Western Region Veterans Committee Chair Amy Owczarczak (left) visits with a resident at the NYS Veterans Home in Batavia on June 11.
Batavia, NY– On Sunday, June 11, more than a dozen CSEA Western Region Veterans Committee activists and family members visited the New York State Veterans Home in Batavia, NY. The home in Genesee County is also the work site for CSEA Buffalo Area State Employees Local 003.
CSEA members usually provide and serve a buffet luncheon or host a cookout, sit around and tell war stories of a bygone era, listen to live music and sing. According to Amy Owczarczak, CSEA Western Region Chair for the Veterans Committee, members have been visiting residents at the Batavia facility three times a year for almost a decade.
Bob Pyjas, a CSEA officer from Erie County who is past chair for the Veterans Committee, told the Work Force, “We love visiting the veterans home in Batavia—and our CSEA volunteers love putting smiles on the faces of the people who served our country with such distinction. I also want to give a shout out to all the CSEA represented employees at this facility who provide such great care for the residents. And, I am really proud of our committee members for taking the time to visit our heroes.”
Owczarczak added, “Our veterans continue to need our support. They have sacrificed so much for us. Now it’s our turn to honor them and give them some thanks and some companionship—and we love doing it.”
June 11– CSEA Western Region members who visited the NYS Veterans Home in Batavia are left to right: Bob Bostwick, Kellie Mariani, Bob Pyjas and Sue Balsano. Photo provided.
-Ove Overmyer
