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To show their appreciation for servicemembers, Cooks from the Valley traveled nearly 6,000 miles to donate and cook steaks this Veterans Day at the Ramstein Officers’ Club.
Cooks from the Valley, a non-profit organization comprising nearly 100 volunteers from Bakersfield, Calif., has committed itself to making the servicemembers across the military feel appreciated.
Tom Anton, the group’s founder, started the organization in 2001 as a way to give back to servicemembers.
This Veterans Day, there were 56 total volunteers spread out all over the globe cooking for servicemen and women. These areas included not only Ramstein but also Grafenwöhr U.S. Army Garrison, Germany; Sigonella Naval Air Station, Italy; and several locations across U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility.
A total of 13,500 New York strip steaks were served.
“Each volunteer donates not only their time, but also the money to buy the steaks,” Mr. Anton said. “We put all of it on our own nickel.”
These volunteers cover the whole process from start to finish — they buy, deliver, marinate, cook and serve the steaks.
“It’s a lot of work to make sure everything is done right, but it’s all to show appreciation to our servicemembers and to make sure they understand they are appreciated back home,” he said.
Cooks from the Valley contacted U.S. European Command, who then decided how the steaks would be distributed according to the size of the location and number of deployed and redeployed servicemembers.
Lt. Col. Malcom Blair, EUCOM joint operation center watch officer, coordinated with Mr. Anton over the last six months to make sure the event went smoothly.
“They keep trying to give me credit for helping them coordinate, but the volunteers from Bakersfield are wonderful people,” Colonel Blair said. “They are people with hearts bigger than you could imagine.”
The small group of volunteers made sure everyone was greeted with a steak dinner.
“It was great to see all of the volunteers who made this happen,” said Chief Master Sgt. Leroy Lefiti, 86th Airlift Wing staff superintendent. “I really enjoy seeing people volunteer to show their appreciation to servicemembers because it lets us know we are being supported by the general public. And it offers us an opportunity to thank them in person for all of their support.”
Although the volunteers deserve credit for their extraordinary volunteering efforts, they wish to take no recognition for the hard work that goes into the entire process of the events.
“This is just how we can express our gratitude for the hard work that all of the servicemembers provide,” Mr. Anton said.
Mr. Anton gave a special message to servicemembers worldwide: “Thank you. The work you are doing every day makes it easy for us at home to act like its Sept. 10, 2001 — the day before all of the chaos began,” he said.
