Camp Tuscazoar hosts Veterans Weekend

The first Veterans Weekend was held recently at Camp Tuscazoar.

“We’ve been talking about this for a couple of years, putting together an event for veterans to come out and enjoy the camp,” said Chris Altman, one of the organizers of the event, “trying to give them an alternative to sitting around the house, being lonely or sitting in the house with the demons — what we like to call them in the military — which can cause unspeakable things.”

Altman is a retired 24-year Navy veteran. He was surprised at the response they received.

“The event was kind of a dream. And this year we acted on it, and we have 36 or 37 registered to spend the weekend, which is more than I really expected,” Altman said.

The committee also was preparing for about 150 veterans from all over Ohio to attend the events scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 3.

The Veterans Weekend Committee originally targeted five counties including Tuscarawas, Stark, Medina, Wayne and Carroll.

“We wanted to start small to see where we could get. But once it got into the (military) network, it went statewide,” Altman said.

The committee members kept the schedule for the weekend simple.

“The itinerary for the weekend is for the veterans just to come in and fellowship and network, hike the trails if they want. If they bring their bikes, they can bike ride. We just give them an opportunity to get away and kind of relax,” Altman said. “We just really want the weekend for them to relax, come and see that we’re here and we’re available and see what God’s given us as an alternative to alcohol and drugs and Xbox and whatever else is out there.”

A few activities were scheduled and listed in military time. At 2000 on Friday evening, fellowship and snacks were planned at the dining hall. On Saturday from 0800-0845 was breakfast, 0900 was a flag raising, 1130-1300 was lunch, 1800 included a steak dinner, 1900 was flag lowering, 1930 was flag preparation for the flag retirement ceremony, and 2000 was a campfire and the flag retirement ceremony. On Sunday breakfast was scheduled at 0900, and a chapel service in the dining hall was at 1000.

Also on Saturday, a number of organizations that serve veterans were setting up at the dining hall including The VA of Cleveland Post-9/11 M2VA program; Veterans Service Commission of Stark County; Tuscarawas County Veterans Services; City of Canton; Canton Veterans Affairs/Vet Center; Team Red, White and Blue; VA Suicide Prevention/Mental Health, Combat Warriors Outdoors; Civil Air Patrol Auxiliary; and Burning Wild.

Coins shaped as tags were made as a thank-you gift for those attending and included the six branches of service on the back and a Camp Tuscazoar logo on the front.

The committee said sponsors donated more than $11,500 to make the entire weekend free for veterans to attend.

The title sponsor was VFW Post 3747 of Canton. The accommodations sponsor was VFW Post 1445 of New Philadelphia. Meal sponsors were VFW Post 9520 of Brunswick, VFW Post 5047 of Navarre, ProVia, and Robert and Trudy Sensel. Other sponsors included coin sponsor Nancy Shoenbuam, golf cart/table sponsor Combat Warrior Outdoors and golf cart sponsor Medina County Veterans Memorial. Yaggi’s Cheese House provided meat and cheese trays, and the Klingstedt Brothers Company provided flyer printing.

Kevin and Jenna Munding of Deshler in Northwest Ohio were among the first to arrive, and they planned to tent camp. The couple met while they were serving in the Navy. Family health issues brought them back to Ohio after their career took them many places, from Italy to Norfolk, Virginia, Wisconsin and Camp Pendleton.

After the couple moved to Ohio, the pandemic hit before they were able to make new friends.

“I wanted to come to the event to connect with other veterans and just get a sense of community with the community I lost after I got out of the military,” Jenna Munding said. “We really haven’t gotten to know anybody since we moved to Ohio. So we’ve kind of been isolated on our farm. This was a way to get out of the isolation and check out a really cool event with other people that have served with us.”

Kevin Munding served 20 years while Jenna served four and then became a military mom taking care of their children. The couple now have two children serving in the Navy, one serving on an aircraft carrier and one serving on a submarine, and their youngest son is preparing to join the Navy too.

“I think growing up in the Navy, they got to see a lot, and that made it easy for them when they were deciding what to do,” Jenna Munding said. “They wanted to do some traveling and see the world and serve their country.”

Altman and the committee for Veterans Weekend are thrilled with the results of the new event.

“It’s the first of many, and it’ll just get better and bigger every year,” Altman said.