thedrifter
11-18-08, 02:08 PM
Appreciation dinner goes on despite fire
By Zachary Franz - Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune
Posted : Tuesday Nov 18, 2008 12:40:01 EST
No one could have blamed the people at the Great Falls, Mont., Golden Corral restaurant if they had canceled the Military Appreciation Dinner this year.
Just weeks after a fire burned the buffet to the ground, owners and managers of the local franchise had every excuse to bow out of the national chain's annual gift to military members and veterans. And they did think about taking a pass, said manager Kate Tucker.
For about a minute.
"It was still burning when we decided (the dinner) was going to happen," Tucker said Monday night at the Saints Peter and Paul Center, where this year's dinner was held.
A free meal is always a nice gesture, but it was even more meaningful this time around.
"For the military, it really speaks to us that they went through this hardship and still came together and did this for us," said Larry Gazelka, a Vietnam War veteran who attended the dinner.
Former airman Walter Shields thought the same and said the restaurant had exceeded his expectations.
"We would have understood (if they'd canceled the dinner)," he said.
Great Falls' Golden Corral takes the Military Appreciation Dinner especially seriously because the restaurant opened on the night of the dinner eight years ago.
"It's part of who we are," Tucker said. "We had nothing, but we knew we had to do it."
So, when the fire was out, she and her co-workers hit the phones, asking other local businesses for a hand. The answers kept coming back "yes." Golden Corral provided the main course — roast beef, turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, veggies and baked rolls — but everything else, from serving spoons to desserts, came from other donors.
"Usually the community doesn't really get involved, but this year it was such a community event," Tucker said. "We couldn't have done it without their support."
The dinner had some collateral benefits, too. Each year, donations are accepted at the door to benefit the Disabled American Veterans organization.
Last year, Great Falls raised $600 for the cause, said Burl Brawley, commander of the DAV Chapter 2, in Great Falls. Most of that money goes toward shuttle runs to the Veterans Administration hospital in Helena, Brawley said.
"For Golden Corral to be able to do this after their building burned down is awesome," he said.
It also gave Tucker and her co-workers a chance to focus on something good, rather than dwell on their hard work going up in smoke.
"It was good healing for the staff," she said.
Fire investigators believe a cigarette or some other smoking material ignited the Oct. 29 blaze. Owners plan to rebuild the restaurant in the same Marketplace location.
"The plan is, we'll be back there next year," Tucker said.
Ellie
By Zachary Franz - Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune
Posted : Tuesday Nov 18, 2008 12:40:01 EST
No one could have blamed the people at the Great Falls, Mont., Golden Corral restaurant if they had canceled the Military Appreciation Dinner this year.
Just weeks after a fire burned the buffet to the ground, owners and managers of the local franchise had every excuse to bow out of the national chain's annual gift to military members and veterans. And they did think about taking a pass, said manager Kate Tucker.
For about a minute.
"It was still burning when we decided (the dinner) was going to happen," Tucker said Monday night at the Saints Peter and Paul Center, where this year's dinner was held.
A free meal is always a nice gesture, but it was even more meaningful this time around.
"For the military, it really speaks to us that they went through this hardship and still came together and did this for us," said Larry Gazelka, a Vietnam War veteran who attended the dinner.
Former airman Walter Shields thought the same and said the restaurant had exceeded his expectations.
"We would have understood (if they'd canceled the dinner)," he said.
Great Falls' Golden Corral takes the Military Appreciation Dinner especially seriously because the restaurant opened on the night of the dinner eight years ago.
"It's part of who we are," Tucker said. "We had nothing, but we knew we had to do it."
So, when the fire was out, she and her co-workers hit the phones, asking other local businesses for a hand. The answers kept coming back "yes." Golden Corral provided the main course — roast beef, turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, veggies and baked rolls — but everything else, from serving spoons to desserts, came from other donors.
"Usually the community doesn't really get involved, but this year it was such a community event," Tucker said. "We couldn't have done it without their support."
The dinner had some collateral benefits, too. Each year, donations are accepted at the door to benefit the Disabled American Veterans organization.
Last year, Great Falls raised $600 for the cause, said Burl Brawley, commander of the DAV Chapter 2, in Great Falls. Most of that money goes toward shuttle runs to the Veterans Administration hospital in Helena, Brawley said.
"For Golden Corral to be able to do this after their building burned down is awesome," he said.
It also gave Tucker and her co-workers a chance to focus on something good, rather than dwell on their hard work going up in smoke.
"It was good healing for the staff," she said.
Fire investigators believe a cigarette or some other smoking material ignited the Oct. 29 blaze. Owners plan to rebuild the restaurant in the same Marketplace location.
"The plan is, we'll be back there next year," Tucker said.
Ellie