Electrician’s Mate 1st Class William Gore

Electrician’s Mate 1st Class William Gore gets the job done on the ship – supervisors agree he’s one of the hardest working and effective guys they have. But it’s what Gore does off the clock that has earned him the title of Military Times’ 2017 Coast Guardsman of the Year. Over the past three years, Gore and his wife, Judith, have donated thousands of dollars of their own money to their nonprofit organization, Danilo’s Cares. Named for Judith’s father, Danilo Martinez, Danilo’s Cares has provided 3,000 impoverished Honduran children with free dental care Gore recalls a life-changing moment in 2011 when he and wife took a trip to her native Honduras. Gore recalled his shock at the level of poverty in some parts of the country. “Even though Judith had told me what to expect, it paled in comparison to the reality of the conditions. Mud huts, no running water, dirt floors, and poor hygiene,” he later wrote. “So after our visit, Judith shared with me her desire to take initiative and try to do something to help these kids that were being held so tightly in the grasp of poverty." After Judith’s father passed in 2014, they set out to form a legal nonprofit entity to honor him and to continue Danilo Martinez’s lifelong passion for giving back to his community. Gore’s commitment to both serving his country in the Coast Guard and affecting positive change is at the core of what it means to be a Military Times Service Member of the Year.