Boutte businessman says vets deserve better treatment
Mervin Autin Sr. of Bayou Gauche requested and got St. Charles Parish Council approval to place a member on the board of a newly formed veterans advocacy group called Warriors of St. Charles.
“The way our veterans are treated is a crying shame,” said Autin, owner of Vince’s Auto Parts, told the council.Money is being raised to help veterans and their families with any needs should it be rent, utilities or more. Autin said they’ve just completed the paperwork to operate the groups as an LLC and he’s seeking volunteer help such as legal and banking assistance, as well as with developing a website and answering phones.
“This will be a transparent organization,” he said. “One hundred percent, if someone wants to see where the money is being spent, it will be documented and available.”
A red beans and rice fundraiser is being planned with assistance from friend Vince Vance of Vince Vance & the Valiants music fame. Autin said Vance will help raise funds for the organization. He said he wants to recruit volunteer servers — local “celebrity” servers, if he has his way — to bolster the effort.
Earlier, Autin called this effort “the way I’m going to serve my country,” who couldn’t serve in the military because of eyesight problems. “I’d like to make sure it never goes astray and always does what it had to do.”“So many of my friends went to serve and some of them didn’t come back. I really wish I had served and now, I plan on serving my country for the rest of my life. I’m going to devote myself to this.”
Autin said he was shocked at how many elderly military veterans in the parish need help, and he sees Warriors of St. Charles as the parish’s only organization aimed at assisting the parish’s veterans.
The organization’s first year fundraising goal is $100,000.
“All money collected will be spent on vets and their survivors to help with the light bill or gas … as long as they can prove a need,” he said.
Autin gestured toward a pair of veterans he sat down to have lunch with last week, John Lawrence Clark III and William W. Becknel. Clark served in Vietnam, while Becknel served in Korea and World War II.
“I look at this man, I see a warrior,” Autin said. “I look at this gentleman, I see a warrior. When I look at my friends who did serve, I see warriors. The sacrifices these men made, that their wives made, is the reason why we have the freedoms we have.”
Clark, who is known to most by the nickname “J.C.,” said he believes in the Warriors of St. Charles project and its potential to provide a leg up for veterans in the community.
“A promise was made to us that we’d have free medical care, and they reneged on it. We don’t get free medical treatment. We have the American Legion Post set up to take care of veterans from war time. To take care of their families, their children … they haven’t been able to take care of these things, to take care of a veteran who lost his job and can’t pay the rent.”
Autin said he has no desire to be the chairman of the “Warriors” board, but has a deep-rooted desire to get things moving in the right direction.
“The board will elect the chairman,” he said. “I want to promote this, get the ball rolling and continue to come up with ideas. It’s something I want to see roll on for the long-term. It’s driving me. And my hope is that if I die in 5 years, 10 years, I’ll have done something (to help).”Autin said the effort will need participation from the parish and community to make an impact.
“We need boots on the ground,” he said.
Be the first to comment