A Meaningful Purpose for Veteran Made Woodworks
Thank you, Spectrum News for this amazing featured story!
A Meaningful Purpose for Veteran Made Woodworks
Anthony Guadagnino started making handcrafted wooden American flags three years ago. It started as a gift for a friend but quickly turned into something more.
“When I gave it to him, some of the guys there, just kind of, bells and whistles started turning and we said, ‘Well, maybe we have something here,’ ” Guadagnino said.
Three years later, Guadagnino and his team have made more than 3,000 of these wooden flags. Orders come in from across the country, usually as a gift for someone in the military or law enforcement.
“We take it very seriously,” Guadagnino said. “There’s a lot of meaning, a lot of symbolism; something that’s going to be hanging in someone’s home.”
It also means a lot for Guadagnino and his team to make these flags. They’re also veterans. Guadagnino joined the Marines in 1999 and deployed to Iraq in 2003.
“Making the flags, it means something to us, it’s important to us,” Guadagnino said. “So it’s got an emotional factor.”
The emotional factor is what drives them to make sure every little detail is done right. It also brings them together to paint, wax, and engrave these flags in their free time.
Today, Guadagnino serves in the Army, working at the Watervliet Arsenal.
“It’s a team of guys that get together and you know we have a blast, some camaraderie,” Guadagnino said. “That’s what the military is all about.”
With the holiday season in full swing, orders are beginning to pick up. Guadagnino expects to make more than 1,200 flags for 2018.
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A Gift for Death Wish Coffee
Check out this sick laser engraved piece we did for @deathwishcoffee ! For those who don’t know I’m kind of a coffee addict, when you hustle like we do you have to go with the Worlds Strongest Coffee!
A laser-engraved connection
What an honor to be able to reconnect and present a personalized laser engraved flag for the Kiendzior family! Pat and I served in the Marines and deployed to Iraq together in 2003. Great time getting the families together and hearing all about “Chance” and Delta Dog!
Check out this gorgeous flag that Patrick and his OpDD Chance received! It’s beautiful! Thank you Veteran Made Woodworks LLC for sharing these great pictures! – Operation Delta Dog
A Mother’s Day Gift for a Gold Star Mother
We receive requests for donations every day but deciding whom to gift a flag and “give back” was an easy decision to make. Carrie Farley is a Gold Star Mother to SSG Derek Farley. SSG Farley was killed August 17 2009 in Afghanistan while he was trying to defuse an IED.
Our friend and Carrie’s Co-Worker Ed Yamin told us all about her, her son and how she has dedicated her life to serving others. She works to support Veteran’s and this great Nation through the Gold Star Mother’s. She has endured what no one should have to feel yet turned struggle into a positive.
Happy Mother’s Day to Gold Star Mother Carrie Farley we hope this gift honors your sacrifice and serves as a symbol of freedom for years to come.
SSG Derek Farley
Gold Star Mother Carrie Farley
BHM: Troy native says Army helped shape his life
We are very proud to have Robert Hicks as a part of our team and to call him a friend. Have a look at this Spectrum News piece highlighting his service and experience in the Army. Rob has a hand in every flag we make, a true motivator and patriot!
SPECTRUM NEWS VIDEO: A Troy native and Army veteran had no idea what to expect when he joined the Army, years later he couldn’t imagine his life any other way. In the final installment of our Black History month series, Solomon Syed introduces you to Sergeant Robert Glen Hicks.
Holiday gift guide shines light on entrepreneurial veterans
Big thanks to the VBOC for highlighting us in their Holiday Gift Guide….and making the Troy Record!
WATERVLIET, N.Y. >> Looking for a last-minute holiday gift? The Watervliet Arsenal Business and Technology Partnership has a whole list of gifts that also support local veterans.
The partnership created a Holiday Gift Guide on its website at www.arsenalpartnership.com as a way to help shoppers find just the right gift while also showing their support for veteran-owned business. From a copy of former U.S. Rep. Christopher Gibson’s book “Rally Point” — Gibson is a retired military commander — or a ride on the Spa City Brew Bus to dinner at Clark’s Steakhouse in Schuylerville or a wooden flag from Veteran Made Woodworks of Troy, the guide includes unique items and experiences provided by veteran-led business throughout the region.
“For the past three or four weeks, you’ve been getting bombarded in your email from anyplace you’ve ever shopped online with gifts for her, gifts for him, gifts for the kids, gifts for mom, gifts for dad,” explained partnership President Peter Gannon, “so we thought, we’ve worked with so many veteran-owned businesses through the Veterans Business Outreach Center, why don’t we put our own little spin on this holiday tradition.”
The partnership launched the online guide on its website about two weeks ago.
“It’s like a little nod to what we do at the Veterans Business Outreach Center, being able to showcase and highlight some of our veteran-owned companies and the clients that we’ve worked with to see their businesses grow,” said Zach Yakel, client services and project coordinator for the partnership.
Other veteran-owned businesses featured in the guide includes The Salt Den in Latham, Hot Yoga Queensbury, Big Moose Deli and Country Store in Hoosick and Hair Journeys Beauty Salon in Albany.
“I think the other cool thing about this is that almost all these [businesses] have an option for an online gift card, too, so if down the stretch here during the last couple of days [until Christmas], if people are stuck you can [do that],” said Gannon.
Organizers said their hope for the guide is that it can help veterans grow their businesses while also encouraging people to shop locally.
“The goal of the program is that we want to see every veteran entrepreneur that we speak with grow their business,” explained Yakel. “We help from inception to development and growth, so this is a great way to kind of tip our hats to the men and women who have served our country. They are now not only contributing to our local economy, but in the holiday season, you’re able to give back to our veterans.”
Organizers said the guide will be active through Christmas Day, and they intend to expand the program out in the future.
Shout Out to a Friend of Veteran Made Woodworks
A huge shout out to our friends Jeremy and Andrea who just went through the fights of their lives and came out still undefeated! For those who don’t know Jeremy is a friend of ours, he happens to have 2 of our flags but might as well be a spokesman for us! He recently had emergency heart surgery and is recovering now, doing well. Cheers to Jeremy, father husband, law enforcement officer, Navy Veteran and more…Veteran Made has your 6!
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