thedrifter
12-23-07, 08:23 AM
Couple feeds the Corps for Christmas
by: MANNY GAMALLO World Staff Writer
12/23/2007 12:00 AM
The Gibbses of Tulsa wanted to bring some holiday cheer to Marines not going home for Christmas.
Christmas dinner will be a sumptuous barbecue spread for more than 70 Marines at Camp Pendleton, Calif., thanks in large part to a Tulsa couple they have never met.
George and Rachel Gibbs spent thousands of dollars out of their own pockets in an effort to do something special for the Marines at Camp Pendleton who would not be going home for the holidays.
It took a lot of planning and doing, but the Marines will be enjoying Oklahoma barbecue with all the fixings on Christmas Day.
"Somebody took care of my Marine, so I wanted to make sure I was going to take care of someone else's Marine," said George Gibbs, a Tulsa attorney.
His son, Lance Cpl. George Edward Gibbs, was at Camp Pendleton last year and now is stationed at Monterey, Calif.
When Cpl. Gibbs learned that Pendleton's Marines in training could not go home for the holidays, he relayed the information to his parents.
George Gibbs said the plan to help the Marines began in October while he and his wife were in Monterey to visit their son. The couple were dining with friends, Joyce and Curtis Orrell of Valley Center, Calif., when the idea was hatched.
Gibbs credited his wife, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the Warren Clinic, and Joyce Orrell for coming up with the idea. "All I did was be the leg man to get it all done," he said.
The largest part of the effort came this week with the preparation of the meat -- some 200 pounds of it.
Chuck Gawey, owner of Albert G's barbecue at 2748 S. Harvard Ave., knew the order was coming, and he had his crew ready to prepare the meal and sauces.
It took several days to get it done.
"We prepared 40 pounds of chopped brisket, 40 pounds of pulled pork, 40 pounds of bologna and 15 slabs of ribs," Gawey said.
"It was one of our most unusual orders," considering the amount of food prepared and where it was going, Gawey said.
He said Gibbs, armed with a bevy of Styrofoam containers, came in this week and packed up the meat and sauce to get it ready for shipping.
Gibbs said he has used Albert G's in the past to cater some of his office parties, so he has developed a relationship with Gawey over the years.
That relationship helped.
Gawey said he cut Gibbs a break on the meal, but it still cost a whopping $1,500.
Even more than that cost was the price of shipping it overnight via United Parcel Service.
The shipping bill came to $2,600, Gibbs said.
Together with buying salads, bread and dessert on the California end of the meal, Gibbs said he and his wife spent around $4,500.
Volunteers in California will prepare the meal for the Marines, he said.
The food is being kept in freezers at the Valley Center school system, and the Marine cooks at Camp Pendleton already have given the OK to use the ovens there to reheat the meal, he said.
This is the first time the Gibbses have done anything like this at Christmas, but they plan to do it every year from now on.
George Gibbs noted that he and his wife might try to trim the costs, however.
"We had no idea it would cost this much," he said.
Still, the Gibbses say it is a blessing that they could afford to help the troops during the holidays. "We felt led to do it," he said.
"Those guys perform a service for us. You can't believe what Marines do for our country."
Manny Gamallo 581-8386
manny.gamallo@tulsaworld.com
Ellie
by: MANNY GAMALLO World Staff Writer
12/23/2007 12:00 AM
The Gibbses of Tulsa wanted to bring some holiday cheer to Marines not going home for Christmas.
Christmas dinner will be a sumptuous barbecue spread for more than 70 Marines at Camp Pendleton, Calif., thanks in large part to a Tulsa couple they have never met.
George and Rachel Gibbs spent thousands of dollars out of their own pockets in an effort to do something special for the Marines at Camp Pendleton who would not be going home for the holidays.
It took a lot of planning and doing, but the Marines will be enjoying Oklahoma barbecue with all the fixings on Christmas Day.
"Somebody took care of my Marine, so I wanted to make sure I was going to take care of someone else's Marine," said George Gibbs, a Tulsa attorney.
His son, Lance Cpl. George Edward Gibbs, was at Camp Pendleton last year and now is stationed at Monterey, Calif.
When Cpl. Gibbs learned that Pendleton's Marines in training could not go home for the holidays, he relayed the information to his parents.
George Gibbs said the plan to help the Marines began in October while he and his wife were in Monterey to visit their son. The couple were dining with friends, Joyce and Curtis Orrell of Valley Center, Calif., when the idea was hatched.
Gibbs credited his wife, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the Warren Clinic, and Joyce Orrell for coming up with the idea. "All I did was be the leg man to get it all done," he said.
The largest part of the effort came this week with the preparation of the meat -- some 200 pounds of it.
Chuck Gawey, owner of Albert G's barbecue at 2748 S. Harvard Ave., knew the order was coming, and he had his crew ready to prepare the meal and sauces.
It took several days to get it done.
"We prepared 40 pounds of chopped brisket, 40 pounds of pulled pork, 40 pounds of bologna and 15 slabs of ribs," Gawey said.
"It was one of our most unusual orders," considering the amount of food prepared and where it was going, Gawey said.
He said Gibbs, armed with a bevy of Styrofoam containers, came in this week and packed up the meat and sauce to get it ready for shipping.
Gibbs said he has used Albert G's in the past to cater some of his office parties, so he has developed a relationship with Gawey over the years.
That relationship helped.
Gawey said he cut Gibbs a break on the meal, but it still cost a whopping $1,500.
Even more than that cost was the price of shipping it overnight via United Parcel Service.
The shipping bill came to $2,600, Gibbs said.
Together with buying salads, bread and dessert on the California end of the meal, Gibbs said he and his wife spent around $4,500.
Volunteers in California will prepare the meal for the Marines, he said.
The food is being kept in freezers at the Valley Center school system, and the Marine cooks at Camp Pendleton already have given the OK to use the ovens there to reheat the meal, he said.
This is the first time the Gibbses have done anything like this at Christmas, but they plan to do it every year from now on.
George Gibbs noted that he and his wife might try to trim the costs, however.
"We had no idea it would cost this much," he said.
Still, the Gibbses say it is a blessing that they could afford to help the troops during the holidays. "We felt led to do it," he said.
"Those guys perform a service for us. You can't believe what Marines do for our country."
Manny Gamallo 581-8386
manny.gamallo@tulsaworld.com
Ellie