thedrifter
06-10-07, 06:46 AM
Military personnel, families treated to day at Playland
By KEN VALENTI
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: June 10, 2007)
RYE - When Maj. David Klaverkamp of the Marines ships out for Iraq in the fall, his wife and young sons will have a new memory to keep until his return - a day at Playland Amusement Park.
The Klaverkamps were among 1,000 servicemen and women and their families invited for a free day at Playland - barbecue included. It was sponsored by John Blumberg of The Blumberg Group insurance company of White Plains and his staff.
"It's absolutely fantastic for morale," Klaverkamp, currently stationed on Long Island, said after he and his wife had taken their young sons Aedan and Keagan on go-karts. "We're doing something important out there. ... This gives us a sense of solidarity with the community."
"It will be nice for us to have memories, to reflect on this," said his wife, Angela Klaverkamp.
Blumberg organized the "Thanks a Trillion" event when his office, part of the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, was rewarded by the parent company after Northwestern reached a trillion dollars in insurance.
Rather than using the $30,000 he got from Northwestern to treat wealthy clients to a ball game or wine tasting, Blumberg decided to make up for what he saw as a lack of obvious appreciation in this region for military men and women, particularly those serving in Iraq.
"More people are worrying about whether Paris Hilton is going back to jail than about the thousands of kids that are fighting over there," he said.
So he added $20,000 to the sum and arranged yesterday's celebration with the help of the United Service Organization of Metropolitan New York.
"That was really nice of him," said Delilah Sampson when she heard how the celebration had come about. She had just ridden the Dragon Coaster with her husband, Army Staff Sgt. Manjue Sampson, 12-year-old daughter, Marisa, and a family friend, 8-year-old Ninna Hudson.
Ninna came off the coaster a little shaken, even crying briefly, but a minute later she was smiling again.
"Basic training's all over for her now," Manjue Sampson joked. "She's good to go."
Many of the officers and enlisted personnel who attended are stationed in places like Brooklyn or Staten Island, but grew up in other regions and had never heard of Playland. Delilah Sampson knew that the boardwalk was the setting for an early - but pivotal - scene in the 1988 Tom Hanks movie "Big."
The military personnel were grateful for the event, and many said they were especially touched that organizers chose to honor their families, too, recognizing the sacrifices that wives, husbands and children make when their relatives go off to war.
The day included free rides and the barbecue with chicken and burgers. Blumberg insurance representative James Kerr, trained in opera, sang "God Bless America" and the Lee Greenwood song "Proud to be an American," accompanied on a keyboard by a co-worker, Dan Engelhardt.
Staff Sgt. James Lock, 29, a recruiter in White Plains, came with his friends and fellow Marines. Some had served in Iraq already, and Lock is ready to go himself.
"I want to do it," he said. "I feel like I wear (the) uniform for a reason. I want to go over there and do my part."
Top: Marine Corps Maj. David Klaverkamp and his son Aedan, 4, take a ride on motorized go-karts.
Left: Marine recruiter Staff Sgt. Richard Charley, who works in White Plains, holds his daughter Yesabella, 4, as they wait to get on a kiddie ride.
Reach Ken Valenti at klvalent@lohud.com or 914-696-8255
Ellie
By KEN VALENTI
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: June 10, 2007)
RYE - When Maj. David Klaverkamp of the Marines ships out for Iraq in the fall, his wife and young sons will have a new memory to keep until his return - a day at Playland Amusement Park.
The Klaverkamps were among 1,000 servicemen and women and their families invited for a free day at Playland - barbecue included. It was sponsored by John Blumberg of The Blumberg Group insurance company of White Plains and his staff.
"It's absolutely fantastic for morale," Klaverkamp, currently stationed on Long Island, said after he and his wife had taken their young sons Aedan and Keagan on go-karts. "We're doing something important out there. ... This gives us a sense of solidarity with the community."
"It will be nice for us to have memories, to reflect on this," said his wife, Angela Klaverkamp.
Blumberg organized the "Thanks a Trillion" event when his office, part of the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, was rewarded by the parent company after Northwestern reached a trillion dollars in insurance.
Rather than using the $30,000 he got from Northwestern to treat wealthy clients to a ball game or wine tasting, Blumberg decided to make up for what he saw as a lack of obvious appreciation in this region for military men and women, particularly those serving in Iraq.
"More people are worrying about whether Paris Hilton is going back to jail than about the thousands of kids that are fighting over there," he said.
So he added $20,000 to the sum and arranged yesterday's celebration with the help of the United Service Organization of Metropolitan New York.
"That was really nice of him," said Delilah Sampson when she heard how the celebration had come about. She had just ridden the Dragon Coaster with her husband, Army Staff Sgt. Manjue Sampson, 12-year-old daughter, Marisa, and a family friend, 8-year-old Ninna Hudson.
Ninna came off the coaster a little shaken, even crying briefly, but a minute later she was smiling again.
"Basic training's all over for her now," Manjue Sampson joked. "She's good to go."
Many of the officers and enlisted personnel who attended are stationed in places like Brooklyn or Staten Island, but grew up in other regions and had never heard of Playland. Delilah Sampson knew that the boardwalk was the setting for an early - but pivotal - scene in the 1988 Tom Hanks movie "Big."
The military personnel were grateful for the event, and many said they were especially touched that organizers chose to honor their families, too, recognizing the sacrifices that wives, husbands and children make when their relatives go off to war.
The day included free rides and the barbecue with chicken and burgers. Blumberg insurance representative James Kerr, trained in opera, sang "God Bless America" and the Lee Greenwood song "Proud to be an American," accompanied on a keyboard by a co-worker, Dan Engelhardt.
Staff Sgt. James Lock, 29, a recruiter in White Plains, came with his friends and fellow Marines. Some had served in Iraq already, and Lock is ready to go himself.
"I want to do it," he said. "I feel like I wear (the) uniform for a reason. I want to go over there and do my part."
Top: Marine Corps Maj. David Klaverkamp and his son Aedan, 4, take a ride on motorized go-karts.
Left: Marine recruiter Staff Sgt. Richard Charley, who works in White Plains, holds his daughter Yesabella, 4, as they wait to get on a kiddie ride.
Reach Ken Valenti at klvalent@lohud.com or 914-696-8255
Ellie