FLAGLER

Volunteers help beautify Flagler DAV post

Local retailer donates supplies, labor

Danielle Anderson Correspondent

Members of Disabled American Veterans Post 86 gathered last week for a major overhaul of the post's exterior and grounds, along with a coat or two of paint to brighten up the interior.

Surveying the effort, Ernie Morris, senior vice commander of the Jim Booe DAV Post 86, watched as employees from Palm Coast Home Depot’s “Team Depot” got to work alongside post volunteers for the beautification project.

Making short work of overgrown flower beds and a fallen rock wall, the teams brought new life to the landscaping surrounding the post, which recently received a full exterior paint job thanks to a donation from Behr paints.

Along the property line, Oscar Vergara and Christopher Wolcott from the Better Fence Co. in Volusia County put post hole diggers to dirt, making way for a new vinyl fence to better separate the post from residential parts of the Florida Park Drive neighborhood, a move Morris was happy to see.

It boils down to creating a welcoming environment inside and out while also being good neighbors.

“It’s awesome what they’re doing, and it’s heartwarming,” Morris said. “They have a great team out here, and they really came through. This certainly makes this place look a little better and makes for a more inviting place for veterans to come. We’re very blessed, to say the least.”

Funded by a $5,000 grant from the Home Depot Foundation, Ronnie Wells, manager at the Palm Coast Home Depot, says helping veterans with service projects is part of the retailer's annual "Celebration of Service" taking place nationwide.

“This month for Home Depot across the company is the Celebration of Service month and it’s to show our support for our veterans,” said Wells. “It’s something that Home Depot does every year. We do things all throughout the year but this particular month is specifically towards veterans. We have a really close relationship with the DAV and we do projects with them all of the time.”

Between the foundation grant and the labor, DAV Commander George O’Delle was grateful to be on the receiving end of such generosity.

“We were fortunate enough to get a grant from Home Depot to get a lot of this work done," he said. "We’re just trying to get the building more presentable and more visible and known in the community. We get nothing but compliments from our neighbors. A lot of neighbors stop in throughout the week when we’re open and they tell us the place is starting to look a whole lot better.”

Carol Pizzuto, whose father was a World War II veteran, works for Home Depot and is a DAV member. She said seeing her employer helping local veterans makes her proud.

“Home Depot is very pro-veteran, especially when it comes to things like this, they have the biggest heart in the world,” said Pizzuto. “They know veterans are in need and they are the first ones to step up.”