For the last seven years Michael’s Harborside has celebrated Veteran’s Day by serving up free dinners to Newburyport Veterans. Each year the restaurant sends invitations to area VETS and over 1000 dinners are served yearly.
Michael’s general manager Matt Kirk poses with his staff above. Michael’s provides a staff of 50 for the day and the staff memebers all volunteer their time, logging over 1500 hours in total. Micheal’s also collects cards written by Newburyport school children thanking VETS for their service to our country. The cards are displayed for the day at Michael’s then packaged up by staff and sent to members of the military who are currently serving overseas.
We found Rene Renaud and Jim Cullen enjoying the atmosphere and reminiscing with friends while waiting for their meal to be served. Rene served in the Army’s European Theater from 1941 – 1945 said that this was his second year attending the event. Excited about being back again this year he said, “Last year everything was delicious, can you imagine serving all these people? Is wonderful.” His friend Jim served in the Navy from 1942 – 1946 and said, “I’ve been places in the service where I dreamed of a meal like this”. Both men commented again and again about how grateful they were to have the opportunity to be recognized for their service to our country. Clearly the event has made an impact on them and their fellow veterans.
From the turnout and the appreciative faces, clearly this was a successful event. It really is a testament to the owners and staff of Michael’s about their commitment to our community. The veterans appreciated it and it was fantastic to experience it with them.
