TO THE EDITOR

Thanks to all who helped fireworks show happen

Many of you may have enjoyed the first annual Lake Pueblo State Park Memorial Day Salute to Veterans fireworks display on May 26.

This event was an effort to give a fitting tribute to those men and women in uniform both past and present; soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, firefighters, police officers, and all of the service people in this great country that place their lives on the line that we may live in this land of the free and home of the brave.

I have often thought that a fireworks display on Lake Pueblo would be a spectacular event with the mountain silhouette, water reflection and boats along the shore.

It was a dream that I wanted to fulfill in honor of these veterans on Memorial Day. As a retired Air Force captain, I have a deep respect for men and women in uniform, both military and civilian.

I wanted to give back something to tell them they are appreciated and remembered. My hobby is pyrotechnics.

What better way to say “thank you” than with a celebration in the sky?

Francis Scott Key gave us this opportunity to commemorate our heritage with the "Star Spangled Banner" and the phrase “...and the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there...”

The Salute to Veterans also included a balloon launch as a personal way to remember someone special on Memorial Day.

This celebration would not have been possible without the efforts of many people who donated their time, energy and money.

There are far too many supporters to thank individually. Please know that we appreciate the efforts of all of you who helped to make this a Memorial Day to remember.

Please forgive me in advance if I missed anyone. I would certainly like to thank all of the folks who purchased a balloon or contributed anonymously.

A special thanks to the Pueblo State Park rangers - Mike Dowd, Brad Henley, all of the other park rangers - and the Pueblo State park maintenance staff and fire prevention crews, the Pueblo West Fire Department, Mike Parker, Kent and the other partners at the South Shore Marina for their unwavering encouragement and financial support, Sheldon Reese and his staff at the North Shore Marina, Lee Roberts and Gary Dall at Clear Channel Radio (all four stations) for their support, Loretta Sword for her desire to help support this effort for our veterans, Leslie Smith and John Miller at the FAA, Kevin Klien at the State Fire Marshals office, the county sheriff and Fire Marshal’s office, sinancial donations from our friends Lonnie Parson and Tricia Sierra at Vectra Bank, South Shore Marina, North Shore Marina, Brian Surage at In Motion Physical Therapy, Rick and Judy Papa at C&D Electric, Kent and Brenda Boardman at Boardman Motors, John Duston at NAPA Auto Parts, Henry and Sylvia Russel, Mike Roberts, John and Laura Davis, Bill and Ann Nelson, Stan and Mary Bixler, Bob and Rhonda King, Gary at Roger’s Enterprise, Joe Vigil at Brightside, Mark Dunsmoore and Kim and our other friends at Colorado East Bank and Trust, and lastly to my friends and brave volunteers who helped me set up the display: Eric Herndon, whose technical support was invaluable, Tim Bye, Jim Moreno and Bernice Barnes - who kept me going and always remembered the little details and special touches - and Jim Vanway, who gave up his garage for nearly a month while I mounted the mortar racks on the trailers.

My heartfelt gratitude to all of you.
Kevin M. Sarni
Captain USAF (Retired)

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