2012 Year In Review

 

2012 Donation

Downingtown VFW Post 845 Presents $8,000 to Friends of the Medal of Honor Grove

Pictured (from left to right) Jim McErlane, Vietnam veteran and counsel for the Friends of the Medal of Honor Grove; Len Gillespie of Downingtown VFW Post 845; Miguel Hernandez, Commander of Downingtown VFW Post 845; Medal of Honor Recipient General James E. Livingston; Susan Hernandez, Senior Vice President of the Downingtown VFW Post 845 Ladies Auxiliary; Thomas Ames, Adjutant Commander of Downingtown VFW Post 845; Senator Dinniman; Wally Nunn, Chair of the Friends of the Medal of Honor Grove; and Corey Etchberger, Deb Woolson and Melissa Farkouh, Board Members of the Friends of the Medal of Honor Grove.

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2012 Grove Cleanups – View photos here

2012 Fall Cleanup

Many thanks to the Boy Scout Devon 50 Troop, Phoenixville VFW, Downingtown VFW, CC Disabled American Vets, AOH, Knights & Squires of the Knights of Columbus, Valley Forge Harley Davidson and Harley Owners Group, veterans, neighbors and friends for the great cleanup effort today. We apologize if any group was missed, email us and we’ll add it. Over 60 volunteers came out today to pick up branches, rake leaves, saw & prune trees, load trucks and trailers and drive the debris to the compost site. The Grove is beautiful and we encourage everyone to visit.

2012 Spring Cleanup

THANK YOU TO THE DOWNINGTOWN RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB AND ALL OUR VOLUNTEERS! 30+ members of the Downingtown Rugby Football Club volunteered today to cleanup the Grove and do some road work. Special thanks also to Dave Eberhart, Joe Crescenz and Fred Levis for also volunteering. All did a tremendous job and the Friends of the Grove thank them for their service. Many had never heard of the Grove before but as the Friends spread the word more people are learning about Phoenixville’s best kept secret – The Medal of Honor Grove. If you live in the area or plan a visit to the Philadelphia area, please put the Medal of Honor Grove on your must see list.  We look forward to seeing you all again next Spring.

 

Heroes Day – May 20, 2012 – View photos here

Thank you to  the Recipients and Families of Recipients for  sharing  in our special day. God Bless You All!  Special thanks to the Police, Sheriffs, Fire Companies and EMS for keeping us safe during our event. They too, are Heroes. To the Phoenixville VFW Post 1564  and John Lorusso, we thank you for your loyalty and commitment to the Medal of Honor Grove ~ You are always there for us! To all who attended we say thank you also for joining us. Please consider becoming a volunteer and making a donation so that the Medal of Honor Grove will continue to be a fitting tribute to our Heroes for generations to come. They will never be forgotten!

Preparations began last week with volunteers armed with mowers & weed whackers, Boy Scouts with shovels and paint and Friends of the Medal of Honor Grove Board Members with a common mission…To Honor all our Heroes. Special thanks to the Ruritans, AOH, Boy Scouts and neighbors for sprucing up the Grove for this special event.

 

Hurricane Sandy’s Damage – View photos here

The Impact of Hurricane Sandy was minimal in the Grove as a whole. There were plenty of branches that fell upon the grounds of the newly manicured Grove. Thanks to our volunteers who attended the Oct. 20th cleanup, the Grove was in great shape prior to the storm.

The significant damage was to the Pennsylvania Acre. An old and quite beautiful red oak tree uprooted on the acre and broke one of the 3 benches and one flag pole.

Due to the safety risk in having volunteers on site as the oak tree was removed, the responsible decision was made not to call for a full cleanup. The Board knows you would have answered that call.

Instead, the board members of the Friends of the Grove and military personnel did the cleanup and began the tree removal.

The Friends of the MoH Grove is truly a hands-on board. Thanks to the following members for their work in the Pennsylvania acre – Chairman Wally Nunn, Larry Blount, Bill Fields and son Ryan, Dillon Ross and son Dillon and wife Starr, Missy Farkouh, Deb Woolson and Ken Wong.

Special thanks to the volunteers from the US Army Mid-Atlantic Recruiting Battalion, Valley Forge Company & Metro Philadelphia Company who conducted the much needed road clearing and branch pickup.

 

2012 Grove Progress

April 6, 2012 – Day 4

The Friends of the Grove report that the first major improvement to the Grove- the partial roadway repaving (leading into the Grove) is completed. Thank you to DEL-PEN-ASPHALT for the generously fair rate and the great job. View photos here