The parking lot was filled the night of Jan. 23 at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 516 in Farmingdale. A fundraising event organized by Commander Bob Fullam drew a large crowd for dinner and a little horse racing.
If a horse race on Main Street sounds a bit farfetched, that is because it was a wooden horse race, but no less exciting than a real one. “No horses will be injured in this event,” joked Vivian Yostpille, member of the Ladies Auxiliary of VFW Post 516.
The dance floor was converted into a racetrack for the night and the horses had clever names, themed for each race, including Snickers and Milky Way and Bahama Mama and Sea Breeze.
The line for the Italian buffet stretched across the span of the large room. Guests happily gabbed through dinner for the first hour. They seemed as pleased with their meals as they did with the race during the latter part of the evening.
A guest remarked, “The food is very good.” Several other guests expressed that the food was well worth the $20 entry fee. Commander Fullam revealed that more money would be raised by the bets than by the cover charge.
Former Bellmore resident Lenny Marziglino had attended past wooden horse events and thoroughly enjoyed himself at last Friday’s event.
The audience collectively jumped when announcer Richie Tibbets, Commander of the Lindenhurst VFW, loudly called out, “May I have your attention please,” and had the crowd rise to pledge allegiance to the flag. Then he announced the windows were open and dozens of attendees rushed to the front of the room to place bets.
The first race was a lively one. A volunteer from the audience rolled dice to determine which horses would be moved by the volunteer jockeys. The crowd looked on in anticipation as the third horse inched closer and closer to and then over the finish line.
Commander Fullam rolled the dice for the second race. As five horses became neck-and-neck, one audience member exclaimed, “This is intense!”
Members of the crowd couldn’t speak more kindly about Fullam. “Bob did a great job,” said William Yostpille, a member of Post 516 who works with Fullam. “He really didn’t ask for a lot of input. For an 84-year-old Korean vet, he did a pretty great job… As a younger member, for him to pull it together, I was very impressed.”
Proceeds from the event are split between Post 516, to benefit veterans, and the Ladies Auxiliary to fund programs for the community. The Ladies Auxiliary helped at the event by taking tickets at the door.
VFW Post 516 often coordinates for events with the Ladies Auxiliary. In November 2014, they hosted a successful vendor show together, supporting local artisans and merchants. Vivian Yostpille stated it was “very well-received by the community,” as was Friday’s event.
“I love helping veterans,” said Richie Tibbets. “This is a great place to be for that.”
A few lucky audience members won door prizes−tickets to enter this week’s $230 million Powerball Lottery. A good time was had by all in attendance.
