TRULY A NIGHT OF: PAGEANTRY, PATRIOTISM and ENTERTAINMENT!
TABLES were elegantly set up. This year we honored the US Navy Warships in the Red Sea and Eastern Mediterranean Sea regions and our Special Guest was CMC Tim Bickerton of the USS GRAVELY (DDG-107). (Program design by TGD, Edmonds, WA.)
This Year’s Esteemed Honoree was Bob Unanue, CEO of GOYA Foods. GOYA has been a huge Benefactor of AaSP and our Troops, sending food every 3 or 4 months that we send around the world! We presented Mr. Unanue with a signed 50-Star Field from the Red Sea, signed by crew of the USS Dwight D Eisenhower (CVN-69).
The Above names of individuals, organizations and companies are supporting our effort to take care of our Wounded/Recovering Veterans and our Troops down range. Thank you!!!
A hand-made sign by our Packing Maestro, Diane Casey, was near the photo booth off the dance floor. Many folks signed it and it will now go back in the warehouse where it is semi-permanently housed.
The cocktail hour at the Royal Manor gave everyone a chance to chat, enjoy the beginning of the evening and be with friends and family, old and new. Delicious food and open bar (for our bourbon aficianado’s we provided Royal Manor with three bottles of premium bourbon.)
After cocktail hour, we presented a 20’x 30′ American Flag that once hung from the outdoor portico of the emergency room at Craig Joint Theater Hospital at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. The flag (signed by many of the folks at the hospital) remains a solemn reminder that Freedom isn’t Free and that we need to be there for our Troops!!
We Pledged Allegiance to our Flag, Lauren D’Imperio sang the National Anthem and we folded the Flag up to preserve its Honor.
Mary-Edna Krutchkoff, R.N., VP Wounded Care, described the Table for the Missing. “Raise your glasses but do not drink,” she asks.
Our Special Guest was Command Master Chief (CMC) Tim Bickerton of the USS GRAVELY (DDG-107), whom we supported along with the USS Dwight D Eisenhower (CVN-69)’s Carrier Strike Group 2 in the Red Sea for over 6 months! Tim gave a brief account of the Combat Action for which the GRAVELY received a Ribbon. You could hear a pin drop as he spoke. We are proud to continue our support of our US Warships as we speak!
Our Emcee and Auctioneer is also our Ambassador. Karl Nelson, NY Giants offensive lineman during the 1986 Super Bowl Season when he blocked for Phil Simms. Fun and energized, he kept the audience in gear and reminded them to finish their bids in the Silent Auction and get ready for Live!
Barry Hirschberg, a Vietnam Veteran, read a poem he wrote being a Soldier. Barry also shot and edited a video of our Fall packing event last month when he arrived to pack goodies for our Troops and we had enough volunteers to free him up. The video was played on the screens during the Gala.
AaSP President Alan Krutchkoff and VP Wounded Care, Mary-Edna Krutchkoff, R.N., watched as their son Nick proposed to the love of his life. It was a beautiful and life-altering moment shared the surprise in front of the audience. Norabeth, a wounded/recovering Coast Guard Veteran, broke down in tears and said ‘Yes.’ Karl Nelson did a “play by play” for the audience and they cheered.
We always have a Silent and Live Auction with really cool military, sports, beverages and restaurant gift baskets in our auctions, not to mention special handbags, jewelry and other cool items. THIS YEAR was no different as you can see above. A watch with Saddam Hussein on the dial (donated by former Adoptee and Civil Affairs MSG Paul Wilcock, who found the watch on the dirt floor of an Iraqi house, looking for bad guys); an historic photo of a Marine plane flying around the World Trade Center by American Hero Capt. Ben Cascio and donated by our good friend GySgt Mario Monaco; a suite rental at a Yankee game (not shown), which got a tremendous amount of interest; and an amazing Bomber Jacket, hand-painted by AaSP Supporter and Volunteer Jose Santiago were four of the five Live Auction items and they kept the crowd’s interest! There was also a special framed display of a picture and check written by President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt (not shown.). Gunny Monaco gave a great, enthusiastic run down on the picture.
After the Live and Silent Auctions were over, attendees danced until 11pm, orchestrated by our special DJ – Jerry D’Imperio – and Hot Party Entertainment. It truly was a night of PAGEANTRY, PATRIOTISM and ENTERTAINMENT!