Appreciation event gives veterans a chance to socialize

Just to say 'thank you'

Dan Kalaf of the band Minor Inconvenience plays a game of cornhole with his girlfriend, Ashley Moore, after his band played a set at Sunday's second annual Veterans Appreciation in the Park event at Memorial Park.
Dan Kalaf of the band Minor Inconvenience plays a game of cornhole with his girlfriend, Ashley Moore, after his band played a set at Sunday's second annual Veterans Appreciation in the Park event at Memorial Park.

Sunday's second annual Veterans Appreciation in the Park event was a chance for area veterans to eat and socialize, with a backdrop of live music.

Last year's first event brought out an estimated 300 veterans, and organizers believe they topped that this year.

Hot dogs, chips and lemonade were given away and beer was sold, while five bands played live music from noon-6 p.m. at Memorial Park.

Don Hentges is president of the Jefferson City Veterans Council, which sponsored the event. The council is composed of various local veterans organizations.

"We decided a couple years ago that we wanted to do something just to say 'thank you' to the veterans in the area without any obligation," he said. "We're not trying to sell them anything or talk them into joining our organizations or anything. We just wanted them to come out and have a hot dog and a glass of lemonade and listen to the music."

Hentges served in Vietnam in various capacities until he was wounded and brought home in 1968.

A lot of times veterans tend to keep stories about their service to themselves, Hentges said, but will open up to each other at events like this.

He said he hopes, through media publicity and word of mouth, the event will continue to grow in the future.

Dan Kalaf, of St. Louis, played with his band, Minor Inconvenience. After his band's set, he and his girlfriend, Ashley Moore, played a game of cornhole as volunteers served hot dogs at the nearby food stand.

"It's nice to have this kind of support for the veterans," Kalaf said.

Tom Ward, past commander of the VFW Post 1003 and past president of the Veteran's Council, cooked hot dogs and did other tasks to help with the event. However, he said it's the post's auxiliary members who are the unsung heroes for helping out.

"At our post, we have a very active auxiliary that helps us," he said. "If it wasn't for them, we'd have trouble putting this one together. They just do so much for us."