Bucks County said a huge “Thank you” to veterans on Nov. 8.
Representatives from the recorder of deeds office came to Bucks to issue veteran discount cards for different merchant stores to the men and women who serve or served this great country.
Recorder of deeds representatives Crystal Dose and Jolene set up a table at the top of the stairs in the Rollins building and helped the service men and women from Bucks sign up.
According to Dose, the program started last November when Bucks County Commissioner Charlie Morton, in conjunction with the recorder of deeds, Joseph Szafran Jr. assembled a program for the veterans of Bucks County to give them discounts as a “thanks” for what they have done.
The program is funded by corporate sponsors Parx Casino and American Heritage so Bucks County residents will not see their taxes go up.
Morton got the idea for the program when he was in Atlantic County, NJ on vacation and read about it in the local paper. He decided to try to implement it in Bucks County.
“It is a win-win situation for both sides at very minimal cost because the businesses get good publicity for being veteran friendly and the veterans get the discounts that help in a tough economic situation,” Morton said.
Szafran spoke about the program by saying, “I feel like it is well deserved and it is just a way for the county and its merchants to say ‘thank you’.”
The program has 400 participating businesses and has issued about 6,000 cards to veterans. The stores that offer the discounts are of wide variety and include pizza places, grocery stores, car dealerships and furniture stores.
“We still have 60,000 known veterans and active duty soldiers in Bucks County to reach, so we have a long road ahead of us,” said Szafran.
Members of the Veterans club seemed to appreciate this program, but also took time to reflect on contributions of current and former veterans.
Jonathon Carpenter, 28, from Tennessee was in the National Guard for 18 months and was in active duty for six years. Carpenter also spent one year in Korea and five years at Fort Campbell Kentucky.
“It’s nice that the community is honoring us (the veterans),” said Carpenter. “A lot of that has to do with the Vietnam vets who were just pushed under the rug and if it wasn’t for people like them then we would not be able to enjoy the privileges that we get today. They really paved the way for the veterans of this era, by speaking out against the ridicule and persecution that they got.”
Tyler Gall, a 25-year-old from Doylestown, was in the Army for four years and then had two years in the National Guard was stationed in Fort Lewis in Washington State and did one tour in Afghanistan.
“I agree with what he (Carpenter) said because we are really benefiting from the hard work of the old veterans who were abandoned by the military and I really appreciate that Bucks County is doing this for us and showing their appreciation,” said Gall.
A surprising entry in the program was director of student life Matt Cipriano, who served eight years in the army.
Cipriano joined a program in college called “Split option,” that sent him to basic training the summer after high school and then mixed his college years with military training.
The program helped Cipriano pay for college, but he also said that idea of serving his country was equally as appealing.
Cipriano found out about it last spring when a representative from Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick’s, R-8, office came and informed him about the discount cards and it started discussions that lead to Dose and Jolene coming to the college.
“We were not really expecting the representatives to come out for it, but I guess the recorder of deeds office decided to make it happen, which is nice and we appreciate that,” said Cipriano.
The people that showed to sign up for the program were not limited to students and faculty as Steve English from Levittown made the trip to Bucks after hearing about the opportunity from a family friend.
English is an electronics major from ITT technical institute that served 17 years with the U.S. Coast Guard and seven years with the Navy.
“I am all for the program,” English said. “We serve our country and we deserve something like this.”
If anybody did not make it out when the program was held they just have to show up to the Bucks County Courthouse with their identification, get their picture taken and then they get their card with the discounts.