The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 2005 hosted its inaugural Community Service Awards ceremony.
Sergeant at Arms Tim Donahue launched the program to recognize citizens who have made a positive contribution to the community.
The citizens included Marblehead Police Officer Dean Peralta, Desert Storm Veteran, Marblehead Fireman and former Commander Doug Knowles, and Marblehead Emergency Dispatcher Teresa Collins. Also recognized was student Jessica Leaderman as the District 10 Winner and representative of the “Voice of Democracy” essay contest.
Kim Emerling, District 10 commander, was in attendance to present Leaderman with a $500 gift card for representing the town.
VFW Post 2005 Commander Ronny Knight was very happy with how the event turned out, hoping that they could continue to connect with the community.
“What we’ve tried to do is connect with the community a bit better than we have in the past…I’m a veteran of three wars with two tours in Afghanistan, and I just don’t want to see this place go off into the night,” Knight said.
He continued that so many VFW posts have closed due to a lack of involvement.
“The awards night was great,” he said. “We had a little reception right after and the families loved it. It didn’t take long so all of the officers on shift showed up for Dean and Doug.”
Knight explained that the post is always trying to host events including an event for the Todd Norman Memorial Scholarship Fund, hosting a watch party for the Army-Navy game, and sponsoring events for the Marblehead Food Bank.
The awards night was another way that the post could recognize their community members and create a space for all.
“It’s us reaching out to the community,” Knight said. “The one thing I love about it is that we did something that was not just for veterans. It was community-based.”