MANSFIELD, Ohio — Members of the 179th Airlift Wing and 200th RED HORSE Squadron will have plenty of goodies to munch on thanks to the local Boy Scouts.
As part of their annual fundraiser, Scouts in a nine-county region (Ashland, Crawford, Erie, Huron, Lorain, Marion, Morrow, Richland and Wyandot counties) sold popcorn and gave customers an option to support the military, as well as Scouting. By purchasing an item listed in the “Support the Military and Scouting, too” section, CAMP MASTERS Popcorn Company sends $25 worth of popcorn to military personnel.
“One of the Scouting tenants is we believe in teaching about good citizenship, and supporting our military really enforces that,” said Mike Warnock, program director for Heart of Ohio Council.
The popcorn sale ran from September through mid-November and helps raise funds for Scouting activities, camps, uniforms, etc.
“Gorman-Rupp has been amazing to us as far as letting us use them as the central warehouse (to house the popcorn until it’s distributed),” Warnock said.
Military personnel from the 200th RED HORSE Squadron picked up 851 tins of popcorn, worth over $17,000, Wednesday afternoon at the Gorman-Rupp facility to take to the base.
Vivian Winters, 179th Airlift Wing Director of Psychological Health, expressed her gratitude for the donation.
“I just can’t even tell you how grateful I was watching all those boxes of popcorn being put on the truck,” she said.
“Knowing that our community and the Boy Scouts really value that service before self, which is part of our mission, is very humbling to see.”
Winters said the popcorn will be handed out during an upcoming drill that involves all of the military personnel.
Again, she voiced her appreciation, noting, “So many qualities that are instilled in these young men are what really make them valuable to our country and our military.”
