thedrifter
02-20-07, 01:22 PM
Money, heart and barbecue skills required
BY LOUIS MEDINA, Californian staff writer
e-mail: lmedina@bakersfield.com | Monday, Feb 19 2007 10:15 PM
Last Updated: Tuesday, Feb 20 2007 10:15 AM
At first sight, the name "Cooks of the Valley" looks like another reality TV cooking show. But it is actually a volunteer organization that holds huge barbecues to feed U.S. military troops.
And it needs about 75 cooks -- with a heart and a budget.
The group will cook for 17,500 to 19,000 Marines and their families, said Thomas Anton. Anton is the founder of the organization and the most senior attorney at the law firm Thomas Anton & Associates.
The additional 75 volunteers will join hundreds of others already signed up to participate in the effort to feed the troops at military installations at:
* Twenty-nine Palms on April 13
* Yuma on May 4 and
* Miramar on May 10.
Anton said he started the organization about 25 years ago using his own money to buy 12-ounce New York steaks to take to U.S. Navy ships. He would feed 200 to 300 servicemen at a time, he said.
But in a surge of patriotism after the Sept. 11 attacks, many others started to join the cause, Anton said. Volunteer cooks from Bakersfield, Fresno, New York, Colorado and "lots" from Texas have traveled even overseas to feed U.S. troops.
What's most amazing is that volunteers pay their own way and chip in to buy the meat -- not a cheap endeavor.
Sometimes, depending on the number of service people being fed and how far cooks need to travel, the expense has been as low as $700 to $800 and sometimes as high as $2,500, Anton said.
But the rewards, he said, are worth it.
"The servicemen and women are absolutely floored," he said.
"We bring the food. We cook the food. We serve the food to them. And we don't ask anything for it.
"I've had kids in tears -- big, burly Marines saying, 'I can't imagine someone doing something like this for us.'"
Each volunteer wanting to participate in all three upcoming cookoffs is asked to chip in within an estimated range of $825 to $1,300 for the meat, Anton said.
But, "I don't want someone to just give us money and not come and cook," he said.
Volunteers should also be able to provide their own transportation to and from the military facilities as well as their own accommodations as necessary.
For more information on how to become a “Cook of the Valley,” call 327-7051 or e-mail millie@tantonlaw.com.
Ellie
BY LOUIS MEDINA, Californian staff writer
e-mail: lmedina@bakersfield.com | Monday, Feb 19 2007 10:15 PM
Last Updated: Tuesday, Feb 20 2007 10:15 AM
At first sight, the name "Cooks of the Valley" looks like another reality TV cooking show. But it is actually a volunteer organization that holds huge barbecues to feed U.S. military troops.
And it needs about 75 cooks -- with a heart and a budget.
The group will cook for 17,500 to 19,000 Marines and their families, said Thomas Anton. Anton is the founder of the organization and the most senior attorney at the law firm Thomas Anton & Associates.
The additional 75 volunteers will join hundreds of others already signed up to participate in the effort to feed the troops at military installations at:
* Twenty-nine Palms on April 13
* Yuma on May 4 and
* Miramar on May 10.
Anton said he started the organization about 25 years ago using his own money to buy 12-ounce New York steaks to take to U.S. Navy ships. He would feed 200 to 300 servicemen at a time, he said.
But in a surge of patriotism after the Sept. 11 attacks, many others started to join the cause, Anton said. Volunteer cooks from Bakersfield, Fresno, New York, Colorado and "lots" from Texas have traveled even overseas to feed U.S. troops.
What's most amazing is that volunteers pay their own way and chip in to buy the meat -- not a cheap endeavor.
Sometimes, depending on the number of service people being fed and how far cooks need to travel, the expense has been as low as $700 to $800 and sometimes as high as $2,500, Anton said.
But the rewards, he said, are worth it.
"The servicemen and women are absolutely floored," he said.
"We bring the food. We cook the food. We serve the food to them. And we don't ask anything for it.
"I've had kids in tears -- big, burly Marines saying, 'I can't imagine someone doing something like this for us.'"
Each volunteer wanting to participate in all three upcoming cookoffs is asked to chip in within an estimated range of $825 to $1,300 for the meat, Anton said.
But, "I don't want someone to just give us money and not come and cook," he said.
Volunteers should also be able to provide their own transportation to and from the military facilities as well as their own accommodations as necessary.
For more information on how to become a “Cook of the Valley,” call 327-7051 or e-mail millie@tantonlaw.com.
Ellie