Saturday Car Cruise Includes Free Entertainment
by Jonathan Weaver
A Ford City car cruise tomorrow afternoon will not only showcase some of the area’s hot wheels, but also local talent and a way to donate to active military personnel.
Cars will be lined up from noon-5PM tomorrow in John B. Ford Memorial Park during “Motoring Memories IV: Salute to Our Troops”
Entertainment tomorrow includes 80’s hits from “13 Stories” and solo performances by Armstrong Senior High’s Ashley Umbaugh and ‘Miss Armstrong County’ Anna Oberneder.
Umbaugh, of Worthington, will sing a mix of country hits in honor of her brother, Brandan Tarr – a current U.S. Marine stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
Tarr – a Lenape Tech graduate – was deployed to Afghanistan and re-enlisted.
Umbaugh’s mother, Tina Tarr, works at VA Butler and relayed the opportunity to Umbaugh, who admitted she will be a little nervous during the first few songs in the park’s gazebo.
While listening to the music, participants can also get more information about Military Connections – a volunteer organization from Pittsburgh that sends care packages to active duty personnel.
Founder Summer Tissue began the organization because her brother, Ed - also of Pittsburgh - was a Marine from 2003-07 and served two tours of duty in Iraq and another in Asia. Ed earned the rank of Corporal before his honorable discharge.
“I didn’t understand that when you went overseas, you didn’t have access to simple things – like toothpaste, toothbrushes or snacks. When he went overseas, the only food they had at the time were the MRE’s (Meal, Ready-to-Eat) from the government. They had no access to any additional supplies at all,” Tissue said.
“It was easy to make the care packages for his unit and his friends because they only needed simple, easy things – they always just wanted like food and candy, and that’s easy to pack in boxes and get out quickly.”
Now, more than 2,000 troops depend on the non-profit for snacks, healthcare items or simple supplies like batteries.
Saturday’s event will be the first time the nonprofit is in Ford City, and will allow event-goers to also sign cards to service personnel, learn more about additional programs or make monetary donations.
Local News | jweaver September 18, 2015
