October 1, 2024 • 7 mins
Special guest host John "Mac" Macleod is joined by Ashley Furniture to discuss this year's Veteran's Celebration Event on Saturday October 5.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, good morning, and welcome to Talk of the Town
on news Radio Wood thirteen hundred one sixty nine FM.
My name is Mack and I am joined today by
Mitch Monten, part of the family local and veteran own
Ashley Furniture stores in Grand Rapids, Grandville and in Calabazoo.
And we are here talking today about an event that's
coming up for the seventh year. Actually that's all about
(00:20):
honoring and celebrating our nation's heroes. I'm talking about the
seventh annual Ashley Veteran Celebration coming up on October fifth.
Good morning, Mitch, morning Johnny.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
How you doing.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
We're doing fantastic. I'm so excited for another year the
Veteran Celebration. It's going down i know on Saturday, October fifth,
starting at noon over at the Hudsonville Fairgrounds. And this
year's going to look a little bit different than years past.
Tell us what's going on.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
We've got this. It's a celebration, you know. In the
years past, we'll continue to have veteran support organizations there.
As a matter of fact, we have twenty two Veterans
Support organization's Red Shirt and we'll be there with us
Mission barbecue is going to be providing some phenomenal food. Yeah,
We've got all kinds of events and activities for every
single member of the family. So as opposed to something
(01:02):
where everybody came in eight sat and then listened to
a speaker, this is more just have fun, just to
celebrate their service, honor their service, take care of their
family which was part of that service, and just be
really really good partners with them. And you mentioned this
was the seventh year in Michigan. We actually began this
over almost two thousand and five, so almost twenty years ago.
(01:23):
Started as just a little breakfast for veterans in our
very first store in Bell Fountain, Ohio, and we clear
out some tables and we'd have some scrambled eggs served,
and we'd had a couple veterans show up, and it
just grew and grew and grew, and last year we
had almost one thousand registered participants here in Michigan, and
we gave away almost seventy thousand dollars in donations in
furniture to our veterans.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
So they've been amazing events, they really have, and just
a great way to connect fellow veterans together. What I
love and with the organizations that you find here across
West Michigan that are out there trying to reach veterans
and get them their services and make sure that they
can take advantage of everything that's being offered to them.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
You are a veteran or you are a member of
a veterans organization and you are hearing this, please, for
the love of God, stop every fellow veteran that you know,
stop them in their tracks. Make sure that they get registered.
And they can do that up until the day of
the event. And all they need to do is go
to event bright dot com search for Hudsonville Veterans Celebration
and you'll find the tools to register right then, right there.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
And you know, we talked about how this started for
you at your first store back in two thousand and five,
but your families work to, you know, improve the rights
of veterans and make sure that they're getting all the
resources that they can. This started a long time before that. Bench.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Yeah, our mom actually did some of the research. We
can trace our famili's military service all the way back
to the Revolutionary War.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
And our grandfather who began our company, lost his father
or his brother I'm sorry. In World War Two, and
then when the company formalized in eighty nine with the
Ohio stores, we got our management team together and we said,
you know, we come, you know, Little League teams come
to us bowling. You know, they all want us. We
can be a little important to a whole bunch of folk,
so we can be really really important to one group.
Who should it be? And without any prompting from David
(03:05):
ben Er myself, our managing team or our staff came
back to was overwhelmingly veterans. Let's take care of our veterans.
So that's where our focus has been since two thousand
and five. As I mentioned in What a Pleasure, What
an Honor it is with that we do honor flights.
It's a way my brother Ben myself both former Army rangers.
Our dad was army. And while you'll hear us joke
(03:25):
about the other services, because we will, because when your army,
you do that, you make fun of everybody. You walked
up to the line, you raise your hand, and you
swore an oath, and that is a commitment. That is
something that is special, and we want to make certainly
honor them.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
You know something that I've always loved and respected. As
I've gotten the opportunity to work with you folks at Ashley,
is that while the Veterans Celebration is an incredible event
that happens each year, you guys honor veterans every single
day in your store and when you walk into the
store you see it. It's literally all over the walls
there as you've got your wall of the Wall of
(04:01):
Honor at each store there where you literally have veterans
plastered all over them.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Yeah, the moment we find out that you were a veteran,
we ring a big gong. So everybody in the store
stops what they're doing, drops of they're doing, It makes
their excuses to any customers or with pardon me, every
single one in the store goes up and thanks the veteran,
thanks their family. We've got a challenge coin for them,
We take their picture, we put it on the wall
of honor you just mentioned. If they purchase from us,
then we provide them complimentary military delivery, free delivery and
(04:28):
free service for whatever they purchase. So it's just a
way again, just an additional way we can make certain
that we honor them.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
You know, it's been personal for me I've actually had
my sister go in and do some shopping at the
Ashley Furniture store over in Granville, actually, and I didn't
tell her about any of that. She is a officer
in our Air Force, and so she goes, how come
you didn't let me know they were going to be
asking to take my PIDs here and get the coin.
I say, well, that's something you deserve to get on
your own. And I know that my dad, who is
(04:55):
an Army veteran as well, who's served in Vietnam, he's
going to actually become in October fifth with his wife
and his grandkids, and we're all there to celebrate together.
I'm just really looking forward to it because these are
the people your friends and your neighbors, your grandfathers, you know,
whether they be aunts, uncles who like you said, made
that vow went off and you know, served our country admirably.
(05:18):
This is our chance to celebrate them and say thank you.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Yeah, and we can't make this big enough. Well, that's
why we're doing things like this. We were desperately trying
to get the word out to every single veteran in
their family that we can we want you there, give
us an opportunity to say thank you to those who served.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Best of all, it's totally free, which I absolutely love.
This is a great way for your family to just
come out and have a great time and celebrate our
heroes together. And when we talked about, you know, the
incredible prizes for our veterans, the raffles that will be
going on, and you mentioned over seventy thousand dollars in
incredible things. These are everything from concert tickets and sporting
(05:54):
events to incredible furniture and mattresses, things like that. And
it's not some it's not a sale. It has nothing
to do with anything other than saying thank you, which
I absolutely love.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Yep, it's a fun day for David Ben and myself.
It's the highlight of our year. It really is to
get out, shake hands and swap stories, you know, sit
down and talk to some of these guys that might
not have talked about their experiences before, to link them
up with the support organizations that are there for them.
They might not be aware of. So the more veteran
support organizations we get there, the more people we get
(06:24):
to be aware of those all of the things that
they should be able to take advantage of. And have
earned the right to. It's just a pleasure, it's the blessing.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Well, like you said, Mitch, if you know a veteran,
if you are a veteran active military, shout it from
the rooftops. Make sure that all of your fellow veterans
and military members know that this is happening, the Ashley
Veterans Celebration October fifth, noon to four pm over at
the Hudsonville Fairgrounds. And just so make sure they got
enough of that great mission barbecue all ready to go.
(06:53):
Go our SVP today. Let them know how many folks
you're bringing with you and your family as you come
to the event. You could do that at event bright
dot com. That is event b R I T E
dot com again event bright dot com to go ahead
and RSVP excellent. And of course you'll find more information
on the seventh annual Ashley Veterans Celebration on this radio
(07:14):
station's website as well. But Mitch Monnen, part of the
local and veteran owned group of Ashley Furniture Stores in Grandville,
Kalamazoo and in Grand Rapids, thank you so much for
what you're doing for our veterans, and thank you for
your service.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Donni, thank you very much and thanks iHeartMedia for being
phenomenal partners with us and getting the word out.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Truly appreciate it our pleasure. This has been Talk of
the Town on news radio Wood thirteen hundred one oh
six nine FM
Well, good morning, and welcome to Talk of the Town
on news Radio Wood thirteen hundred one sixty nine FM.
My name is Mack and I am joined today by
Mitch Monten, part of the family local and veteran own
Ashley Furniture stores in Grand Rapids, Grandville and in Calabazoo.
And we are here talking today about an event that's
coming up for the seventh year. Actually that's all about
(00:20):
honoring and celebrating our nation's heroes. I'm talking about the
seventh annual Ashley Veteran Celebration coming up on October fifth.
Good morning, Mitch, morning Johnny.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
How you doing.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
We're doing fantastic. I'm so excited for another year the
Veteran Celebration. It's going down i know on Saturday, October fifth,
starting at noon over at the Hudsonville Fairgrounds. And this
year's going to look a little bit different than years past.
Tell us what's going on.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
We've got this. It's a celebration, you know. In the
years past, we'll continue to have veteran support organizations there.
As a matter of fact, we have twenty two Veterans
Support organization's Red Shirt and we'll be there with us
Mission barbecue is going to be providing some phenomenal food. Yeah,
We've got all kinds of events and activities for every
single member of the family. So as opposed to something
(01:02):
where everybody came in eight sat and then listened to
a speaker, this is more just have fun, just to
celebrate their service, honor their service, take care of their
family which was part of that service, and just be
really really good partners with them. And you mentioned this
was the seventh year in Michigan. We actually began this
over almost two thousand and five, so almost twenty years ago.
(01:23):
Started as just a little breakfast for veterans in our
very first store in Bell Fountain, Ohio, and we clear
out some tables and we'd have some scrambled eggs served,
and we'd had a couple veterans show up, and it
just grew and grew and grew, and last year we
had almost one thousand registered participants here in Michigan, and
we gave away almost seventy thousand dollars in donations in
furniture to our veterans.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
So they've been amazing events, they really have, and just
a great way to connect fellow veterans together. What I
love and with the organizations that you find here across
West Michigan that are out there trying to reach veterans
and get them their services and make sure that they
can take advantage of everything that's being offered to them.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
You are a veteran or you are a member of
a veterans organization and you are hearing this, please, for
the love of God, stop every fellow veteran that you know,
stop them in their tracks. Make sure that they get registered.
And they can do that up until the day of
the event. And all they need to do is go
to event bright dot com search for Hudsonville Veterans Celebration
and you'll find the tools to register right then, right there.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
And you know, we talked about how this started for
you at your first store back in two thousand and five,
but your families work to, you know, improve the rights
of veterans and make sure that they're getting all the
resources that they can. This started a long time before that. Bench.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Yeah, our mom actually did some of the research. We
can trace our famili's military service all the way back
to the Revolutionary War.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
And our grandfather who began our company, lost his father
or his brother I'm sorry. In World War Two, and
then when the company formalized in eighty nine with the
Ohio stores, we got our management team together and we said,
you know, we come, you know, Little League teams come
to us bowling. You know, they all want us. We
can be a little important to a whole bunch of folk,
so we can be really really important to one group.
Who should it be? And without any prompting from David
(03:05):
ben Er myself, our managing team or our staff came
back to was overwhelmingly veterans. Let's take care of our veterans.
So that's where our focus has been since two thousand
and five. As I mentioned in What a Pleasure, What
an Honor it is with that we do honor flights.
It's a way my brother Ben myself both former Army rangers.
Our dad was army. And while you'll hear us joke
(03:25):
about the other services, because we will, because when your army,
you do that, you make fun of everybody. You walked
up to the line, you raise your hand, and you
swore an oath, and that is a commitment. That is
something that is special, and we want to make certainly
honor them.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
You know something that I've always loved and respected. As
I've gotten the opportunity to work with you folks at Ashley,
is that while the Veterans Celebration is an incredible event
that happens each year, you guys honor veterans every single
day in your store and when you walk into the
store you see it. It's literally all over the walls
there as you've got your wall of the Wall of
(04:01):
Honor at each store there where you literally have veterans
plastered all over them.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Yeah, the moment we find out that you were a veteran,
we ring a big gong. So everybody in the store
stops what they're doing, drops of they're doing, It makes
their excuses to any customers or with pardon me, every
single one in the store goes up and thanks the veteran,
thanks their family. We've got a challenge coin for them,
We take their picture, we put it on the wall
of honor you just mentioned. If they purchase from us,
then we provide them complimentary military delivery, free delivery and
(04:28):
free service for whatever they purchase. So it's just a
way again, just an additional way we can make certain
that we honor them.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
You know, it's been personal for me I've actually had
my sister go in and do some shopping at the
Ashley Furniture store over in Granville, actually, and I didn't
tell her about any of that. She is a officer
in our Air Force, and so she goes, how come
you didn't let me know they were going to be
asking to take my PIDs here and get the coin.
I say, well, that's something you deserve to get on
your own. And I know that my dad, who is
(04:55):
an Army veteran as well, who's served in Vietnam, he's
going to actually become in October fifth with his wife
and his grandkids, and we're all there to celebrate together.
I'm just really looking forward to it because these are
the people your friends and your neighbors, your grandfathers, you know,
whether they be aunts, uncles who like you said, made
that vow went off and you know, served our country admirably.
(05:18):
This is our chance to celebrate them and say thank you.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Yeah, and we can't make this big enough. Well, that's
why we're doing things like this. We were desperately trying
to get the word out to every single veteran in
their family that we can we want you there, give
us an opportunity to say thank you to those who served.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Best of all, it's totally free, which I absolutely love.
This is a great way for your family to just
come out and have a great time and celebrate our
heroes together. And when we talked about, you know, the
incredible prizes for our veterans, the raffles that will be
going on, and you mentioned over seventy thousand dollars in
incredible things. These are everything from concert tickets and sporting
(05:54):
events to incredible furniture and mattresses, things like that. And
it's not some it's not a sale. It has nothing
to do with anything other than saying thank you, which
I absolutely love.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Yep, it's a fun day for David Ben and myself.
It's the highlight of our year. It really is to
get out, shake hands and swap stories, you know, sit
down and talk to some of these guys that might
not have talked about their experiences before, to link them
up with the support organizations that are there for them.
They might not be aware of. So the more veteran
support organizations we get there, the more people we get
(06:24):
to be aware of those all of the things that
they should be able to take advantage of. And have
earned the right to. It's just a pleasure, it's the blessing.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Well, like you said, Mitch, if you know a veteran,
if you are a veteran active military, shout it from
the rooftops. Make sure that all of your fellow veterans
and military members know that this is happening, the Ashley
Veterans Celebration October fifth, noon to four pm over at
the Hudsonville Fairgrounds. And just so make sure they got
enough of that great mission barbecue all ready to go.
(06:53):
Go our SVP today. Let them know how many folks
you're bringing with you and your family as you come
to the event. You could do that at event bright
dot com. That is event b R I T E
dot com again event bright dot com to go ahead
and RSVP excellent. And of course you'll find more information
on the seventh annual Ashley Veterans Celebration on this radio
(07:14):
station's website as well. But Mitch Monnen, part of the
local and veteran owned group of Ashley Furniture Stores in Grandville,
Kalamazoo and in Grand Rapids, thank you so much for
what you're doing for our veterans, and thank you for
your service.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Donni, thank you very much and thanks iHeartMedia for being
phenomenal partners with us and getting the word out.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Truly appreciate it our pleasure. This has been Talk of
the Town on news radio Wood thirteen hundred one oh
six nine FM
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