Don’t sully veteran celebration with a pub crawl
By Joe Stanley
Roanoke Mayor David Bowers, Vinton Mayor Bradley Grose, Salem Mayor Randy Foley, Roanoke Councilman Sherman Lea and Mark Hudzik, chief development officer for Member One Federal Credit Union, each stood in front of the marble tablet that has my grandfather’s name, Willie Marvin McMinis, inscribed on it.
A Roanoke native, Stanley lives in Callaway, not far from where his family first settled in the 1740s. Members of his family have fought in every major military conflict from the French and Indian War through current operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
August 11, 2012 - 12:07 AM
I think the idea of turning the Veterans Celebration into more than just a parade and one day event is great and the fundraising aspect will gain much from the “Pub Crawl” that is such a bone of contention for Mr. Stanley.
Read the article and judge for yourself, but the truth is that Pub Crawl events have raised a lot of money and for this cause, a home for Veteran Kerns, it seems to me to be an astute, fun way to get the folks already in the active Roanoke bar scene involved.
http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/312540
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pub_crawl
Since people “toast” Veterans, and alcohol makes money, this is no “mockery” and Stanley’s position seems gratuitous to me.