New York, NY -
The
New York City
Marine Corps Council
("NYC Marines") announced today the launch of a
spirited campaign that will send YouTube messages
from home to our troops overseas and to show support
to those returning from duty.
The NYC Marine
Corps Council is reaching out to top chefs and
restaurateurs asking them to buy a ticket for a
Marine to attend the June 30, 2010, Mess Night Gala.
In return, The NYC Marine Corps Council will
videotape a message that will be posted on YouTube
(at “loveourtroopsnyc”) and promoted through
Twitter (@loveourtroops) and mainstream media,
including local and national TV outlets.
Legendary Elaine Kaufman of Upper East Side Eatery
Launches Campaign
Elaine Kaufman,
the legendary proprietor of the eponymous Upper East
Side eatery, has recorded the first video greeting
for “NYC Restaurants ♥Our Troops. “God Bless You
and please come home soon,” she urges. On the
recording, Elaine recounts her joy that members of
the military often spend their leave time in her
establishment enjoying the spaghetti bolognaise in
her homey environment before shipping back out.
Elaine’s video,
which launches the campaign, can be seen
here.
Food & Liquor Companies, Hotels & Everyone Who Loves
to Cook
Can Participate
Food companies,
cookbook authors, hospitality, liquor and spirit
companies and anyone who loves to cook at home are
welcome to participate. In addition to purchasing a
single ticket, a table can be purchased for10 vets.
That price includes a free one-page ad in the Mess
Night Program. Participants who buy tables are
welcome to join their guests at Mess Night.
Participants can
also donate gift certificates for meals, hotel rooms
and other NYC services to veterans and for gift bag
and silent auction items.
Third Annual Mess Night Celebrates 65th
Anniversary of V-E Day,
Recreates a 1945 Waldorf-Astoria Dinner Attended by
Eisenhower
Incorporating
the expert guidance of master chef, photographer,
author and food historian
Agostino Von
Hassell,
the third annual Mess Night Dinner will be held
again at the New York Athletic Club on Central Park
South on Wednesday, June 30, 2010. This year, in
celebration of the 65th Anniversary of
V-E Day, Von Hassell and his guest chefs will do a
faithful recreation of a 1945 historic menu served
first in 1945 at a dinner held at the
Waldorf-Astoria, attended by General Dwight D.
Eisenhower. Full historical information and
photographs about that event are available at
www.nycmcc.org
.
"There is no
other event like it in New York City." said Jeff
Carusone, President of the NYC Marine Corps
Council. "Mess Night is a unique opportunity for
guests and the military men and women to share in
our time honored customs while we honor those who
have served our nation and their families, both past
and present.”
How
to Participate in the
“NYC Restaurants ♥Our Troops” Campaign:
Full details are
available at the NYC Marines website,
www.nycmcc.org
in the “NYC Restaurants
♥Our Troops” section.
About "Mess Night"
“Mess
Night” is a venerable Marine Corps tradition dating
from the 1500s that few civilians experience. The
event encompasses a cocktail hour, an opulent feast,
good cheer and a range of fines for violating
guidelines of the mess, which all guests are
informed of at the onset. (Violations include foul
language, chewing gum, rapping glassware for
attention, rearranging table settings and discussing
politics, shop, money or religion. Fines begin at $1
and escalate to $30 for “NYC elite” and civilians.
Proceeds will benefit the Marine Corps - Law
Enforcement Foundation.)
General
Alfred M. Gray, Jr. a distinguished military leader
and a former Commandant of the Marine Corps,
Headquarters Marine Corps, Washington, D.C., will be
the Military Guest of Honor at the third annual New
York City “Mess Night.”
See
www.nycmcc.org
for full details.