Vets’ park Father’s Day eve fundraiser falls victim to weather

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Dave Bice, a volunteer with the Veterans Memorial Park, talks about the recent installment of a photo from the Afghanistan War on one of the monuments during the Friends of the Veterans Park Foundation Father’s Day Concert and Fireworks event at the Ocala/Marion County Veterans Memorial Park in Ocala, Fla. on Saturday, June 15, 2024. Part of the fundraising event was cancelled due to heavy rain and thunderstorms. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2024.

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Posted June 18, 2024 | By Andy Fillmore, andy@ocalagazette.com

Temperatures in the 90s and thunderstorms on June 15 put a damper on attendance at the Father’s Day eve event at the Ocala-Marion County Veterans Memorial Park.

The event was organized as a fundraiser for park projects by the Friends of Marion County’s Veterans Park Foundation support group. Although disappointed by the lack of turnout on the 15th, Ron Oppliger, a Vietnam War veteran and chairman of the foundation, said the event was aimed primarily at “raising awareness.”

An evening performance by the Kingdom of the Sun Concert Band and a fireworks show by the Skylighters of Florida were both cancelled due to inclement weather. Band member and trumpet player Richard Roberson, who was at the before the cancellation was decided on, said he was “happy to serve the community.”

The crummy weather conditions didn’t deter the Howden family from attending the event, however.

“(This is) so special,” Travis Howden said about spending some time in the park with his wife, Catherine, and their daughters, Jane, 2 1/2 and Mary, 9 months. The couple met while both were serving in the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division between 2016 and 2022. He was a helicopter mechanic and she served as a medic.

Donna Glynn, J.R. Reich and Bill Johnson, of the mixed genre and oldies band SSnakeyez, played tunes like “Love Potion Number Nine” as the family played in the park, with Jane being was pushed in a stroller by her dad while Mary romped with her mom in the grassy center area.

Ruth and Ermanno Di Pasquale came out to enjoy music by the band and foundation members Ray Orlosky, David Bice and Steve Gallant, who are all familiar faces at the park, also were on hand. Classic Hits 104.7 FM held a live broadcast and Denise Myford’s Red Dog Balloons, sponsored by Jenkins Subaru, was set to make balloon animals for youth attending the event.

Participation by families like the Howdens and involvement in the park by veterans who have recently served is just what Oppliger and the foundation members are working to increase.

The Ocala-Marion County Veterans Memorial Park, at 2601 S.E. Fort King St., opened in 1997 and contains more than 5,000 bricks, 200 benches and 100 plaques, allowing visitors to appreciate the history of our veterans, according to the Marion County website at marionfl.org

The park’s “In Memory of Marion County’s Fallen Heroes” monument honors service members who have died since January 2001: Chad Lake,2005; Robert Blair, 2005; Daniel Suplee, 2006; William Crow Jr.  2007; Jason Koutroubas, 2007; Patrick Malone, 2009; Gary Gooch, 2009; Markie T. Sims, 2012; Roberto Skelt, 2014; and Jalisha Tucker, 2016. The monument was donated by AMVETS Post 19 of Fort McCoy.

Oppliger said the mission of the foundation is to honor all veterans who have served while modernizing the park and that members are looking forward to supporting tomorrow’s members of the armed services.

He pointed out the majority of plaques and monuments now in the park are related to events during the Vietnam War era and before. Projects completed with involvement by the foundation include an Agent Orange Plaque, Cherrywood Veterans Club Plaque, Sgt. Patete Memorial (Korean War), Col. Hunt Battlefield Cross Memorial, War on Terror mural, a digital sign on Fort King Street, park monitors and sponsorship for the 50 State Flag Plaza, an Eagle Scout Project by Logan Catalanotto.

A Military Flag Plaza Eagle Scout Project by Nicholas Eggers is in process and future monuments planned by the friends group include a tribute to those who served in the Korea War by the Col. Alice Gritsavage Chapter of Korean War Veterans in a Home Depot project, a monument tribute to Gold Star Mothers, a monument depicting a soldier kneeling in prayer and a bronze statue of a soldier and his family, sponsored by Team Cone and provided by Air Force veterans Diane and Paul Rosler.

FMCVPF secretary Elaine Middleton said the group needs community support help to meet their goals.

An upcoming foundation fundraiser is a “Fishing for Freedom” tournament. An Angler’s Party will take place on Oct. 4 at the American Legion Post in Dunnellon, with the tournament launching out of Inglis on Oct. 5. Prizes and trophies will be awarded. Sponsors and participants are sought for the event. To learn more, call Bonnie Wiasiuk at (352) 484-0905.

Foundation member Owen McCarthy, who served in the U.S. Army from 2004 to 2008, said the group has a “focus” on drawing families to the park as well as enticing younger veterans through building up a park they will want to visit.

Jeffrey Askew, the Marion County Veterans Service Officer, who also oversees the park, was greeting visitors Saturday to the Marion County Veterans Exhibit and Education Center located adjacent to the park. He recognized the efforts of FMCVPF to attract younger veterans to the park by saying, “You have to pass the torch.”

To learn more about the foundation, go to marionvetpark.com