On Tuesday evening, September 19, 2023, five elected officials or their representatives served dinner to guests at The Landmark Inn in Warwick, NY to raise money and awareness for Orange County’s first affordable housing program for a veterans community in Port Jervis, NY as part of the Rumshock Veterans Foundation.
Assembled public officials included NY State Senator James Skoufis’s Legislaive Director, Yasmine Bouachri; NY State Assemblyman, Karl Brabanec; Town of Warwick Supervisor, Mike Sweeton; Orange County Legislator and Deputy Mayor, Barry Cheney; and Florida Y Mayor, Dan Harter, Jr. (Mayor Matt Buckley of Greenwood Lake and Mayor Michael Newhard could not attend due to a coincidental conference of Mayors held in Lake Placid. Jesse Dwyer was on call that night as an EMT member.)
The menu began with a signature cocktail, “The Rumshock” made with dark rum, ginger liqueur, lime juice, and prosecco; followed by a fresh house salad; carved roast beef that featured a choice of a horseradish cream sauce or a red Bordelaise sauce; sautéed broccoli spears; roasted potatoes; sliced; and finished with assorted homemade cookies, coffee, tea, and soft drinks.
Rumshock Veterans Foundation President and Founder, Bill Whetsel, whose grandfather served as an Army nurse in World War II, spoke briefly about his passion to do something for the veterans of Orange County NY. “We continue to work closely with Larry Neumann and the PFC Joseph P. Dwyer Peer Support Project called the Vet2Vet program in Orange County. After deployment vets try to adjust to civilian life, while having to deal with a number of mental health challenges that include post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, suicide, addiction, employment issues and education.”
During the dinner each of the servers donned aprons and served each course, while bussing the tables and offering to provide fresh ground pepper and to serve soft drinks to the 30 guests attending the event. After all the guests were served, the elected officials got to sit down and enjoy the same dinner while answering questions from the other diners. Yasmine Bouachri remarked that “This was an amazing dinner,” and was delighted that she was able to spend time with constituents on a person-to-person basis. Brabanec, adept at using the pepper mill, was grateful that he was attending the for second time in a row, like other members of the service staff who had participated last year: Harter and Sweeton. Brabanec noted that “We are not doing enough for our veterans and that he has joined fellow legislators in allocating more resources for the men and women who serve.”
Guests were surprised to learn that we lose more veterans to suicide than combat and that providing a community of veterans run by veterans will go a long way to helping to create an environment that will allow them to flourish. There will be 10 tiny homes and a community center planned for the property on Port Jervis that will contain opportunities for employment, transportation, and canine companionship. Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2024. Two former NY State Senators had helped the Rumshock Veterans Foundation obtain a grant to initially acquire the property, Sen. Jen Metzger (now the Ulster County Executive) and Sen. Mike Martucci (now the CEO and publisher of Mid-Hudson News).
To learn more about the Rumshock project for veterans, click on RumshockVF.org. The 501 c 3 organization is also planning its annual gala event on November 8, 2023, when they are honoring Orange County Chamber of Commerce President, Heather Bell-Meyer, and retired Rear Admiral Wendi Carpenter. Carpenter’s awards include Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (3), Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal (5), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and various unit awards. She is most proud of the FY01 DON CIO Award for “e-Business” in government, which was won by the 75-member team she led as Commanding Officer, DCNO N4, Fleet Readiness and Logistics.
