TriWest Honors Kansas National Guard Father and Daughter
With Contribution to National Guard Families

PHOENIX (Sept. 5, 2007) — TriWest Healthcare Alliance will support the families of the Kansas National Guard in the name of a Kansas high school student. TriWest President and CEO David J. McIntyre, Jr., will present a $10,000 check to Governor Kathleen Sebelius and Kansas National Guard Adjutant General Tod Bunting.

The ceremony is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007, at the State House in Topeka. Both the father and daughter will attend Thursday’s presentation.

High school student Callie Wheeler, 17, of Olathe, won a national essay contest conducted by the Armed Services YMCA describing why her Guardsman father, Lieutenant Colonel Howard Wheeler, is her hero. She is following her father’s footsteps, recently joining the Kansas National Guard herself.

 "We at TriWest are committed to serving military families, but reading Callie’s essay brought home the strength that military families have in dealing with absent loved ones," said McIntyre. "We wanted to honor her and show our appreciation in a tangible way to benefit the families of the Kansas National Guard."

Wheeler in her essay stated, "My dad was sent to Kosovo when I was transitioning between junior high and high school, at the confusing age of 15. It’s when I was beginning to face decisions that could make or break my future. Fifteen is when I needed a strong role model the most. My role model was absent from the country, but he was not absent from my life."