By Dorothy Meindok
The Post Newspaper Veterans Consultant
You may have seen Houston veteran Tim Stroud of Stroud Marketing on KPRC earlier this week or heard him and local area veteran and banker Bob Gebhard of Baytown/Pasadena VFW on Houston’s radio airwaves talking about Operation Turkey. This humanitarian mission to share a Thanksgiving meal with Houston’s needy has been a passion of these two stellar Rotarians since the inception of the veteran centric club.
Rotary Club of Greater Houston Area Veterans (with other sponsors, including the Houston Police Officers Association) helped to provide nearly 8,000 Thanksgiving meals in 2023 (2024’s estimate is 10K!) to our area’s citizens by cooking, packaging and then delivering the meals safely to the homes of people that signed up.
Operation Turkey is a 100% volunteer organization with no paid employees. Kids can even help by decorating or writing special messages on the clamshells the meals are delivered in.
It happens with the help of volunteers and there is still time to sign up and help out, with the distribution hub location for our part of Southeast Texas in Pasadena’s American Legion Post 521. To volunteer sign up at www.OperationTurkey.com.
It all starts this Wednesday, November 22, from 6:00am to 8:00pm, where hundreds of turkeys are smoked by professional teams at Turkey Tailgate. All the fixins’ are made ready and once everyone reconvenes on the morning of Thanksgiving (8:00am to 12:00pm), the meals are packaged and sent out for delivery, in containers that are adorned with personal artwork and resounding messages of love and caring. It’s a big endeavor and there are four locations to get involved and serve those less fortunate while engaging in wholesome fun, meeting new people, and remembering our blessings.
For more information:
American Legion, Post 654 3105 Campbell Rd. Houston, TX 77080 Hector Giron: (832) 588-6534
American Legion, Post 521 2221 Preston Ave. Pasadena, TX 77503 Bob Gebhard: (713) 824-7135
Elks Lodge, #2628 1050 Katy Fort Bend Rd Katy, TX 77493 Tim Stroud: info@stroudmarketing.com
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church 5501 Main St. Houston, TX 77004 Larry Blair: (925) 200-7640
On scene photos The American Legion Post 521 Pasadena last year – 2022.
Dorothy Meindok is The Post Newspaper’s Veterans Consultant. Ms. Meindok served her nation in the United States Navy and is currently a practicing lawyer advocating for our nation’s veterans. Her column appears on Sundays.
