May 21, 2015

Local 1776 and Its Members Give a Helping Hand to Our Veterans

(From left:) Wine Specialist and 1776 member Ethan Thomas, WMGK radio personality Jen Posner, WMGK radio host John DeBella, Acme member Jim McClosky, Local 1776 Executive Vice President Don McGrogan, Retired Acme Member and Vietnam Veteran Bill Jillard, Acme member Mary Owens, WMGK radio personality Dave Gibson and Local 1776 Director of Communications Tara Innamorato. After an initial commitment to donate $3,000, Local President Young pledged to contribute an additional $2,000 to the VMC – making Local 1776 the largest donor among other sponsors.

This Memorial Day, Local 1776 will be sponsoring a local radio station’s Veteran’s Marathon, which assists veterans who have bravely served our country.

The WMGK 201.9 Radiothon lasts for 12 hours to raise money for the area’s Veterans’ Multiservice Center (VMC).

As a sponsor of last year’s Radiothon, Local 1776 directly donated $3,000 to the VMC, and ran radio commercials recorded by Local members to promote the event to raise awareness.

One of the Local 1776 members helping with the commercials named Bill Jillard was a vet himself. For the commercial, he shared his story about serving our country in the Army during Vietnam, and how he continues that service by helping out in his community today. One way Bill serves as a union member is by urging Big Box companies to not just hire vets, but to ensure they provide good jobs and safe workplaces for them, as well as contribute to a better economy for vets to come home to after serving. To hear Bill’s commercial, click here. After 47 years of service at Acme markets, Bill is now enjoying retirement.

(From left): Wine Specialist and 1776 member Ethan Thomas, Retired Acme Member and Vietnam Veteran Bill Jillard, Acme member Jim McClosky, Acme member Mary Owens