The Stuart Air Show and Local Businesses Make a Difference
Now in its 37th year, the Stuart Air Show is one of my favorite community events. At least 30,000 people who will attend the annual aviation extravaganza on Nov. 13-15 agree with me.
Intentionally scheduled to coincide with Veteran’s Day, the air show—which makes a direct local economic impact of $4 million—takes many moments to honor the service and sacrifice of our veterans.
Examples range from discounted tickets for veterans and their families to the Missing Man aerial formations that cap off the Saturday and Sunday performances to its support for JROTC programs at local high schools and Southeast Florida Honor Flight.
“We do our best to make sure that service members—past and present—know their service has not been forgotten,” says Dewey Vinaya, president and chair of the Stuart Air Show Board of Directors who also served as an Army paratrooper for 23 years.
Honoring our veterans is a top priority for many businessowners in our community, including two members of the BDB’s board of directors.
Steve Hartz is the president of our board and the founder and CEO of Value Tool & Engineering, a specialized precision manufacturing and engineering company with a Palm City facility that creates customized tools and fixtures for the aerospace industry.
Steve served six years in the Air Force as a nuclear weapons specialist. He credits the military with honing his management skills and establishing strong standards and structures that refine process and produce high-quality outcomes.
Steve is a big believer in the value that veterans bring to his company. Eleven percent of his nearly 100-person workforce (locally and out of state) is composed of veterans. Some still suffer with PTSD, which can make them sensitive to certain stress levels.
“We’re not discouraged by that,” says Steve. “We know what we’re taking on and we’re willing to do that as I look at their service as an overall benefit, being a veteran myself.”
Another member of the BDB board who served in the military and owns a local business is David Snyder. Prior to a 14-year career in law enforcement, David served in the Marines during the Iraq war. Today, he owns and operates the home-healthcare business, Evergreen Private Care in Stuart.
Within a year of launching, covid hit. Observing veterans suffering in heartbreaking circumstances motivated David to broaden his company’s mission.
“I started interacting with veterans who couldn’t afford the services we offered,” he says, “and many were dying alone in nursing homes.”
David worked with the Veterans Administration’s Community Care network to assist struggling veterans.
“Preserving dignity, that’s No 1,” he says. “For the patients and their families, we want to prolong independence—that means your health needs are treated in your home and you’re not confirmed to a facility.”
David makes a priority of hiring veterans as caregivers and pairing them with patients who are veterans, noting the special connection that quickly forms between those share the bond of serving in uniform.
We deeply admire and appreciate the way Steve, David, and other local businessowners demonstrate their support for our veterans. The entire community gets a chance to do the same at the Stuart Air Show. So, grab your tickets, enjoy the show, and if you get a moment with a veteran, please take the chance to say, “Thank you.”