Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera was named as one of three finalists for the NFL and USAA’s Salute to Service Award last month, along with George Kittle [49ers] and Hayden Hurts [Bengals].
On Wednesday, Rivera was named the winner of the Salute to Service Award.
The Salute to Service Award “acknowledges the exceptional efforts by members of the NFL family to honor and support members of the military community.”
Rivera will be recognized on Thursday, Feb. 9, at the NFL Honors ceremony.
USAA will contribute $25K in Rivera’s honor to the official aid societies representing each branch of the United States Military. The NFL Foundation will match that donation to Rivera’s military charity of choice.
“During his time as an NFL head coach, Ron Rivera has set the standard for military appreciation, helping educate an entire generation of NFL community members on the importance of supporting our military, veterans, and their families,” said Vice Admiral (Ret.) John Bird, USAA Senior Vice President of Military Affairs. “Having grown up in a military family, Coach Rivera understands sacrifice and what it means to serve, and we thank him for carrying his service of our military forward, as we honor him as the recipient of this year’s Salute to Service Award presented by USAA.”
Rivera grew up the son of a U.S. Army officer and has always given back to service members and their families.
Rivera had the following statement:
“It is a tremendous honor to be selected as the Salute to Service Award recipient. I humbly accept this award on behalf of my father, Eugenio Rivera, who served as a warrant officer in the United States military for 32 years. Having grown up in a military household, I experienced the sacrifices that military members and their families must make firsthand, and I have always wanted to use my platform to raise awareness and assist the great men and women of our armed forces and their families,” said Ron Rivera. “I am thankful that the NFL has put an emphasis on bringing awareness to the ways we can support the men and women who fight for our freedom. I want to thank the Washington Commanders for dedicating significant resources in support of the military and in giving myself and our team numerous opportunities to do our part to show our troops that we support and care about them.”
Congratulations to Coach Rivera on this prestigious award.
