Meet the Board

Click the Names to view the Bios

Renée Peavey / Co-Director

Renée grew up in the very military town of Bremerton, WA. Her dad retired as a Captain in the U.S. Navy. She attended the University of Washington, and worked in the medical field while attending college. In 1987 she started her career with the Federal Aviation Administration as an Air Traffic Controller, and retired with 30 years of service in 2017.

Thanks to Facebook, she learned of Honor Flight through a high school friend who was deeply committed to the program in Chicago. Discovering that the Puget Sound area already had over 200 veterans on a waiting list, but no local hub to run the program, she felt committed to making sure these veterans were honored in this way.

After traveling to Spokane with her husband, Jim, to attend the viewing of Honor Flight the Movie, she, was hooked! “Starting this hub, has been a challenge, but a wonderful one. It is such a pleasure working and forging new friendships with the board members and the veterans, and I am looking forward to this rewarding and wonderful journey. We are determined to get every veteran, who wants to see his/her memorial, back to DC just as soon as we possibly can.”

Denise Rouleau / Co-Director

Denise was born and raised in the Spokane Valley, has called Seattle home for nearly 34 years. She spent 20 years in the radio industry, and in 2007 branched out with her own one-woman agency. She is now a partner in Reed Rouleau Marketing & Media and has “the best clients — and business partner — one could ask for”.

Interest in volunteering for Honor Flight started when her Father and nephew made the trip in October 2012 with Inland Northwest Honor Flight, out of Spokane. Denise flew home to Spokane to see them off, and anxiously waited their return. The outpouring of admiration and gratitude shown to these men and women who gave so much – was overwhelming, and long overdue.

Having experienced what joy the trip brought not only to her Father, but to everyone who made the trip to DC, the plan was set in motion. In March of 2013 a group of dedicated, passionate and like-minded volunteers came together to form Puget Sound Honor Flight.

“It is, without a doubt, the most rewarding work I’ve ever been a part of. I watched as my Father experienced the outpouring of love and honor, and wanted to ‘pay it forward’ and honor others who had also served. Our goal is to make sure the veteran has the opportunity to visit the memorials that were built to honor their service and sacrifice – and show our appreciation for what they did to provide us the freedom and liberty that we still enjoy today.”

To date, Denise has made each of the trips that Puget Sound Honor Flight has taken (26 and counting), along with one trip in May 2018 with Inland Northwest Honor Flight.

Jim Peavey

Jim served five years in the U.S. Navy as an Air Traffic Controller, stationed at Whidbey Naval Air Station and Guam. He then went to work for the Federal Aviation Administration and spent 27 years as an Air Traffic Controller, before retiring in 2009. His Dad was a career military Air Force, and his Uncle served as an Army field medic in both World War II and the Korean War. His Uncle had never talked about the wars and it wasn’t until helping his Aunt go through some boxes in the basement, did he find out about his military service.

“I love World War II history and had a very good friend who was a World War II veteran, pass away not long ago. I had learned of Honor Flight through my wife, and thought it would be a wonderful way to honor his memory, by becoming a guardian. With the lack of a hub in Western Washington, we worked to get Puget Sound Honor Flight up and running so we could honor our local veterans and get these quiet heroes back to see their memorial – to say thank you to our ‘Greatest Generation’”.

Jean Carlon

Jean was born in Saigon, Vietnam and has spent much of her life in the company of military and veterans.

Her father served in the Air Force but went to Vietnam as a civilian contractor and met her mom while working in Pleiku. Her grandfather fought with the Army in the European Theatre during WWII and her step-grandfather survived Pearl Harbor while stationed aboard the USS Pennsylvania.

Jean spent several years as a Navy spouse – stationed in Adak, Alaska and Barbers Point, Hawaii, serving as a family ombudsman, and has spent the last 12 years as a proud Navy mom.

While volunteering with the USO at Seatac airport, she assisted with an Honor Flight sendoff and homecoming, and immediately that she wanted to get more involved and applied to be a volunteer guardian. 12 trips later, she has joined as one of the newest members of our board.

Jean has spent the last 24 years working at Alaska Airlines in various capacities including reservations, web development and marketing. She recently received their Spirit of Community Caring Award for her volunteer service with the USO and Honor Flight.

Kris Olin

Kris grew up in the Spokane Valley and attended Gonzaga University where he received a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Kris has worked for the past 40 years for Puget Sound Energy, currently as an Engineering Manager.

Kris became acquainted with Honor Flight in 2012 when his Dad, and his Dad’s friend, submitted applications to Inland Northwest Honor Flight in Spokane. Unfortunately, his Dad’s friend passed away while on the wait list.

In May of 2013, Kris made this most memorable trip with his Dad. This was also a milestone trip for INWHF as it was their first chartered flight from Spokane and carried 96 WWII veterans plus guardians and support staff.

“It was inspiring for me to be around the veterans and experience the visits to the memorials with them. They all made sacrifices at very young ages, which has allowed the rest of us to live our lives in this great country and enjoy our freedoms. When it was all over they wanted to come home and get back to work.”

Kris also felt inspired by the amount of dedication the Honor Flight members, most of whom are volunteers, put forth to make this program possible for the veterans. His personal experience with Honor Flight is what prompted him to get involved with the new Puget Sound hub.

Kris, and his wife, Mary, will celebrate their 40^th anniversary in March. They live in Redmond where they enjoy time with friends and doting over their dogs. They’re also the proud parents of one daughter, and are happy she lives in the area, so they can spend family time together.

Travis Matheson

Travis Matheson was introduced to Honor Flight in 2007 as a White House Fellow in Washington D.C. by Senator Bob Dole. Travis volunteered for ground support at the WWII Memorial and Ronald Reagan Airport in DC before moving back home to Washington State in 2008. He reconnected with Honor Flight through the Puget Sound chapter as a guardian in 2016, joining the Board later that year.

Travis’ grandfather, Robert Matheson, served in the Navy aboard LST-672 (Tank Landing Ship) from 1943-1946. Robert passed away at 92 years of age in August 2017, one month before his scheduled Honor Flight.

Travis is a 27 year veteran of the Washington State Patrol, currently serving as a Captain. As a public servant, he is grateful to our military veterans for their service to our country and communities. Travis has long had a special place in his life for veterans, recently completing a visit to the Normandy beaches with his son. He is the recipient of the Defender of Freedom Certificate from the Washington State Army National Guard; the 1st Military Police Brigade Certificate of Excellence; and the U.S. Coast Guard’s Meritorious Public Service Award.

Travis is also a Board Member of the Washington State Employees Credit Union and the Thurston County Citizens Commission on Salaries. He is a former Board Member of the Tacoma College Success Foundation, President and Board Member of the Washington State Patrol Memorial Foundation, and Chair and Board Member of the Port of Olympia Citizens Advisory Committee.

Nikki Loehmer

Nikki was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado in May of 1963. She was raised an Army brat constantly moving every two to four years. Most of her stateside time was spent in Texas, which is consider that to be her “home state”. She went to nine different schools from kindergarten to her senior year in high school and graduated from Gig Harbor High School in 1981. In December of 1981 she joined the Army.

Nikki completed basic Training at Ft Leonard Wood Missouri, from there went to Lowry Technical Training School for Photography, at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado. After completing Photography School, she was stationed at Ft Hood, Texas for 18 months. In the spring of 1983, she was transferred to Stuttgart, Germany where she finished out her 4-year enlistment in August of 1985.

Nikki is a journeyman carpenter, and member of Carpenter’s Union Local 129. She works for Pacific Building Specialties as a Foreman running jobs from schools to Microsoft, Apple, Alaska Airlines, T-Mobile, Boeing and many more.

Nikki started her work with Puget Sound Honor Flight in September of 2013 as a volunteer, and joined the Board in 2019, currently heading up the Volunteer efforts. Nikki says “out of all the volunteering I have ever done in my life, this has been the most amazing and gratifying journey. It has changed me in ways I could have never expected.”

Patricia Keith

Patricia was born in Great Falls, Montana. Her love for our aging veterans comes from her family history of service. Her father served in the Army Air Corps during WWII, and as the Corps transitioned to the Air Force/ Air National Guard he continued service during the Korean Conflict and Vietnam War finally retiring in 1982 with 36 years of service. Eight uncles, her brothers, and countless cousins have also served making it part of the fabric of their family.

As a 17 year old High School Senior, and with her parents permission, Patricia enlisted in the Air National Guard and attended basic training that summer. Upon college graduation and with almost 5 years enlisted service she was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant. She continued her service in MT, CO, NJ and finally WA, retiring in 2002.

She worked 18 years for AT&T / Lucent Technologies as a Product Manager, Project Manager and Sales Director in leaving the corporate workforce when her first child was born. She is married with 2 children and lives in Sammamish WA.

She considers work with Honor Flight an honor and privilege as they help veterans not only see the memorials built in their honor but receive the often long overdue thanks and gratitude of so many people along the way. It is an absolute privilege to share the experience with the veterans and their families.

Kelly Chambers

Kelly was born and raised in Tacoma where she graduated from Lincoln High School and Pacific Lutheran University with degrees in Political Science and Secondary Education. Kelly is a well-respected small business owner who has owned and operated three Visiting Angels franchises for the past 14 years. Visiting Angels provides in-home caregiving services to seniors and disabled adults.

Kelly was first inspired to contact Puget Sound Honor Flight after seeing a local news story about the organization. As fate would have it, Kelly discovered she already knew Co-Director, Denise Rouleau, from working together in the senior care industry. Kelly has had the opportunity to blend two important elements in her life: serving veterans and working with seniors in her volunteer work with Puget Sound Honor Flight. Kelly has had the privilege to serve on the board of Puget Sound Honor Flight for the last three years.

Kelly knows that everyone on the board has a deeply personal reason for volunteering with PSHF. For Kelly, she is able to honor the memories of her Grandfather, a WWII, Korea & Vietnam Veteran who passed away just before she was born and her Father, a Vietnam Veteran, who she never thanked for his service before he passed away, by serving the heroes on honor flights.

Kelly enjoys watching veterans enjoy the experience of an Honor Flight as the weekend transforms them. “It is a thrill to travel on a flight with each group of veterans! I have a lot of fun watching the family guardians with their veterans getting so much more out of the weekend than they ever bargained for,” Kelly recalls.

In addition to her volunteer work with PSHF, Kelly also is a member of the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce, National Federation of Independent Businesses Leadership Committee, and recently awarded the 2018 South Sound Exceptional Women Award by Olympia Soroptimist. Kelly and her husband, Jeff, grow grapes on their vineyard in Eastern Washington. They have 3 adult children: Ashton, Nick (Kate) and Savanna, but the most important one in the family is their dog, Chewey. Kelly is active in her church, enjoys travel and cooking, and is always finding new ways to challenge herself both personally and professionally.

Brian Seguin

Brian grew up in eastern Canada and Ohio, and served in the US Army as a Topographic Surveyor and used the GI Bill to obtain a degree in Civil Engineering. He has worked as a railroad supervisor, land surveyor and consulting engineer and is now retired.

He has participated in many Veterans Service Organizations including VFW Post 1040 Chaplain, Quartermaster and Honor Guard Member, VFW District 1 Chaplain and American Legion Post 37 Finance Officer.

Brian’s Father, four uncles and an aunt are all WWII Veterans and over the years of his commitment to veterans service organizations, he’s met countless others along the way – all who did incredible things at a very young age. “They liberated countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe that were occupied by tyrants and made it possible for you, and me, to grow up in a free country.”

He feels that one small way to thank these amazing men and women for their service and sacrifice is volunteering for Honor Flight. He’s been a guardian on several Honor Flights and on every trip is proud of the reception the WWII Veterans receive at the WWII Memorial.

When not involved with veteran activities he enjoys kayaking with friends and family activities with his wife of 43 years, daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.

Terry Cooper

Terry is an “Army Brat” and has enjoyed many, many military playgrounds when living on military bases as a child. Terry was born in Nashville,Tennessee. By the time he was 18 years of age, Terry’s father had been overseas 12 years of his life – and been in six different public and military base schools by the time he reached high school.

Terry’s father came from a large military family. His father was the oldest son in a family of 11 children-six sons and five daughters. Terry’s father and the five uncles were career military Veterans. All six brothers served for 25 years or more: two Army, three Marine Corps, and one Air Force. They served in WWII, the Korean War, and Vietnam. All returned home.

Terry attended the University of Washington and received a Bachelors degree in Police Science. Terry entered law enforcement after graduation and served in numerous capacities before retiring after 35 years of service.

Terry has been touched by each and every Veteran and their story. He is continuously amazed by his fellow Puget Sound Honor Flight board members and volunteers for their compassion and dedication to every Veteran and Puget Sound Honor Flight event.

Bill Knudsen

Bill was born in Missoula, Montana, and became a lifelong resident of the Pacific Northwest at the age of three. He grew up in the north end of Seattle, attended Shoreline High School and the U of W and raised his family in Bellevue and Kirkland. His service to PSHF is in tribute to his birth father, Bill Cuthbert, whose B-24, The Fascinating Lady, was shot down by German guns over Abbeville, France, April 20th, 1944. Bill, who was only six months old at the time, never met his father.

He spent 24 years in the broadcast industry, primarily in senior management at KOL, KVI, KIRO/KSEA & KSTW TV. He also spent eight wonderful years as the VP Marketing & Sales of the Seattle Mariners Baseball Club.

After his Mariner career, he built the largest sports industry, direct response marketing agency in the nation, KNUDSEN Direct, Inc. This company served the sales and marketing needs of over 88 professional teams in the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, as well as 28 colleges and universities for over a decade.

Bill has been active with many local charities and non-profits, and has served on the Boards of the NW Kidney Foundation, The Resource Center for the Handicapped, The King Country Boys and Girls Clubs, and was a founding member of the Fred Hutchinson Hutch Award Board, given to Major League Baseball’s most community and charitable minded player. He now devotes the majority of his free time as an active board member and speaker for the Puget Sound Honor Flight organization.

Bill has four children (two boys and two girls) as well as 14-year old twin grandsons, and he currently resides in Kirkland, Washington. Hobbies include a passion for his family, playing a passionate but mediocre game of golf, and a 44 year love affair with all things Mariner. And travel to anywhere the sun shines. He is an active member of the Bellevue Club, where he swims every day. And for over a decade Bill has written a weekly Mariner / Baseball Newsletter, which currently has a circulation of 6,500 readers all around the world.