{"id":66582,"date":"2018-07-19T08:50:59","date_gmt":"2018-07-19T12:50:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/?p=66582"},"modified":"2018-07-19T08:50:59","modified_gmt":"2018-07-19T12:50:59","slug":"owegos-first-friday-celebrates-veterans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2018\/07\/19\/owegos-first-friday-celebrates-veterans\/","title":{"rendered":"Owego\u2019s First Friday celebrates veterans"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Owego\u2019s

Representatives from the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team (WWAST) visited Owego on First Friday to present a jersey to the museum. Pictured, from left, are Brent, Nadjadi, Museum Director Scott MacDonald, and Jeff Hackett. (Photo by JoAnn R. Walter)<\/p><\/div>\n

Owego\u2019s First Friday kicked off a month long celebration on July 6, \u201cCelebrating our Heroes.\u201d Guests met local veterans while enjoying good food, great music and shopping in historic downtown Owego. <\/p>\n

With generous support from Lockheed Martin, the Tioga County Veterans Service Agency and the Historic Owego Marketplace (HOM), flags to honor all who have served were unveiled and placed around downtown Owego by the Department of Public Works.<\/p>\n

\"Owego\u2019s

Pictured is one of the flags placed throughout the Village of Owego in honor of all who have served. (Photo by JoAnn R. Walter)<\/p><\/div>\n

Bradley Crews, HOM president and manager at Owego Originals Bar and Lounge, explained that other dates were considered, and commented, \u201cChoosing First Friday in July was a \u2018patriotic compromise,\u2019\u201d and also shared that he hoped people who attended took away a sense of community.  <\/p>\n

During First Friday, numerous merchants held specials and discounts for veterans. Three veteran organizations, which included V.F.W. Post 1371 and the Marine Corps League, along with the Wounded Warriors Amputee Softball Team (WWAST) set up individual booths on Lake Street to meet-and-greet the community.    <\/p>\n

Prior to the evening events, WWAST representatives visited the Tioga County Historical Society. The group donated a jersey to Director Scott MacDonald for the museum\u2019s special exhibit, \u201c200 Years of Serving Our Country.\u201d The exhibit, slated to run through September, chronicles the revolution era through today and features uniforms and artifacts from local service members. For more information, visit the museum\u2019s website, www.tiogahistory.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Owego\u2019s

Pictured are members of the local Marine Corps League who were on hand for a meet-and-greet with the community during First Friday. Pictured, from left, are Dave Wiggs, Dean Lawton, Sr., Shirley Card and Dennis Card. (Photo by JoAnn R. Walter)<\/p><\/div>\n

WWAST Director Desiree Ellison explained that WWAST, formed in 2011, is a not-for-profit whose mission is to inspire and educate others while enhancing the health and welfare of WWAST members and is comprised of athletic veterans and active duty soldiers who have lost limbs.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur team is one-of-a-kind,\u201d Ellison said, adding, \u201cOur team competes all across the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ellison remarked that at one tournament in North Dakota that drew more than 450 teams, and most of them able-bodied, proved the athleticism of the WWAST team. WWAST took home a third place trophy.<\/p>\n

WWAST member Jeff Hackett, of Mexico, N.Y., retired from the U.S. Army in 2013 after 20 years. Hackett, involved in an incident while serving overseas, lost his right leg, and also deals with lessened mobility in his right arm and hand.<\/p>\n

\"Owego\u2019s

Pictured are members of WWAST who were on hand for a meet-and-greet with the community during First Friday on July 6. (Photo by JoAnn R. Walter)<\/p><\/div>\n

While at Walter Reed Medical Center, Hackett shared, \u201cI got discharged quicker than they expected,\u201d and today, shares his inspiration and positive, determined-to-succeed attitude with others. He also enjoys shooting sports photography for the team.<\/p>\n

One of WWAST\u2019s main fundraisers, raising money for their WWAST Kids Camp, hosts children who have amputations or missing limbs. An annual event, this year\u2019s camp was held in Manchester, N.H. The camp educates and inspires children who face many of the same challenges as WWAST members.<\/p>\n

Ellison explained that children leave saying it is the best week of their life, while WWAST players, who have already served their country, continue serving communities across the U.S. as mentors and coaches.<\/p>\n

WWAST will be back in the area this month, playing at Dunn Field on July 21 versus the Elmira Pioneers. You can follow the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team on Facebook, or visit their website, woundedwarrioramputeesoftballteam.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Owego\u2019s

The First Friday event held on July 6 in Owego included multiple special events. Pictured performing at Originals Bar and Lounge are Claire Byrne from the popular Binghamton-based group, Driftwood, and Ithaca-based singer and songwriter, Angela Marion. (Photo by JoAnn R. Walter)<\/p><\/div>\n

Also attending First Friday on July 6 were representatives from the Marine Corp League and the V.F.W. Post 1371. Both groups are seeking new members, and particularly younger veterans who can help carry on the tradition of giving back to the community while enjoying some camaraderie at events and activities.  <\/p>\n

For information, contact the V.F.W. at (607) 687-1371 or Dean Lawton from the Marine Corp League at (607) 761-8558.<\/p>\n

Discounts for veterans will continue for the remainder of July at various merchants in downtown Owego. To learn more, visit the HOM website, www.owego.org<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Owego\u2019s First Friday kicked off a month long celebration on July 6, \u201cCelebrating our Heroes.\u201d Guests met local veterans while enjoying good food, great music…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":66583,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nOwego\u2019s First Friday celebrates veterans - Owego Pennysaver Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2018\/07\/19\/owegos-first-friday-celebrates-veterans\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Owego\u2019s First Friday celebrates veterans - Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Owego\u2019s First Friday kicked off a month long celebration on July 6, \u201cCelebrating our Heroes.\u201d Guests met local veterans while enjoying good food, great music...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2018\/07\/19\/owegos-first-friday-celebrates-veterans\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/The-Owego-Pennysaver-49179420591\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-07-19T12:50:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2018\/07\/Friday1-e1532004478704.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"4504\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2533\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"psadvert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"psadvert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2018\/07\/19\/owegos-first-friday-celebrates-veterans\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2018\/07\/19\/owegos-first-friday-celebrates-veterans\/\",\"name\":\"Owego\u2019s First Friday celebrates veterans - Owego Pennysaver Press\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2018\/07\/19\/owegos-first-friday-celebrates-veterans\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2018\/07\/19\/owegos-first-friday-celebrates-veterans\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2018\/07\/Friday1-e1532004478704.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-07-19T12:50:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/e03684194434956dfb61f5ffcbc19492\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2018\/07\/19\/owegos-first-friday-celebrates-veterans\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2018\/07\/19\/owegos-first-friday-celebrates-veterans\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2018\/07\/19\/owegos-first-friday-celebrates-veterans\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2018\/07\/Friday1-e1532004478704.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2018\/07\/Friday1-e1532004478704.jpg\",\"width\":4504,\"height\":2533,\"caption\":\"Representatives from the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team (WWAST) visited Owego on First Friday to present a jersey to the museum.\u00a0Pictured, from left, are Desiree Ellison, WWAST executive director; Marine Corps League Vice Commandant, Dean Lawton, Sr.; WWAST member, Brent Nadjadi; V.F.W. 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