Supporting her hometown was important, Flow said. And she\u2019d also been drawn to the beauty of San Diego, the USS Fort Worth\u2019s home port.<\/p>\n
Flow made quick work of helping the support committee, taking crew members to dinner and showing them around the city during their Fort Worth visits. Flow gave \u201ctime, treasure and talent\u201d to the cause, said JR Labbe, the support committee\u2019s president. More recently, Flow has stepped up to help lead the Fort Worth\u2019s decommissioning ceremony July 29<\/a> in California.<\/p>\n \u201cHer superpower is working with various governmental offices to garner recognition for the sailors who served on our city\u2019s namesake ship,\u201d Labbe said.<\/p>\n Flow\u2019s work on the support committee earned her recognition in 52 Faces of Community<\/a>, Fort Worth Report\u2019s weekly series highlighting unsung heroes.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe decommissioning ceremony is going to be memorable for the active duty sailors who served on the Fort Worth thanks to Terri\u2019s efforts,\u201d Labbe said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe decommissioning ceremony is going to be memorable for the active duty sailors who served on the Fort Worth thanks to Terri\u2019s efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n JR Labbe, USS Fort Worth Support Committee, nominator<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Know an unsung hero in Tarrant County?<\/p>\n Tell us about them by filling out the form below. <\/p>\n Flow, a former Washington federal executive who now runs a consulting practice<\/a>, was born in Austin and moved to Arlington with her family when she was 5.<\/p>\n Flow traces her passion for the military to her grandfather, who served in the Army Air Corps.<\/p>\n \u201cMy grandfather served and, all throughout the whole time when he was overseas, my grandmother supported him,\u201d Flow said. \u201cMy grandmother had that passion, and she instilled that in me.\u201d<\/p>\n Her grandmother posted the colors daily at home, Flow said, and family members would say the Pledge of Allegiance. Her grandmother and mother also volunteered all the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI got that volunteer spirit from them,\u201d Flow said.<\/p>\n Flow said she views her work on the decommissioning as having a straight-forward purpose: \u201cWe\u2019re helping to say thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n To secure the decommissioning recognition, she contacted Gov. Greg Abbott\u2019s office, state Rep. Charlie Geren and Fort Worth City Council member Michael Crain. Crain will present recognitions to each of the ship\u2019s 35 remaining active duty sailors during the sendoff in San Diego.<\/p>\n The support committee hosts the Fort Worth\u2019s sailors of the year and quarter at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.<\/p>\n Helping to show off the city to crew is important, because most of its members over the years haven\u2019t been from Fort Worth, Flow said. She has taken sailors to dinner at restaurants like Joe T. Garcia\u2019s and Billy Bob\u2019s Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n The committee also fits the sailors for cowboy hats and boots.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve allowed them to come and truly understand what the city of Fort Worth is like, and that’s what they really enjoy \u2014 truly being able to be immersed in the city,\u201d Flow said.<\/p>\n She has also visited the ship in San Diego each year since she joined the committee, Flow said.<\/p>\n The support committee has regularly sent care packages and fulfilled other needs for the crew.\u00a0<\/p>\n But \u201cI think they need to see our faces,\u201d Flow said.\u201cThe USS Fort Worth Support Committee is known around the Navy for how much we actually support them. If they need something, they’re most likely going to get it from us.\u201d<\/p>\n None of the Fort Worth\u2019s active duty sailors live on the ship today, because the Navy no longer has a kitchen crew assigned to it, Flow said.<\/p>\n The decommissioning will include a prayer breakfast aboard the ship, with presentation of the morning colors and tours on July 28. A dinner will follow, with Lockheed Martin underwriting the meal for the ship\u2019s active duty sailors.<\/p>\n The decommissioning will be at the Naval Base San Diego. Later that evening, the support committee organized a \u201cwake\u201d for the ship at the I Bar Coronado on San Diego\u2019s Coronado Island.<\/p>\n Flow also serves as an honorary commander for the 301st Fighter Wing\u2019s Mission Support Group<\/a> and is a director of the Fort Worth Airpower Council<\/a>, which supports service members, their families and veterans.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s one of the nice things that I’ve seen in all of the work I’ve done; they are really amazing men and women who serve our country,\u201d said Flow, who\u2019s also active in Women Steering Business<\/a>, a nonprofit that buys champion steers from young women who exhibit them at the Stock Show.<\/p>\n \u201cI know it’s hard sometimes to get people out to volunteer, but I think I do it because it’s a passion that I’m able to show love to other people because of my volunteer work,\u201d Flow said. \u201cAnd I’ve been blessed to be able to serve our military by doing it, which is what my grandmother did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
![\"(Maria](\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0604-MC-52Faces-04-1024x683.jpg\")
Terri Flow wears boots that every sailor is given on the ship. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n![\"(Maria](\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0604-MC-52Faces-05-1024x683.jpg\")
Terri Flow holds a replica of the ship. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n