Sutter Health cares for the communities they serve.
And it goes way beyond the walls of medical facilities that Sutter Health now has — and are adding — to serve the fast growing Northern San Joaquin Valley.
It is why Sutter Health Ambulatory CEO for the Greater Central Valley Amber Campbell said being a sponsor of the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend Commemoration at Woodward Park not only honoring the fallen but those who have served that reside in the region was a natural fit for the non-profit to support.
Campbell on Wednesday, along with veteran and Sutter Health team member Todd Neumiller, presented a check for $20,000 from the health care organization to help make the event possible.
“We appreciate the veterans we serve (as well as on our staff) and in the community,” Campbell said of Sutter Health.
It is also personal for Campbell.
Her brother K.C. Mara, who passed away in 2003, served in the Navy. He was a 1997 graduate of Sierra High.
The event — that will include everything from a 5-K run, concerts, military displays, flyovers and patriotic flyovers to a drone glow show — is set for May 23, 24, and 25.
The City of Manteca has joined forces with American Legion Post 249 to bring back the event led for more than a dozen years by Pastor Mike Dillman before he retired from overseeing the task.
The event, in the past, drew as many as 30,000 people to Woodward Park over the three days.
The goal with the city partnering with local groups is to help assure the event continues in the future.
The event will also include a large car show, helicopter landings, vendors, a kids’ zone, and more.
There will also be a beer garden with the goal of featuring local concerns such as Loma Brewery and Brethren Brewery among others.
The 7,000 plus crosses that were placed symbolizing each of the fallen in service to the United States in the Global War on Terror were discarded as they were worse for the wear.
That — plus the fact the event will cost well in excess of $100,000 to stage — prompted the idea of selling cross sponsors at $100 apiece.
The $100 donation will help fund the 865 crosses that will be placed as well as assist with other costs of the event.
Of those crosses, 674 will represent Californians that died in the Global War on terror. The other 72 — that will have red poppies attached — will represent all of the Manteca residents killed in World War I, World War II, the Korean Warr, the Vietnam War, and the Global War on Terror.
Details on how to donate to the cross effort can be found at the website, thememorialweekend.org.
Organizers are in need of volunteers during the event as well as for set up. To volunteer call Tracy Matilla at 209-679-1690 or Aksland at 209-608-0288.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
