Troop 45 boy scout thanks local community supporters

Sometimes local heroes need a bit of a lift. Holden Frommeyer, a boy scout with Troop 45 in Warwick, decided to use his troop’s poinsettia fundraiser as an opportunity to do just that. According to his mother Soney, the idea began three years ago when out-of-state friends and family of the Frommeyers wished to support his boy scout troop, but lived too far to receive the plants. Frommeyer and his older brother Jackson, an eagle scout with Troop 45, decided to instead gift these purchased poinsettias to local, everyday heroes.

This year’s recipients included veterans and members of the VFW Post 4662, Carmine Garritano, Bryan Kidney, John MacDonald, Don P. Grenier, and Candido Rivera; commander of the American Legion Post 214 Tom Brennan; Warwick Ecumenical Food Pantry Director Glenn P. and his wife Susan D. Dickes, who are also both benefactors of the Albert Wisner Public Library’s programs and scholarships; Four Seasons Kids Founder and Executive Director Audra Schlesinger; current acting president and secretary of the Warwick Skatepark Initiative Donna Kaminiski; business owner and supporter of many local initiatives and nonprofits Eileen Patterson; Kathleen Bettello, WVHS cosmetology teacher and partner of The Great Cut Warwick, in which the Frommeyers also participate; Judy Battista, mental health and suicide prevention advocate and founder of the Warwick Cares Initiative; and members of the Warwick Valley High School administration, faculty, and staff.