From left, County Veteran Affairs Officer Rich Maron, Commissioner Vice-President Bob Conley, Veteran of the Month Rebecca Phend, Commissioner President Brad Jackson and Commissioner Cary Groninger. InkFreeNews photo by Lasca Randels.

By Lasca Randels
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Rebecca Phend of South Whitley was honored as Veteran of the Month at the Kosciusko County Commissioners meeting Tuesday, July 7.

Phend was born in Fort Wayne in November 1957 to Robert and Marjorie Phend.

She grew up in South Whitley and graduated from South Whitley High School in 1976, a member of the National Honor Society. 

Phend continued her education at St. Francis, where she graduated in 1987 with a major in business administration and a minor in computer science.

Following that, she joined the U.S. Navy where she proudly served from 1988 until 1992 as an electronics technician/petty officer second class.

She completed basic training at Orlando Naval Training Center in Orlando, Fla. She also attended technical school at the same location. 

Phend attended electronics technician school at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in North Chicago, Ill.

After that, she attended satellite communications school and teletype repair at Fort Gordon in Augusta, Ga.

Phend’s job was to repair and maintain radio and satellite communications equipment.

She became the station duty officer at the Naval Satellite Communications facility in Norwest, Va. 

As station duty officer, Phend supervised and trained the entire duty section.

She went on to receive further training in leadership, supervisory techniques, sexual harassment and cultural diversity. 

Phend distinguished herself as a military honors graduate and a top performer in naval computer and telecommunications.

She was awarded a good conduct medal and national defense service medal.

After Phend was honorably discharged in 1992, she returned to Kosciusko County and became the owner of Beccassage, providing massage therapy to people and animals.  Phend specializes in cancer massage and Rieki.

She also consults people on the proper use of herbal supplements and has done extensive research on alternative and standard medical treatments for people so they can make a wise and informative decision in regards to their health and treatment. 

Phend was part of the adjunct faculty for Ivy Tech from 1997-2012, where she taught massage and medical assisting courses.

Phend enjoys working with horses and dogs. She has shown her dogs in obedience trials and has shown her horses in dressage, barrel racing, pole bending, English Pleasure and Western Pleasure. 

She has worked for years with 4-H horse and pony clubs. 

Phend describes her animals as “my children.”

After presenting Phend with a plaque, Commissioner President Brad Jackson said that honoring veterans is “one of the coolest things we get to do as commissioners.

Phend expressed gratitude “to everybody for recognizing my service to our country.”