THE SPOKESMAN • TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2022 A5
Gala raises funds for Central Oregon Veterans Ranch
Celebrities and
supporters converge
for benefit of local
military veterans
BY NICK ROSENBERGER
Redmond Spokesman
Under the soft golden
light of Juniper Golf
Course’s event hall, veter-
ans, organizers, supporters
and celebrities gathered on
June 25 to raise money and
awareness for the Central
Oregon Veterans Ranch —
a 19-acre working farm out-
side Redmond that works to
restore “purpose and spirit”
to military veterans.
Organized by COVR
founder Alison Perry and
Suzanne DeLaurentiis, an
actress and film producer,
gala attendees gathered
dressed in suits, cocktail
dresses, cowboy hats and
military finery with medals
glinting in the light. Every-
one was there for a single
purpose: To support the
ranch and veterans healing
from traumatic experiences
while serving.
“It’s really about building
community and building a
support base, a support net-
work, for veterans post-mil-
itary,” said Perry.
Nick Rosenberger/Redmond Spokesman
Alison Perry speaks at the Central Oregon Veterans Ranch gala at the Juniper Golf Course in Redmond on
June 25.
Perry began working with
veterans as a trauma ther-
apist in 2005, two years af-
ter her brother deployed to
Iraq. While with the De-
partment of Veteran’s Af-
fairs, she developed a pas-
sion for addressing combat
trauma across the lifes-
pan and looking into what
trauma looks like for some-
one who is 22, 42, 62 or 92
years old.
“It never goes away,” she
said. “It just changes.”
In 2007, while working
with a young veteran who
ended up in the psychiat-
ric ward of the Portland VA
Medical Center, Perry had
a vision of starting a sheep
farm where they could send
veterans to work the land,
sleep under the stars and
be in a community of peo-
ple who were facing similar
struggles.
This dream became a
reality in 2015 when the
ranch opened just south of
Redmond. Among other
things, it offers peer and
PTSD support groups and a
veteran-only AA meeting.
“It’s that’s their little piece
of the world here where they
can connect with each other,”
said Leslie Ristina, a board
member for the ranch.
Unless you’ve served,
you will be an outsider to
some degree, Ristina said.
The ranch, however, of-
fers a place where veter-
ans can drop their guard
around others who have
been through similar expe-
riences.
“What we’re really fo-
cused on is post-traumatic
growth,” Perry said. “We
don’t want to just save a vet-
eran’s life, we want to help
them find their new life.”
Veterans are welcome to
come and go as they please
— volunteering if they’re
stressed or need to talk to
somebody or connect with
others. Thursday is a vol-
unteer work day and acts as
a great way for interested
veterans to start getting in-
volved.
“We see transformation
happening with our veter-
ans,” Perry said. “We see
them rediscovering them-
selves, a new sense of hope,
a sense of purpose.”
The gala was also at-
tended by actors Michael
Paré, who is best known for
the 1989 film Eddie and the
Cruisers, and John Savage,
who acted in the 1978 film
The Deer Hunter, alongside
Robert De Niro and Chris-
topher Walken.
“I’m an actor,” Paré said.
“My credits mean nothing
compared to these guys.”
With the success of the
gala, the ranch is looking
forward to the future. They
are working towards grow-
ing the property and broad-
ening outreach efforts and
peer support services. And,
according to Ristina, they
plan to start a house for
end-of-life veterans on the
ranch.
“It’s a lifeline,” Perry said.
“It’s a community. It’s a
tribe.”
█
Reporter: nrosenberger@
redmondspokesman.com
Community choir back in tune after 2-year pause
M
agical. That was the
word many of us
used to describe our
experience in the fall 2019
when the Redmond Commu-
nity Choir first began.
A look back
The summer 2019 continu-
ing education catalog for Cen-
tral Oregon Community Col-
lege included notice of a new
class that was being offered in
the fall: the Redmond Commu-
nity Choir. The class was open
to adult amateur singers of all
skill levels and best of all, no au-
dition was required.
Ken Piarulli, the choir direc-
tor, is a lifelong musician with a
master’s degree in music educa-
tion from Syracuse University.
He had sung in and directed
several choral groups, and he
had performed professionally
as a jazz pianist. I briefly won-
dered why someone with his
credentials would be willing
to assemble a choir of unsea-
soned amateurs, then put on a
community concert after just a
dozen practice sessions.
Although I was a little ner-
vous at the prospect of having
to sing at the concert, I didn’t
want to pass up this wonderful
opportunity. I clicked on the
link and signed up. Another
choir member later told me,
“Literally, I jumped up and ran
to the computer to register.”
The choir
I walked into a full room
on the first night of practice.
The excitement was palpable
as we waited in line for our
name tags and sheet music.
The choir members were di-
rected to their appropriate
sections, and after a brief in-
troduction, our new choir got
down to business. Before we
knew it, two hours had flown
by, and the evening was over.
Every Monday I looked for-
ward to walking into choir
practice and joining a group of
like-minded music lovers who
were willing to work hard to
make good music.
Leadership
Ken’s leadership and dedi-
cation helped ensure our suc-
cess. It was a steep learning
curve for some of the choir
members, so he offered classes
before our rehearsals for those
who needed help reading mu-
sic. One of the choir members
expressed the sentiments that
many of us felt, that Ken “cre-
ates an environment where he
makes people want to do their
very best for him.” And we
did. At least one choir mem-
ber took voice lessons; an-
other took piano lessons. We
showed up on time, and we
gave it our all.
The concert
With the Dec. 15 concert
How to join the choir
Visit www.cocc.edu and
click on the personal enrich-
ment section of the com-
munity education tab, then
click on the choir’s picture
under special programs.
Click on the “registration
open” button, and then “add
to cart.”
date looming, there was still
some work to be done. The
dress rehearsal was on Friday,
Dec. 13, and that’s when it re-
ally sunk in that we would be
performing before a live au-
dience. Yikes. We practiced
getting on and off stage, then
sang selected song sections as
the crew did light and sound
checks. When we were done,
there was nothing more to do
but show up, warm up, and
perform.
On the day of the concert,
as we lined up and walked
onstage the audience began
clapping, and they continued
clapping until the last person
was in position — what a wel-
come! Ken greeted the audi-
ence, turned back to the choir,
raised his hands, and with the
first downbeat we were off and
running. Before we knew it,
our concert was in the books,
as we finished up with the
audience participating in a
Christmas carol sing-a-long.
Our brand-new, never-hav-
ing-sung-together choir had
learned and performed more
than a dozen songs in twelve
short weeks. We were proud
of what we had done, and we
were looking forward to see-
ing what we could accomplish
when we got together again
spring term. However, there
were…
2020, 2021 and spring 2022.
However, there is good news.
Complications
In March 2020, a week be-
fore we were to begin rehears-
als, the world went into Covid
lockdown. Even as restrictions
eased, it would have been
nearly impossible to sing with
people six feet apart from each
other and wearing masks. Our
choir was on hold, and would
remain on hold throughout
We’re back
Beginning in fall of 2022,
the Redmond Community
Choir will be back in business.
The first day of rehearsal will
be Monday, Sept. 19, with a
Christmas concert scheduled
for Sunday, Dec. 11. Registra-
tion has already begun and the
choir is nearing capacity.
Along with magical, there
was another word that some
of us used to describe our ex-
perience with the Redmond
Community Choir — joy.
For all the hard work we put
into the choir, it never felt like
work because it was so much
fun. And I for one can’t wait
to join old friends and new
music-lovers this fall, and to
re-experience the magic and
joy of making music together.
— Pamela Lesznar is a member of the
Redmond Community Choir.