Twelve Camden County residents will be honored for their selfless contributions to improving their community at the 2021 Camden County Freedom Medal Ceremony. The award, created by the Board of Commissioners in 2001, is presented to civic leaders who demonstrate ideals and actions that reflect the principles of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Each year we seek input from the community to help us identify county residents who exemplify the values and ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,” said Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli, Jr. “This process always brings forth incredible stories of selflessness and sacrifice, but in response to a global pandemic with serious local ramifications, this year’s recipients have surpassed all expectations. This year we are honoring 12 selfless individuals who have made significant, and in many cases unprecedented, contributions to their communities.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s ceremony will take place virtually on Jan. 18. Similar to other virtual events the Board of Commissioners hosted throughout 2020, the Freedom Medal Ceremony will feature pre-recorded messages from members of the Board, and videos highlighting the recipients and their contributions to the community.

One of the recipients is our Legion Post 372 member, Sue Quinn-Morris.

Sue Quinn Morris’ work represents a strong devotion to community service; she is the creator of Patriot Connections and an ardent supporter of veterans, law enforcement and first responders. She belongs to the American Legion Post 372 and created the Patriot Connections website in 2009 to provide an online resource for veterans, military members, and first responders. The site compiles a comprehensive list of outreach events, collects and disburses donations, and researches and returns lost dog tags. With nearly 150 returns done so far, there are numerous dog tag returns in the works all over the country. She also volunteers and manages websites/social media for various organizations such as Stand Down of South Jersey, Jewish War Veterans, FOP Cherry Hill, Police Unity Tour CH, Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation Philadelphia, and Philadelphia Veterans Parade to name a few. She played a pivotal role in Camden County’s 50th Anniversary of Vietnam special event, bringing the 9/11 tribute towers and organizing police/fire escorts 

Sue Quinn-Morris: About 15 years ago I began volunteering at the American Legion in Cherry Hill. I’m still very involved there, its really a great organization – there are other Legion Posts all over the county, and the country. The mission is to support of veterans, military and the community.

I established the Patriot Connections website in 2009 to provide an online website resource of local upcoming events for our veteran community. As it evolved, a lot of first responder events have been added, in addition to weekly emails and social media posts follow with the listings on the website. Due to COVID, I’ve scaled back on this as most events have either been cancelled or rescheduled to unknown dates.

Throughout the years, between Patriot Connections and the American Legion, Ive had the opportunity to meet and work with other organizations to support our veterans and first responders. Some such volunteerism is providing websites and social media for organizations such as Stand Down of SJ, Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation (Phila) Jewish War Veterans, Philadelphia Veterans Parade, Police Unity Tour Cherry Hill Riders, and American Legion Post 372. 

Some of the projects and events Ive had the pleasure of being a part of are – Welcome Homes, Thanksgiving for the Troops, Flagging of veterans graves, Food Drives, etc ---

Ive also had the opportunity to work with CAMDEN COUNTY on a few of their Projects – most recent projects were the Traveling VIETNAM WALL (Candlelight Service) and FALLEN TRIBUTE TOWERS and Escorts for them.

 An ongoing project, and probably one of the most special to me is the Patriot Connections DOG TAG PROJECT –

I have 4 collections of dog tags, which were brought back from Vietnam.

The mission is to return the dog tags to the veterans they belong to, or their family if they are deceased.

A good deal of time is spent researching to find the veteran – depending on the branch and year the veteran served, there is sometimes very limited information to go on.

Once the veteran is located, and depending on what the veteran is comfortable with, plans are made for the return. It’s often very emotional for the veteran

I generally try and have the dog tag hand delivered to the veteran, by another veteran. In such cases I enlist the help of various Legions, VFWs, etc as the presentation point and help from some veteran motorcycle groups such as Nam Knights, Legion Riders, or Warriors Watch. If the veteran prefers it just be sent to them, we do that.

To date, there have been approx. 150 dog tags returned throughout the country. Currently have another 10 in the works.

For more information, visit http://www.patriotconnections.org