Tom Lyons joins national military nonprofit
For over 13 years, Hope For The Warriors has been dedicated to restoring a sense of self, family and hope for veterans, service members and military families. Each year under the leadership of trusted board members, the national nonprofit aims to provide support through a variety of programs focused on clinical health and wellness, sports and recreation and transition.
Vietnam veteran and veteran advocate Tom Lyons recently joined the 12-member Hope For The Warriors board of directors.
“I am honored and proud to be part of the Hope For The Warriors board of directors,” said Lyons. “Their mission to support our men and women in uniform as well as their families is something I’ve been dedicated to for the past 40 years.”
The Boston native served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1967-1970 which included a yearlong combat tour in Vietnam. Lyons served as vice president of government affairs and corporate communications at MassHousing Finance Agency for 16 years. From 1995 to 2002, he was the executive director of the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans and served as commissioner for Veterans’ Services for the City of Boston from 1984 to 1995.
In 1978, Lyons organized a committee of Vietnam veterans to pay tribute to the 25 young men from his community who died during the Vietnam War. On September 13, 1981, the committee erected the South Boston Vietnam Memorial, which was one of the first of its kind in the nation.
In 1987, he founded the Semper Fidelis Society of Boston, a Marine Corps organization that has grown to over 2,500 members. The Society sponsors an annual luncheon on the Marine Corps’ birthday and donates the proceeds to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation and local veterans’ charities.
Lyons also started the annual Boston Marine Corps Honor Run, which raises money for the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation. He was chairman of Marine Week Boston in 2010 and chairman of the 2001, 2006 and 2015 Medal of Honor Convention.
Lyons is the recipient of the 2011 “Marine For Life” Award presented by General James Amos, 35th Commandant of the Marine Corps, for his 30 years of advocacy on behalf of our nation’s veterans. In addition, he is the 2014 recipient of the Commandant’s Award from the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation and received the John W. McCormick Distinguished Public Service Award in 2019.
He was also recognized in 2019 at the Hope For The Warriors 10th Annual Got Heart Give Hope Gala with the Harry Bridgwood Lifetime Service Award, awarded to a Vietnam-era veteran who has committed his or her life to serving the next generations of the warrior community.
“As a longtime friend and advocate for Hope For The Warriors, we’re honored to officially have Tom join the board of directors,” said Robin Kelleher, co-founder and president of Hope For The Warriors. “His personal experience as a veteran and compassionate knowledge of the needs of service members, veterans and military families is essential in serving this community.”
Lyons currently serves on a number of boards and committees including serving as a member for the Governor’s Veterans Advisory Council and chairman of the Sub-Committee on Veterans’ Housing, chairman and founder of the South Boston Vietnam Memorial Committee, board member Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, board member of ATCNE (Addiction Treatment Center New England), chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Chelsea Soldiers Home, a board member of the Brighton Marine Health Center and a member on the Long-Term Care Commission for Veterans.
Lyons is a 1978 graduate of Boston State and the Senior Executive Fellows Program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in 1988.
Today, Lyons resides in Wakefield, Massachusetts with his wife Jean. They have two daughters Sarah, Maura and his son, Todd, a Federal Agent in Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) who is a veteran of the Iraq War.
About Hope For The Warriors: Founded in 2006, Hope For The Warriors is a national nonprofit dedicated to restoring a sense of self, family and hope for post-9/11 veterans, service members and military families. Since its inception, Hope For The Warriors has served over 30,000 through a variety of support programs focused on clinical health and wellness, sports and recreation and transition. One of the nonprofit’s first programs, Military Spouse and Caregiver Scholarships, has awarded 150 scholarships to caregivers and families of the fallen. In addition, Run For The Warriors has captured the hearts of over 27,500 since 2010. For more information, visit hopeforthewarriors.org, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
