Today is Member Monday, highlighting some of our MN DAV Chapter 39 members. Ken Plant, an active member of MN DAV Chapter 39, served in the Marine Corps as a correspondent from 1969 to 1974. A graduate of the Defense Information School and the Senior DINFOS, he joined the ranks of U.S. Army public affairs practitioners in 1983. He retired in 2016 with 36 years of service but continues to volunteer with organizations focused on serving veterans and educating the public about the role of the military. Webmaster for MN DAV Chapter 39, Plant serves on the annual golf tournament committee and is actively involved in promoting fund-raising events through social media and providing photographic and video coverage. Check out the Chapter’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MNDAVAnokaChapter39 and a sample of event coverage at https://anoka39davmn.com/leo-luskey-annual-dav-golf-tournament/.
In addition to the DAV, he is a lifetime member and public affairs officer of the Army Reserve Association and a lifetime member of the Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association. Since 2014 Plant has teamed up with other veterans of various eras through “The Telling Project,” (https://thetellingproject.org/) sharing service in the military on college stages, theaters, public radio stations, and in 2017 was recruited to be a member of the Twin Cities Public Television and Tell Project’s production of MN Remembers Vietnam, which aired nationally on PBS. A few weeks after the production, cast member, Ken Sholes, had a stroke resulting in paralysis and aphasia. Plant volunteered to become his caregiver and with the help of Minneapolis VA Medical Center therapists and doctors, assisted with his recovery. Ken and Ken became frequent volunteers of local DAV fund-raising events and outdoor sponsored veteran programs. Three years later, In November 2020, Sholes, while visiting his sister in Maryland, had a seizure and passed. Plant orchestrated Ken Sholes’ committal service with military honors at Fort Snelling Cemetery, attended by his family and DAV Chapter 39 honor detail in attendance. For the DAV’s Bicentennial event in November 2020, Plant participated in the Walk, Roll, Run, and Ride 5K, honoring “Ken Sholes” on Veterans Day at the new Veterans Park in Blaine. He also volunteered in 2018 and again in 2019 to help present DAV embroidered blankets to Veterans in Anoka and surrounding county nursing homes.
This Fall, Plant is revisiting the next chapter in his life, seeking employment with a value-based organization, and returning to his passions of painting, sculpting, and bass fishing.
