TRENTON: Blawenburg Band gig will aid National Guard families

By Lea Kahn, The Packet Group
   The strains of composer John Philip Sousa’s marches will fill the air Sunday afternoon at the New Jersey National Guard Armory, as the Blawenburg Band plays at a fundraiser to support the National Guard State Family Readiness Council.
   The 70-member Blawenburg Band is directed by Jerry Rife, chairman of music in the Fine Arts Department at Rider University. The band was founded in Blawenburg — a section of Montgomery Township — in 1890 and is one of the oldest community bands in New Jersey.
   The 1 p.m. concert will be preceded by an antique and classic car show on the armory grounds at 151 Eggerts Crossing Road. The car show, which also includes motorcycles, begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m. Admission to the concert is $10.
   The National Guard Armory will host an open house, beginning at 10 a.m. The National Guard Militia Museum, which is housed at the armory, will be open during the event. Refreshments will be available.
   Comedian Joe Piscopo of “Saturday Night Live” fame also is expected to make an appearance at the fundraiser, but it is not known when he will arrive. The event also will feature a live broadcast by DJ Big Joe Henry of radio station 101.5 FM.
   The car show and concert, co-sponsored by American Legion Post 414 and the Lawrence Lions Club, is the fifth annual fundraiser to support the Family Readiness Council.
   The Family Readiness Council is a nonprofit group founded to help National Guard family members while the troops are deployed. All proceeds from the event will be turned over to the Family Readiness Council.
   ”The Blawenburg Band is thrilled to be part of the process. The band plays about 30 times a year, in nursing homes and community events,” Mr. Rife said at a press conference Monday at the armory. He added that the 70 volunteer musicians includes a mix of professionals and amateurs.
   Mr. Rife said the band would play John Philip Sousa marches and other patriotic pieces, including the hymns for each of the military branches, during the 90-minute concert. Vocal music performances include “America the Beautiful,” he added.
   Maj. Gen. Glenn K. Rieth, adjutant general of the New Jersey National Guard, thanked American Legion Post 414 and the Lawrence Lions Club for their support of the 8,500 New Jersey National Guardsmen.
   Gen. Rieth said about 3,000 National Guard troops, including soldiers and airmen, have been deployed to Iraq. An additional 1,000 troops will be sent to Afghanistan and Iraq between June and the fall, he said.
   ”We are in uncharted waters,” Gen. Rieth said, pointing out that nearly half of all the troops that have been deployed are National Guardsmen or military reservists.
   Linda Rieth, the general’s wife and the co-founder of the Family Readiness Council, said “we still need to support” the 3,000 National Guardsmen and their families. She said the group had spent $85,000 in the last three months to help the soldiers’ and airmen’s families.
   Gen. Rieth and his wife also noted that the Family Readiness Council is prepared to make grants to returning National Guardsmen to help them if they are self-employed or to otherwise make the transition back to civilian life.
   Mayor Pam Mount said her son, Sgt. Mark Mount, is serving in the U.S. Army and is a veteran of three tours of duty in Afghanistan. He recently returned to the United States from an overseas tour of duty.
   ”When a National Guard soldier leaves, it impacts five or 10 or 20 people. That’s a lot of people who are impacted when a soldier leaves to serve overseas,” said Mayor Mount, who also serves on the Family Readiness Council.
   ”Emergencies happen to everyone,” she said. “The car breaks, the roof leaks or the furnace goes out. The Family Readiness Center has helped. That little bit of (financial) help can mean the difference between an emergency and a crisis.”
   Noting that “the citizen-soldiers are the glue that holds the war on terror together,” Mayor Mount said it is important to give the soldiers and their families the support that they need — and one way to do that is to support the National Guard State Family Readiness Council.
   Those who cannot attend the Sunday car show and concert are encouraged to make donations directly to the National Guard State Family Readiness Council by mailing a check or money order to the organization at P.O. Box 5692, Trenton, NJ 08638.
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