Immediately following the American Legion parade, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Downtown Weatherford, there will be food trucks, kids’ events, demonstrations from the Weatherford Police Department’s K9 Unit, military vehicles and a lot more — all to bring attention and community awareness to veterans from near and far and thank them for their service.
For the recently formed Weatherford Chamber Veteran’s Business Council (VBC), Saturday’s free event is a chance to honor the stars of the show – veterans.
Owner of Hold Fast Golf Grips, VBC Chair Jonathan Gallaway said with North Texas having the largest concentration of vets, he wanted to do his part to help bring them together. That’s when he was contacted by the Weatherford Chamber of Commerce and the VBC was born.
The VBC began about six months ago with about 20 veteran-owned businesses. It has now grown to 40 and is still growing.
Gallaway, a Navy veteran, said the VBC hopes to minimize the noise that can sometimes be the difference on whether a veteran gets access to the various resources available to him or her.
“There’s tons of programs to help out but not a lot of resources on how to [find and use it all],” Gallaway said. “Our goal is to bring awareness to the veterans so they can get what they need.”
Co-Chair Mark Lusk, himself an Army veteran, agrees that if there was a list of all the places that can help, it would go further to help those veterans needing assistance.
“If I don’t know all of what’s out there and I am involved, how do they?” he said. “Most veterans may make one call and then be told to call someplace else. After that second call, that’s where it stops. We want to change that.”
Robert Hartmann, who served in both the Army and Air Force National Guards and owns Hartmann Window Cleaning, said when he heard about the VBC, he immediately wanted to be involved.
“It is a good opportunity to support other veteran-owned businesses and serve our community,” he said. “It’s also about giving back to the people who have a heart to serve our country.”
Another aspect that is important to Gallaway and the VBC is mentorship and connecting veterans to students and young people interested in the military by sponsoring Lunch with a Veteran and taking MREs for food.
“We all hate them but the kids love them,” he laughed. “There are those who were in the Vietnam War and some who just got out of the service so it’s a great way to connect and mentor them.”
Though there isn’t a website, the group is using Facebook to post mixers, events, other resources and veteran-owned business spotlights. The hope is for this to continue to expand and bring general awareness in addition to funds for those organizations that need it, Lusk said, but also to build up other veteran-owned businesses.
“The fact that it’s still growing shows there’s interest,” Gallaway added. “That’s the value add to the community.”
The American Legion Veterans Day Parade begins at 10 a.m. at the Ninth Grade Center and ends at the Parker County Courthouse.
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