Born and raised in Indiana, Mike served in the Army following college, and then spent another 30-plus years as a civilian employee in the Army, helping to oversee ceremonial planning, operations, and security, providing military support for the President, and managing contingency matters.
Having three sons attend Virginia Tech “put us on the road a lot, from where we were living in northern Virginia running down to this area, and we always noticed how beautiful everything is around here.” So when retirement came in 2003, the Fletchalls chose the Roanoke Valley, and settled in central Botetourt County. (“It didn’t hurt to have two of our sons still living in this area,” Mike says.)
Retirement also gave Mike the chance “to work in two of my passions,” and he became a volunteer with a local food bank and a literacy volunteer tutor. “I’ve always felt that in this wonderful country, no one should ever go hungry, and everyone should be able to read,” Mike notes. “You miss out on so many facets of life not being able to read.”
Mike adds that “tutoring has been a real eye-opener for me. I’ve really seen how important literacy is.”
Mike currently works with his second learner, Kerman McKenzie (who, under Mike’s guidance, was named the 2011 Basic Literacy Learner of the Year!). “I thoroughly enjoy my work with Literacy. The organization does a great job with resources and guidance, and the work is very rewarding.”