Contact 6 helps Wisconsin USO

MILWAUKEE -- 2011 has been a record year for Contact 6. Katrina Cravy and her team have worked hard to get more than $252,000 cash back for our viewers. But some requests you can't put a dollar amount on. When the USO asked for help recently, Contact 6 was ready for duty!

The USO Lounge in Concourse D at Mitchell International Airport opened in September, but Time Warner Cable didn't have it hooked up yet with internet or cable television. The USO Lounge is a sort of safe haven for tired troops and their families. "Some place for quiet time. A place with little nutriments. We have soda and juice and snacks for them. Just some place out of the hubub of the airport," USO volunteer Larry Clark said.

It was apparently difficult to coordinate between Time Warner Cable, the USO, and Mitchell International Airport management to get the cable and internet hooked up in the lounge, and when it still wasn't done by November, Clark filed a complaint with Contact 6. In a matter of days, Time Warner said it had contacted the USO and a business class engineering coordinator was on it. "Three days later, we had the cable in, and two days later we had the phones, and the internet in later," USO Airport Manager Lisa Mansfield said. "It seemed like a blink of an eye, and all of a sudden, we had the TVs," Clark said.

Laura Barnard's husband is a Navy serviceman stationed on a ship in Florida. She has two little ones, and she's on her own when it comes to traveling with them from Baltimore to Orlando. Barnard says she's greatful for the USO Lounge at Mitchell Airport. "It's clean, Elmo is great. There's toys, there are books. My kids are doing really well. They like being here. It's a very nice service. I think the USO is very needed, and it helps support the families," Barnard said.

The USO says they need volunteers and sponsors to keep the USO Lounge open 24/7, so if you'd like to get involved, check out the USO of Wisconsin's website.