Paul Szmal: Good morning, it's 817. It's FLX Morning Monday. It's been a while since we've talked with Nick Valenti. He's with the Auburn chapter of the Gold Star Mothers. AmericanGoldStarMothers.org is the national website. Good morning.
Nick Valenti: Good morning, Ted. So good to be with you.
Paul Szmal: Oh, it's always good to talk. Let's remind everybody, we like to do it each time, about the Gold Star Mothers, what they are and what they do.
Nick Valenti: Well, sure. Gold Star Mothers is an organization that was started during World War II because they started with a blue star, telling people that they had a service person serving their country. But as the death toll started to raise, they went to a gold star to show that their loved one was killed while serving their country. And they've been growing, and sadly they've been growing because of our many conflicts through the years. In our county alone, we had 135 deaths in World War I, 267 in World War II, 27 in Korea, and 29 in Vietnam. And now we have four for Southwest Asia, particularly Afghanistan. And in fact, their president, Tammy Bell, is a Cube County resident. She lost her son back in 2008, September, to an IED in Afghanistan. And since then, we've lost three others. So there's an awful lot to be done for the siblings and the Gold Star Fathers and grandparents and stepfathers and stepmothers for all of our losses.
Paul Szmal: And that's one of the other things the Gold Star Mothers does is provide support to current military.
Nick Valenti: Absolutely. They work very hard with a number of organizations, including the Boy Scouts, Fisher House, Global War on Terror, Operation Gratitude, Quilts of Valor, Reach Across America, Marine Corps Reserve, Toys for Tots, Columbia Southern, and a dedicated group.
Paul Szmal: Did you, was it last year that you hosted the national convention?
Nick Valenti: Yes, and we're going to do it again. This is amazing, Ted. This is such perfect timing. We hosted the national, the state convention, I'm sorry, it was the state convention.
Paul Szmal: Oh, okay.
Nick Valenti: Because Tammy Bell is the president, and she's a Cube County resident. She did go for two-year terms. She's coming back in April of this year, April 25th, going to have her second convention here in Auburn, New York, just a few miles from you folks. And we're going to be dedicating a Gold Star, Blue Star Mother Memorial in Cuba County the very day of their convention. As a matter of fact, it's going to be at 1pm at Centerport Aqueduct Park, 2500 New York State Route 31 in Wheatsport, New York. And that evening at seven o'clock, they're going to have their convention. And there's going to be a color guard contingency from two Vietnam veterans chapters, one from 704 out of Auburn, and a second one at 377 out of Dryden, New York. And we are so excited because we anticipate having a large number of Gold Star Mothers present, not only for the dedication where we will have a ceremony, but for their convention as well.
Paul Szmal: So tell us about this memorial. It's been a long time in the making. It will be where the current Cuba County Vietnam Veterans Memorial is located, like you said, Centerpoint Aqueduct Park. So tell us about this memorial and the process of getting it built.
Nick Valenti: Oh my God, yes, yes. We started in October of 2022. We had our local DAV, Disabled American Veterans Group, was going to fold because their membership had dropped off so much. They started the whole process going by making a donation to our 501c3 that we established back in 2003. So we could do this kind of work in our community. So they started it off and then we started doing letters, soliciting letters to different organizations and not for profits. And it's just started growing from there to 2025. 2025 saw it break out, where we finally had enough money to make it work. And again, it helped them to have a 501c3 to do all this. But the purpose of it was to have a place for families to gather and reflect and meditate. The reason we wanted to do this is because the public needed to acknowledge the sacrifices of these families and express their gratitude to them by creating this hallowed ground. And I think we've accomplished that, Ted, because we have earned our own community. 461 lives were given by our citizenry just from Cuba County and we're a small county, 75,000. Things are going really well. And we are so excited. One o'clock on the 25th of April, we'll be dedicating the memorial and at seven o'clock that evening, they're going to have their convention. So we expect a hell of a turnout.
Paul Szmal: I think maybe the last time we talked was last fall before the concert. You had a concert at Falcon Park that was to raise money for this and also to honor local law enforcement and first responders. How was the concert?
Nick Valenti: Oh, their concert went off really well. It was such a financial success. It was unbelievable. We were able to get people to come in and put bounce houses up for kids to play. The music was unbelievable. We had country music, we had rock and roll music, and we had instrumental music that played. And the response from everybody was just wonderful. People were coming by making donations just for the sake of helping out the Gold Star Mothers. And it helped really project, propel us forward. And they'd be able to pull this off for April 25th because we were a little worried because, well, the kind of the kind of memorial we're putting up is very different from what you have seen in most areas.
Paul Szmal: Wow, that's fantastic news. What can people do to support the Gold Star Mothers and also support the Keuka County chapter of the Vietnam Veterans?
Nick Valenti: Well, there's a very simple way. We have a website set up. It's nice to have children that are smarter than you. They set up, my youngest son set up a website for us. It's called KeukaCountyVVAChapter704.com. Go there. There's a link that will show you how to donate if you wish to the memorial. And you'll get information about the ceremony itself that's going to occur on October 25th at one o'clock.
Paul Szmal: Another one.
Nick Valenti: Oh, go ahead.
Paul Szmal: No, well, I just wanted to say, and if that doesn't work for you, you can send us correspondence to VVA704PO Box 1484 in Auburn. Again, that website is KeukaCountyVVAChapter704.com. And of course, on that front page, one of the things that you've done is bring the wall that heals around to the area. And people were just amazed by that display.
Nick Valenti: Oh, my God. We did that three times since 1999, Ted. We brought it in 99, we brought it in 2017, and we brought it in 2023. So we're really excited about our efforts. It really has done well to serve the veteran community. And the support from local organizations is just unbelievable.
Paul Szmal: So give us the date and time one more time for that dedication for the memorial. It'll be Friday, April 25th, 1pm at Centerport Aqueduct Park. And for those of us that need GPS in order to find a way around, the address is 2500 New York State Route 31, Weedsport. It'll take you right there. It's going to be a beautiful ceremony. We have a showmobile that we're getting from the City of Auburn. And we're going to have guest speakers. And it's going to be a ceremony that's going to really consecrate that hallowed ground for our Gold Star families.
Nick Valenti: All right. Congratulations. I know this memorial has been a long time coming. It's taken a lot of people's hard work, including yours. We appreciate that and appreciate you sharing it with us.
Paul Szmal: No problem, Ted. Thank you so much for the courtesy of having me speak.
