Veterans parade struggles to thrive

[HARDCORE]

Public apathy, funds prove to be hurdles

By Steve Liewer
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

November 9, 2008



DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO – Suppose they gave a party to honor nearly 300,000 people in San Diego County, and hardly anyone showed up to celebrate.
That's pretty much what happens each year on Veterans Day, when a small group of former service members battles public apathy, a chronic lack of funding and weak marketing to put on a parade that pays tribute to the men and women who have served in the nation's armed forces.

At 11 a.m. Tuesday, grand marshal Jerry Coleman, a World War II and Korean War veteran and the San Diego Padres announcer, will lead a procession of marching bands, military drill teams, color guards and grizzled veterans waving from the back seats of classic convertibles down Pacific Highway from Cedar Street to Harbor Drive.

If history is any guide, only the sparsest of crowds will applaud them as they pass by. Most San Diegans will stay home to watch TV or barbecue – if they work for the government or a company that gives workers Veterans Day off.

“They've worn the uniform of our nation, they've made the sacrifice, but there doesn't seem to be much interest in honoring them,” said veteran and former prisoner of war Jack Ensch, director of military marketing for the San Diego Padres. “In San Diego of all places, where we have probably the biggest concentration of vets, I'm at a loss to figure out why they don't get any support.”

Volunteers from the United Veterans Council work for months in their spare time to organize the parade, said Joe Brunner, co-chairman of the event committee. But they have little money to work with.

The parade's $18,000 annual budget is funded entirely through donations, which have fallen about $2,000 short this year. The largest gift for 2008 is from Rep. Darrell Issa, D-Vista, whose family foundation contributed $5,000. The Midway Museum donated $1,000. The San Diego Padres – the only corporate donor – gave $2,500.

The rest are gifts of $25 or $50 or $100 from small veterans organizations.

Brunner said an anemic budget means the parade can't afford floats. The committee also can't afford to pay for advertising or promotion, or to bring in nationally known figures such as retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf or former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Last spring, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders attended a meeting of the veterans council and pledged to help the group raise the parade's profile.

“He said, 'We will partner with you and help you find funding,' ” said Tom Richards, the council's chairman. “He promised he was going to support us, and he hasn't.”

That promise has fallen victim to the city's financial crisis.

“Unfortunately, because of revenue shortfalls, we've had to downsize the Mayor's Office,” said Darren Pudgil, the mayor's spokesman. “We simply no longer have the resources to help promote community events like this.”

Some of the parade's boosters would like to see San Diegans with deeper pockets step in to help transform it into a major happening.

“It's really unfortunate that we leave it to vets to organize their own parade,” said Scott McGaugh, marketing director for the Midway Museum. “They are hardworking, they are well-meaning, but they don't have the organizational skill to put on a big event.”

The local defense industry has supported Fleet Week events that now stretch from May through October. Ensch would like to see some of these companies pony up for the veterans parade as well.

“You tell me there aren't 30 defense contractors who sell to the military who can spare $1,000 each?” Ensch said. “They spill more than that at a cocktail party.”

But the coffee-and-doughnuts folks of the United Veterans Council acknowledge they rarely travel in the circles of high-speed defense contractors.

“We have some people who work really hard, but they aren't connected,” Richards said.

Even with lean times looming, Brunner said, he has bigger plans for next year's parade. He wants to combine it with other early November events, such as the Massing of the Colors ceremony in Balboa Park, to create a “Veterans Week” calendar. That way, Brunner said, the events could help to promote one another.

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Steve Liewer: (619) 498-6632; steve.liewer@uniontrib.com

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PS: Of course I know that many of the esteem individuals will not respond to this as apathy and complacency is a major part of the problem, and not even a modicum of the solution. This is not to say that I am chastising these individuals as they are far above my capabilities. I am merely pointing out that a problem exist and we better damn well face it where we may expire upon our own sword. "God Bless America!"

I am but a lack-luster Bum myself, but "HOW DARE WE FORGET THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR ALL!" These people are below my contempt.

Rick Tavares