Veterans Serving Veterans: Meet our ECHF Veteran Board Members

Honor and Leadership: Proud to Share that Two Veterans Serve on the Elara Caring Hospice Foundation Board

At the Elara Caring Hospice Foundation, our mission is deeply rooted in providing comfort, dignity, and specialized care to patients and families during life’s most vulnerable moments. Central to this mission is our commitment to veterans, who often have unique physical, emotional, and spiritual needs at the end of life. To ensure our supportive efforts truly reflect and honor their experiences, we are proud to highlight that two distinguished veterans serve on our Foundation Board. Having veteran leadership at the governance level profoundly shapes how we support hospice care. Their firsthand understanding of military culture, camaraderie, and the lasting impact of service allows us to better champion programs that serve the veteran community.

Robert “Bobby” Ganton, US Army

“I did ROTC at Spring Arbor University and graduated and commissioned into the Army in May 2010, as an Engineer Officer.  After a few brief stops, I found myself in Joint Base Lewis-McChord (Tacoma, WA), in the 562nd Engineer Company (Sappers).  We deployed to Afghanistan in April of 2012, where I was a Route Clearance Platoon Leader and then Company Executive Officer.”

Robert “Bob” Thoma, US Navy

“I am an 8-year Navy veteran. I was assigned to the USS Franklin D Roosevelt CV-42, then USS Jonas Ingram D-938. These vessels made trips to the Mediterranean Sea, and numerous times training in the Caribbean Sea. I then served 2 years at Naval Air Station Bermuda as the Operations Supervisor at the Tactical Support Center supporting anti-submarine operations and search and rescue coordination. Afterwards, I returned to sea aboard the USS Josephus Daniels CG-27, deployed to the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal. Through my experience I traveled to 5 continents (North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa), with my last mission providing evacuation of Americans from Beirut, Lebanon on the way home in June 1982. I was honorably discharged in 1983. “

Why Veteran Leadership Matters

• Bridging the Gap: Veterans share an unspoken bond. Having board members who understand this connection helps us align our foundation’s supportive initiatives with the unique needs of patients who served our country.
• Enhancing Specialized Support: From honoring ceremonies and pinning gifts to specific veteran-focused needs, our board members provide invaluable perspective on how to meaningfully meet a patient’s needs and honor a patient’s service.
• Advocacy and Awareness: Our veteran board members serve as vital ambassadors, helping us connect with local veteran organizations, advocate for veteran care resources, and ensure no servicemember is forgotten in their final days.

We are incredibly grateful for their continued service—first to our country, and now to our hospice foundation. Their leadership guides us as we work behind the scenes to fund the specialized needs, comfort, and recognition that every veteran and hospice patient deserves.