Now in its third year, hundreds of local military veterans — and, for the first time, Christian County first responders, too — lined up alongside the Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel Thursday morning and afternoon to embrace “Hams for Heroes,” gifts of Hampton Meats sure to bring smiles to the dinner table this Easter weekend.
A wife to the deployed Fort Campbell commander of the 6-101 Lt. Col. Robert Wells and a mother to their children, Jeni Wells was one of several folks responsible for checking military identifications — before allowing them to pass through for their fair share.
As a volunteer, she found the event endearing.
As someone waiting for their husband to return home from a nine-month assignment, she understood why a free piece of meat matters.
With 600 hams in hand, more than 300 of them were doled out in the first 90 minutes, and less than 100 remained by 2 PM.
Darren VanDover, president and general manager of the sponsoring Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel, said the relationship between their organization and the Christian County Military Affairs Committee continues to be strong, and that an effort like this is the least that could be done.
Much like VanDover, Katie Marcoux, senior director of marketing for Churchill Downs and Oak Grove, understands the meaning of this gesture.
Shannon Lane, director of the Christian County Military Affairs Committee, said this event came about three years ago as a way to “make up ground” for outreach, and that adding first responders to the gift-giving mix only made sense, as they are also always on call with soldiers.
Lane further noted that hams typically account for 60% of the table cost for a holiday meal, and in offering them, families can have one less worry.
Oak Grove Police Chief Dennis Cunningham doesn’t just have deep ties to Trigg and Christian counties.
He’s also a retired veteran who, after his military service, turned to local law enforcement, and so he stands on both sides of Thursday’s fence.
According to MAC officials, every last ham was donated before 4 PM.
