Veronica Forest can’t remember which team won the Super Bowl this year, but she clearly remembers the excited frenzy that surrounded the sporting event.
She remembers discussing with her husband and friends why people make such a big deal about a football game.
“We were sitting around talking—the Super Bowl had just happened—and we were talking about all the confetti that comes down at the end. It reminded me of a tickertape parade,” Forest said.
“And then my husband said, ‘Did you know we haven’t had a tickertape parade at the end of a war since World War II?’” she recalled. “So I said, ‘We should have one here for the soldiers [returning from Iraq and Afghanistan].’”
Forest’s day job is selling insurance, but her true passion is bringing communities together at meaningful events. Since moving to Guadalupe from Riverside three years ago, she launched the Guadalupe Salad Bowl. Now she wants to do something special for Central Coast soldiers.
“We do a lot for our veterans, but the guys who are on the ground every day—those who aren’t getting blown up—they need to be thanked and told, ‘Whether you’re at war or not, we appreciate you and all the work you do in our community,’” she said.
People fawn over celebrities and professional athletes, Forest said, “but when one of our guys comes home from war, there are only a handful of people there to meet them.”
During World War II and even the Vietnam War, “everyone had someone in the war, or at least someone on their street [in the war],” she said. “But we don’t have that anymore. And if it’s not in our immediate sphere of influence, we tend to not pay attention to it. That’s just human nature.”
On June 30, Central Coast residents will get their chance to say thank you to soldiers at the first-ever “Celebrate Heroes” parade, concert, and barbecue from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. along U.S. Highway 1.
Led by grand marshal Col. Nina Armagno, Vandenberg Air Force Base’s 30th Space Wing Commander, the parade will feature performances from the Air National Guard Band of the West Coast and its 12-piece rock ‘n’ roll band, The Rescue Crew, which will take the stage later in the day for a full-blown concert. Doc Burstein’s Ice Cream Lab will bring its old-fashioned ice cream truck and hand out free ice cream to active duty soldiers and their families.
Forest is also reaching out to Gold Star mothers who have lost children in battle—as well as Blue Star mothers, who currently have a child serving in the military—to march in the parade.
“For some of them, it’s too soon, too close, and I understand that. I don’t think you ever stop mourning your son or daughter,” Forest said. “But they’re welcome to bring pictures of their child.
“I don’t want this to be seen as a Guadalupe thing, but a Central Coast thing,” she added. “We need to show our children that these people are valued in our society.”
Vandenberg Air Force Base’s Lt. Austin Fallin said he’s really looking forward to the event.
“Any time our community puts something like this together, it really means a lot to us. It keeps us motivated,” said Fallin, who just celebrated his two-year mark with the U.S. Air Force.
“I really love the area. I love the Central Coast. Vandenberg is a great assignment for me. Part of what makes it so great is that the communities reach out to us frequently,” he said.
Celebrate Heroes will be a great event for “everyone in our operation: our contractors, the civilians who work with us, and our families—they’re all part of Team Vandenberg,” he said.
Forest said she’s received lots of support from the Guadalupe Cultural Arts and Education Center, the city of Guadalupe, and the City Council. The city helped get the Caltrans permit to shut down Highway 1 for the day, and is providing staffers to help run the event.
However, she’s still fundraising for the barbecue and looking for bands to volunteer their musical talents.
“I think it would be really cool to make it an annual event, but I’m just focusing on making this one happen,” she said with a chuckle. “We’ll see how this one goes first.”
Contact Managing Editor Amy Asman at aasman@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 14-21, 2012.
