Can you help a vet?
RIDGWAY - How can we as every day citizens help a vet in need? One way, for sure, is to volunteer with the organization known as RIDES FOR VETS. It may take a few hours out of a day once in a while, and you don’t have to be a veteran to do it, and the rewards are great. You get to drive a Rides for Vet vehicle, see the country side and best of all, you get to spend time with a vet who needs assistance. I have been told by many who are involved in with this organization, the time spent with a vet is priceless.
The local headquarters where the dispatching takes place for Rides for Vets is located in Ridgway, working out of an office within the local American Legion on Main Street. The monthly meetings are held the first Monday of each month in the Conference Room 1 at the Courthouse Annex at 10 a.m. According to Alan Straneva, President of the organization, who has been transporting vets for more than 12 years, noted they have two dispatchers in the American Legion office, Jake Himes who also drives for the organization, and Fred Peters. “If we could have just a few more drivers it would be such a help. Currently, we have 12 drivers. A volunteer could drive one time a week or one time a month or as much as he wants. It all helps. We make 35 trips each month,” stated Staneva. “In 2023 we made 409 trips rounding out to 43,000 miles driven,”
Staneva added. The local agency houses three vehicles in St. Marys and one in Emporium.
The trips can be as far away as Buffalo, NY, Pittsburgh and Altoona, PA, or to a local area hospital or doctor’s office if needed. In 2023, 68 Veterans were driven to VA clinics and hospitals. “We were able to keep 467 appointments, which was a great help for those vets in need,” Straneva said. There were 45 taken to Altoona, Bradford 1, Brockway 6, Brookville 2, Buffalo 6, Erie 12, Grove City 16, Penn Highlands Elk 20, Pittsburgh 18 and Warren 10.
Bob Marnatti likes to think of himself as the “new kid on the block” as one of the newest drivers. “I love doing this. It truly is an honor to serve those who served their country”, stated Marnatti. “Every