Veterans Honored and Served at Two Events

I’ve always said, “EVERY day is Veterans’ Day.” I’m not sure if it’s original, but it certainly is true. Ahead of the Veterans’ Day celebrations this weekend, two events were held to honor and serve veterans. One was the annual Veterans Festival (Vets Fest) held at Veterans Memorial Park on Spring Hill Drive and the other was an open house held at K9 Partners for Patriots (K9P4P) headquarters on Aviation Loop Drive to celebrate its tenth anniversary.

The Veterans Festival was organized by the non-profit Hernando County Vet Fest. This organization is comprised of a board of directors representing the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 1029 and its Auxiliary (spouses and other family members of military personnel who have served overseas during a time of conflict), along with the American Legion and the Weeki Wachee Area Club.

Approximately eighty vendors set up tents and tables at the park. These included businesses, such as insurance companies, attorneys and internet service providers. There were also veteran organizations and other non-profits, as well as government agencies. An assortment of food vendors were also on hand to quench the thirst and satisfy the appetites of the participants and the people who attended the event.

April Johnson Spence, the coordinator of the Vet Fest, who handled the overall logistics, planning and supervision of volunteers stated, “The vendors were pleased [with how the event went] but understood the smaller crowd was due to priorities of the community with the recent storms. However, they were glad to help out the veterans.”

Hernando County Women Veterans was one of the organizations at the festival. Although a fairly new group, it is slowly growing. The members range in age from retirees−ages seventy and over−to younger women in their fifties.

Any woman in the Hernando County area who served in the military is eligible to join. Their objective is to create camaraderie among women with similar interests and experiences, to serve the wider community and to encourage patriotism. They meet at 6 pm on the third Monday of each month at VFW Post 10209 located at 14736 Edward R. Noll Drive, off Anderson Snow Road in Spring Hill. For more information call 904-403-6000.

This Sunday, November 10th, the Hernando County Women Veterans is hosting a fundraising event from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. at NJoy Spirits Distillery located at 13243 Commercial Way. The cost is $15 which includes a tour of the distillery, a meal and a chance to win the Grand Prize raffle. There will be live music and other entertainment. Bring your own lawn chair.

Pasco County Vet Center was there promoting its services. The Vet Center is an outreach of the James Haley VA Hospital in Tampa. Its mission is to help veterans, along with active military personnel and their families build meaningful relationships and to provide other services in a convenient location for people in the Pasco and Hernando area. They offer virtual and onsite counseling and other programs. Their goal is to open up a center in Hernando County.

Stan Tucker, an Army veteran of eight years who served as a combat medic in Afghanistan, heads up the Pasco Vet Center. They are located at 5139 Deer Park Drive in New Port Richey. The phone number is 727-372-1854. For more information go to www.vetcenter.va.gov or email: [email protected].

The Lt. Corporal (LCpl) Brian R. Buesing unit of the Young Marines was also represented at the Veterans Festival. This local unit is named for a former Young Marine who enlisted in the Marines and was killed in Afghanistan in 2003. The organization is nationwide and is comprised of males and females ages 8 – 18. Its goal is to promote mental, moral, and physical development, along with character building, leadership and a healthy drug-free lifestyle in its members.

This year, alone, several of these young men and women had an opportunity to go to Camp Blanding in Ocala where they did some field training. They also traveled to Washington D.C. to march in the Memorial Day parade. While the group was there, they took a tour of the Capitol and the Pentagon.

As a service project, the Young Marines take part in the annual Toys for Tots campaign and just recently they helped in the cleanup in the aftermath of the hurricanes.

Christopher Coffin is the unit Executive officer and has been with the Young Marines for three years, while Jillian Carpenter is the Adjutant of the unit. As in the regular military, the members attain ranks during their time in the organization. They start out as a recruit. Through tenure and passing exams they move up the ranks. Representing the unit at the Vet Fest were LCpl Emmalyn Carpenter, age ten; Pfc (Private First Class) Wyatt Fyock, twelve; Private (Pvt.); Recruit Gabriel Argintar, twelve; and LCpl Cheyenne Yavorsky, fifteen.

It’s a testament to the training, inspiration, and discipline the Young Marines receive that many of them go on to join the military. In fact, several of the local members plan to enlist.

The Young Marines meet the 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month at the Marine Corps League headquarters – 8405 Sunshine Grove Road. For more information email [email protected].

That same day, K9 Partners for Patriots held an open house at 1 pm to raise awareness of its mission, acquaint the public with its goals, and discuss plans for their new headquarters.

Mary Peter, a certified master dog trainer (CMDT) with more than thirty years of experience, started the 501c(3) nonprofit organization in 2014 because she believed that properly trained dogs could not only help veterans cope with the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress but could literally save the lives of many of these men and women. The program also helps those with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) as well as Military Sexual Trauma (MST).

From one enrollee in the program, K9P4P has grown to 772 current participants and a total of 443 Service Teams have graduated. The teams consist of a veteran and his or her specially-trained dog. Most of the service dogs are rescued from shelters, so not only is K9P4P helping the veterans and their families, they are saving dogs who very possibly would have been euthanized.

Greg Ferrer, a veteran who spent four and a half years in the Marines, is one of the people whom K9 Partners for Patriots has helped. Ferrer was hurt in two separate IED (Improvised Explosive Device) explosions during his first tour of duty in Afghanistan. He ended up serving another six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan. Despite his injuries, he found the experience to be rewarding.

“Our agenda was winning the hearts and minds of the people there, understanding their culture and respecting it and trying to get the “bad guys” (Taliban) out. Some trusted us and some it took a little longer to gain their trust. The longer we were there and doing positive things like gaining back their land and their crops that the Taliban had taken [the more they trusted us.]”
Ferrer got Kaipo (the name is Hawaiian for “Sweetheart”) as a pet three years ago when the dog was two years old. When he moved to Spring Hill, he heard about K9 Partners for Patriots and had the dog tested to see if he would make a good service dog.

“He passed the evaluations with flying colors because he had a lot of service dog tendencies and instincts. For example, when I would get mad or anxious, he kept coming up to me and he would lick me or give me a stare and it broke my concentration from that anger.”

At the open house, Ms. Peter and some of the dogs’ owners demonstrated the ability of these canines. For example, Tango, a Belgian Malinois/German Shepherd mix owned by one of the K9P4P trainers, showed his ability to pick up a cell phone from the floor and give it to her. His dexterity was amazing! He can even pick up credit cards and coins and turn light switches on and off. This skill is helpful for those veterans who have mobility issues. According to Ms. Peter, it’s one of the hardest commands to teach, especially if the dog isn’t a natural retriever.

Another veteran who has benefited tremendously from the program is Gretchen Moon. She was in the Navy for almost fourteen years before she was medically discharged due to a failed surgery on her foot. Her service dog is Spencer, a Golden Retriever. They’ve been together for three years.

Just to show how thoroughly the dogs are trained and how disciplined they are, Spencer experienced his first plane ride recently. It was the first time Ms. Moon had flown by herself in six years, so, naturally, she was somewhat anxious. She got a seat in the first row, so there was plenty of room for Spencer to lie down. “I put his mat down so he knew that was his spot and he slept the whole way. It didn’t bother him a bit.”

Besides easing her anxiety, Spencer has helped her in other ways. “I have vertigo and Spencer can detect a dizzy spell even before I do. He has actually pushed me down into chairs and made me sit down.”

K9 Partners for Patriots is entering a new phase of its growth. The organization has purchased land on California Street in Brooksville to build a new headquarters. They are now raising funds to start the building phase.

Like all non-profit organizations, K9P4P is always in need of volunteers. They especially need people who are willing to foster dogs for a period of six weeks or so. Fosters provide care and attention, which helps a shelter dog transition from kennel life to life in a loving home. The foster “parents” also provide feedback to K9P4P regarding the dog’s behavior, personality, and compatibility.

For more information about K9 Partners for Patriots or to volunteer, call 352-397-5306 or go to www.k9partnersforpatriots.com

MORE VETERANS EVENTS:
This weekend, there will be more events in honor of Veterans Day. Below is a list:
Saturday, November 9th, Veterans Music Festival, Downtown Brooksville,
11 a.m.–10 p.m., Free admission.

Saturday, November 9th, Dancing Through the Decades, Fundraiser for Veterans HEAT Factory, Aripeka Elks Lodge, 9135 Denton Ave., Hudson. 6 p.m.-10 p.m. Admission $5 in advance or $10 at the door. Call 352-573-9630 for tickets.
Sunday, November 10th, Hernando County Women Veterans Fundraiser at NJoy Spirits Distillery, 13243 Commercial Way, 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Admission $15.

Monday, November 11th, Veterans Day Celebration at VFW Post 10209, 14736 Edward R. Noll Drive, 7 a.m.-10 a.m. Breakfast, 11 a.m. Service, noon-2 p.m. Lunch.