two weeks after I got back from basic training, so she’s been part of this journey the entire time,” Wood said. “She’s been a trooper through it all and extremely supportive.”

After the presentation, Mayor Mike Hoppock recognized Wood’s family as well.

“I know we’re here to thank Jacob for his service, but let’s not forget the family,” Hoppock said. “I know that his wife and their wonderful four have to do without their dad while he’s on deployment. Again, we want to thank you, Jacqueline, for all your sacrifices also.”

He was also happy and shocked that his mother, Sherri Kohman, was there for the quilt presentation. Kohman lives in Abilene, and Wood said she has been a great support to him and his family during his military journey as well.

“She’s been there all along and has been very helpful to my family when I have been gone,” Wood said.

Oakes said she hopes Wood will enjoy the quilt and that as they grow up, his children will understand the meaning behind it.

“When he gets old and retired and passes it down to his children, I hope they’ll think about his service and that people appreciated what he did,” Oakes said.

Military service helping in civilian life

Having the quilt presentation at the commission meeting was a good representation of showing how Wood’s military service has prepared him for his work in local government.

He said when someone is in the reserves, they have to be prepared for the unexpected, putting civilian life on hold if they are called to service and putting their training to work.

“You just have to be able to be very adaptable,” Wood said. “In local government there’s lots of similarities there. You never know what issue, what concern (or) what problem is going to be walking through that door.”

Wood said that has become more clear during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In these times that are unprecedented, we’ve had to figure out how are we going to work our way through all of this,” Wood said.

He said his training in the reserves also helped him at the beginning of his time in local government, especially when it came to supervisory and leadership training through the Army.

“I think having the ability to sort of pick up and go from situation to situation has certainly helped me early on in my career,” Wood said.

Wood is also thankful to his employer, the city of Salina, for working with him as he continues in the reserves.

“They’ve been very supportive all the way through to me and family (and) with any concerns I might have have trying to serve in that kind of dual purpose,” Wood said. “I’m grateful to the city. I’m grateful to Mike (Schrage), my boss, the city commission and everybody that’s been part of that.”