EASTER-EGG HUNT
by Alan Edwards
Click on photos to view larger ones.  Click on slideshow to view.

Slideshow of Easter Egg Hunt

 It was a glorious morning in Tucson, where Military families gathered at Reid Park for an ‘Easter Egg-Hunt’ sponsored by the VFW and its Ladies Auxiliary. The event was staffed by a number of volunteers from the Veterans and Family Support (VFS) Planning Committee; Military Family Resource Groups (FRG); VFW Ladies Auxiliary from District-5; and a group from the American Red Cross (ARC) Disaster Relief team. The event was organized by District-5 President Kim Sloan with lots of help from the VFW Ladies Auxiliary, ARC and FRG representatives. Department Senior Vice Commander Betty Gripp and District-5 Commander Loren ‘Corky’ Gripp also participated and helped-out.

            Advertised as an “Easter Egg-Hunt” for Military kids, it was actually much more than that. Activities designed especially for kids included: a Bean-Bag toss; Cake-Walk; Ring-Toss; Sack-Races; constructing greeting-cards; and face-painting. Every kid received at least one prize, and many had more than three. Lunch with hamburgers and hot dogs was enjoyed by all, especially the littlest ones.

            Highlights of the event included visits by the ARC Rescue-Dog (ARC Volunteer) and Easter Bunny (a.k.a. Loren ‘Corky’ Gripp), who distributed over 200 high-quality gifts to the kids that were present. The “Egg-Hunt” itself was actually a stampede, as kids scrambled to collect as many eggs as possible after the ‘go’ signal was sounded (the kids were assembled into three age-groups, and then each group was given the signal to scramble). An actual head-count of kids attending was not taken, but over 170 had ‘signed-up’, and all the organizers agreed that 1,000 eggs was not nearly enough.

            This was one of those really “feel-good” events, and everyone departed with a smile on their face.

Easter Bunny (a.k.a. Loren ‘Corky’ Gripp) and Rescue-Dog (ARC Volunteer) distribute high-quality gifts to kids at the VFW sponsored Easter event in Tucson).

Department Senior Vice Commander Betty Gripp escorts the Easter Bunny (a.k.a. Loren ‘Corky’ Gripp) at the Tucson Easter event sponsored by the VFW and its Ladies Auxiliary.

Volunteers take a moment to relax (and check for damages) at the VFW sponsored Easter event in Tucson (L-R): Cheryl Greenwald (FRG-222 Transportation Company, currently deployed to Iraq, and member of VFW Auxiliary Post 10188); Lucille Lombardo (member of the VFS Planning Committee and VFW Auxiliary Post 549); with District-5 President and event organizer Kim Sloan.

Everyone, especially the youngest lids, enjoyed lunch of hamburgers and hotdogs at the Tucson Easter event; sponsored by the VFW and its Ladies Auxiliary at Reid Park, Tucson.

Kids’ line-up and ‘get-ready’ to collect Easter eggs that are scattered around the lawn at the VFW sponsored Easter-Egg-Hunt at Reid Park. Volunteer Andrea Frey (front-right, with her baby), 1/285^th FRG Chairman, tries to organize the kids (with limited success) before giving the ‘go’ signal.

Kids scramble (stampede) to collect Easter eggs at the VFW sponsored event in Tucson.