County agency distributes 100 free hams to veterans
Provided photo: Nick Mroz, director of Orleans County Veterans Service Agency, hands out Easter hams to veterans in front of the office on Friday.
Photo by Ginny Kropf: Nick Mroz, director of Orleans County Veterans Services Agency, holds a poster he distributed advertising free Easter hams for veterans.
ALBION – Since taking over last fall as director of Orleans County Veterans Service Agency, Nick Mroz has been busy planning various events to benefit veterans, the latest being giving free hams to veterans for Easter.
On Friday, Mroz and assistant Jackie Lonnen handed out hams to 100 Orleans County veterans.
The hams were purchased from Tops with a grant Mroz received from the Dwyer Peer to Peer program started by Earl Schmidt when he was director of Veterans Services several years ago.
Mroz said he advertised the hams on social media, by e-mails to Post commanders and with flyers in Tops.
The purpose of these programs is to get veterans in the community together and talking with one another, Mroz said.
“We are trying to promote healing and encourage veterans to share experiences and network with one another,” he said. “A lot of veterans in the county don’t know each other, and our goal is to get them together and talking about their experiences.”
Mroz has already arranged an afternoon of bowling for veterans in February and is planning a barbecue in the summer and a golf outing in August.
Provided photo: A grant from the Dwyer Peer to Peer program covered the cost of the 100 hams which were given out Friday.
