VFW PICNIC FOR FT McCOY TROOPS DRAWS VOLUNTEERS, SUPPORT & THANKS!
Saturday, September 6, 2008 at 06:41 PM
by Wisconsin VFW News
On August 20th and 21st, 2008, the Department of Wisconsin Veterans of Foreign Wars hosted a picnic for Army National Guard Troops just completing three weeks of training at Fort McCoy in West Central Wisconsin. The 3,400 troops training there are something special to us since they are comprised of men and women from 38 Wisconsin communities and will be deployed to Iraq in early 2009. Armed with ice cold drinks, Johnsonville Brats, hamburgers, potato salad and beans and chips, approximately 175 VFW and Auxiliary members and other volunteers lead by Pete Breed (Chetek Post 10331), gave the Army cooks a break and served over 7,000 meals in back to back events over these two days.
The well planned events got started at about 1100 hours and included both lunch and supper each day. It was almost dark each evening when things were finally shut down and cleaned up. The first day started out foggy and cool but was soon sunny and warm. A perfect day for a picnic! Day two was cooler and cloudy with a few drops of rain. However, that didn't dampen anyone's spirits. What do you expect when you plan for a picnic in Wisconsin? Yes, the weatherman is always wrong! It didn't matter anyway since after three weeks of training in the field the troops and their commanders really appreciated this special break. We received hundreds of personal thanks from soldiers as they passed through the mess line or while we visited with them during the meals.
Live music was provided for about six hours each day by “The Gators” from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, a terrific twosome who performed almost nonstop for our troops with a variety of music. They played many requests, too. Gator Band musicians Larry Gates and Roxie Raykovich both got a bit sun burned the first day but performed under a tent on the second day. They played for a price low enough to just cover their expenses, effectively donating over $600 to the event.
This was not planned as a recruiting event but VFW information was distributed and membership applications were always available. It was a time however, to share experiences, explain VFW programs and our mission, and to generally kick back and relax.
Amy White, a manager of the Military Assistance Program (MAP) at VFW National Headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri, helped put together a $12,000.00 MAP grant to help fund this project. However, the entire project was expected to cost much more. To make up the difference, the Department of Wisconsin, received invaluable support from local retailers and manufacturers such as Wal-Mart, Burger King, Premium Waters, Dr. Pepper, Sara Lee Bakery and others. In fact, many Wal-Mart and Burger King employees volunteered to help out at the picnic with food and drink serving.
Wal-Mart Corporation greatly assisted us with equipment, personnel and products including the use of a refrigerated semi-trailer to keep food properly chilled on-site. Mr. Tom Suleski from Wal-Mart store #1446 in Rice Lake, Wisconsin was our point of contact and offered substantial help and support. Tom also attended the picnic for two days and supervised the 23 Wal-Mart employees who volunteered to work at the picnic and put in a total of 202 hours valued at $2,227.00. In all, Wal-Mart donated 360 pounds of potato salad, a large denomination gift card, a refrigerated semi-trailer and employee time worth $3,687.00.
Right from the start, a local Burger King franchise owner, Mike DeRosa, was excited about the project. He attended several meetings and coordinated the donation of Burger King products and volunteer personnel. Mike is very familiar with the VFW Military Assistance Program having donated funds in the past and wanted to help again in any way he could. He was indeed a huge help as he promoted our picnic to other Burger King Franchises and food/product vendors he knows. That wasn’t all he did. Mike also rolled up his sleeves and worked at the picnic both days contributing greatly to the smoothly run operation. The donations by Burger King included 2,000 each of burger and brat buns, 2,000 bottles of water, 8,000 bags of chips, 5,376 cans of soda, and 70 hours of employee time for a total donation of $5,388.00.
A special donation of 10,368 twenty ounce bottles of spring water, courtesy of Bill Mercer at Premium Waters of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, did a lot to quench the thirst of the soldiers who were more than happy to cast off their Camelback hydration packs. Their donation would normally retail at over $7,000.00.
The budget got another boost from the Sara Lee Bakery of Tomah, Wisconsin, and point of contact Lee Davis. Sara Lee Bakery donated 6,200 buns valued at $873.00.
Dan North at Triad Plastics of New Auburn, Wisconsin made sure there were enough plastic table coverings and donated table cloths valued at $300.00. Dan also attended the picnic on the 20th working the entire day cooking and helping out anywhere a hand was needed.
Lastly, the Wisconsin Army National Guard contributed food products and equipment valued at $7001.66, and man power to unload all the food items, numerous tables and trash cleanup. The Department of Wisconsin budgeted funds for the band and distributed business sized thank you cards to the troops.
Everything pretty much went without a hitch, according to Pete Breed, even though he had concerns about cutting up 400 watermelons and opening 280 #10 cans of pork and beans. Overall, the total cost of this event was $37,530.83 of which $26,913.50 was by donation. Because of the high level of local support, MAP will get a little rebate since we only used $10,617.33 of the $12,000.00 grant.
Pete says he was very much impressed by all the VFW and Auxiliary help that showed up at the fort and by the courtesy and patience of the soldiers he talked to each day. Many of the volunteers Pete spoke to felt so good about this troop support project that they want to do it again and will tell their comrades back at the Post what they missed. Pete Breed and the other organizers of this Wisconsin style troop support event salute our volunteers who helped serve, cook, cleanup, and interact with the troops, and give special thanks to the many dedicated sponsors who donated money and products mentioned in this article.
All sponsors have been invited to attend the Department of Wisconsin Ninth District Conference on September 13, 2008 where they will be recognized by Department Commander, Gary Erickson, with a certificate and letter of appreciation for their contributions to the Fort McCoy Picnic.
