A Night for the Veterans

By Katie McFadden

It was a good night for a good cause. On Sunday, April 12, VFW Post 260 in Broad Channel held a successful fundraiser to build a dock and ramp for its veterans this summer.

The VFW Post 260 was packed on Sunday as locals and visitors came for a night of good music and entertainment for a good cause, to raise some money to finally build a dock for the veterans who visit the VFW for various events a few times a year, so they can embrace the bayside location at 705 Shad Creek Road and enjoy activities like fishing.

Heidi, Jamie Cicero and Eddy Joe of The Butchers, who regularly perform at the VFW, led the entertainment for the night, playing singable and danceable tunes all evening.

Singer/songwriter Walker Hornung discussed his new book “Hornucopia: Lyrics and Short Fiction 1989-2025,” which he gave away free copies of, and Owen Loof, also known as the Best Dressed Man in Rockaway, discussed his books including his newest, “Owen’s Poetry and Love Story,” which he sold copies of and gave the proceeds to the VFW. DSNY bagpipe Finbar Devine also played some patriotic and uplifting tunes on the pipes. Guests enjoyed the cash bar and many raffle opportunities including a 50/50, a liquor basket and chances for tickets for the big fundraising raffle with a prize of more than $10K, which will be drawn on April 25. The entire program was filmed by QPTV, Queens Public Television, which will air and be available on YouTube at a later date.

During a filmed interview, Loof talked about his experience growing up and living in Rockaway, before talking about his latest book. He read a few excerpts, including a poem he wrote for his late wife, Peggy, and a song he wrote for his girlfriend, Christine, who greeted him with an “I love you” and a kiss at the end, to awws in the crowd. “Thank you, everybody. This is great. I’m a veteran and I’ve been to his VFW many times and it’s a great place. Anything I can do to help the community and the veterans, I’m happy to do, so thank you for having me,” Loof said.

Hornung then spoke about his Queens story, growing up in Howard Beach and spending time in Rockaway. He spoke a little about his new book which features lyrics to his songs over the years and some short stories, before singing a few of his songs. “This VFW right here is like one of those real strongholds of great Queens people in New York. They’re doing a lot of stuff here that really help people and we all definitely want to be involved with things like that no matter where we go in our lives, so I’m happy to be here,” Hornung said.

At the end of the night, veteran Johnny Neuer, who put together the fundraiser for the dock, picked the 50/50 winning ticket, with more than $800 going to Johnny Walter.

After the event, Neuer said, “I want to thank Walker, Eddy, Jamie, Heidi, Finbar and Joe for the free music yesterday and I also want to thank the Auxiliary of the VFW for all the help at our very successful event. Our drawing on April 25 is over $10,000 to the winner and you still have time to purchase one, so please help out our disabled veterans in wheelchairs from St. Albans Veteran Hospital, when they visit our post four or five times a year. Again, I want to thank all who supported our fundraising event.” For tickets for the fundraiser, reach out to Johnny Neuer on Facebook.