On this Wednesday morning a hardworking group of sixty employees of the Pinnacle Property Management Company joined forty other volunteers at Fresno's Legion of Valor in downtown Fresno. We caught up with a group who were truly enjoying this day's labor. Susan Disney, a Pinnacle volunteer put it this way, "I think it's awesome for all of us to come together as a team and give back to our community."
This 'Army' was proud to be of service to the veterans who operate this museum of America's heroes and the wars they fought. Their company gave them the day off to volunteer and paid them to boot says Chris Mott, Pinnacle Property Management Vice President, "We are all touched by veterans. They sign up to give the ultimate sacrifice so for us to go ahead and give back to them is an easy thing to do."
The veterans who operate this museum are grateful for the landslide of good will. Bob Specht, Deputy Director of the Legion of Valor said, "All we can do is thank them. But there's pride in what they do and the can leave within their hearts." Specht added they are looking forward to showing it off on Veterans Day.
Back outside fountains had been steam cleaned, hand rails scrubbed for a new coat of paint and every bush and tree were trimmed and cleared of debris. That's when we came across Sarah Douglass polishing these brass plaques. "It'll shine before it's done. I'll get 'em all done." Her work revealed the names of those who had served in the armed forces. She told us the experience moved her to enlist her husband, an electrical contractor and her two children to volunteer here on Saturday, "A real sense of pride, being able just to show my children I helped clean this before the parade. And come over and show Fresno if we all chip in together we can really be a community."
Thanks to this small army, when November 11th arrives the crowd at the annual veterans' parade will find a sparkling vault of history to explore at the Legion of Valor.
