By Chris Basinger, Staff Writer
TRUSSVILLE, Ala.–Hundreds of people from around Trussville flocked to the Gateway Entertainment District to see a larger than life Budweiser Clydesdale last Friday.
A crowd gathers at Trussville Social. Chris Basinger/Trussville Tribune
Rocco, a 4-year-old male Clydesdale, made an appearance at Trussville Social in support of Folds of Honor, a nonprofit organization that provides families of fallen or disabled U.S. service members and first responders with scholarships.
The Budweiser Clydesdales visited Birmingham last week as part of a cross-country tour celebrating 14 years of partnership with the nonprofit, which Anheuser-Busch and wholesaler partners including Adams Beverages have donated $28 million to, funding over 5,000 educational scholarships for Folds of Honor recipients.
“It’s one thing when you see it on a calendar or a poster, but when you see one up close, they’re massive and it’s really neat,” Trussville Social co-owner Jeremy Reeves said.
“We’re thankful that [Anheuser-Busch] chose us to be one of the sponsoring locations.”
“We distributed 350 scholarships last year in the state of Alabama,” said Brigadier General (Ret.) Paul A. Pocopanni, Jr. who is the state vice president of Folds of Honor and chairman of the Hoover Veterans Committee.
Trussville Social co-owners Jeremy and Misty Reeves and Trussville Mayor Buddy Choat pose with the Clydesdale. Chris Basinger/Trussville Tribune
“This is great with the Clydesdale here, you know, have awareness of what we do and we get a portion of the money, everybody that drinks a Budweiser product, they give us a little money that goes in our pocket and all the money that’s raised in Alabama stays in Alabama so that’s good.”
“I think it’s a great day for Trussville,” said Trussville Mayor Buddy Choat.
“The draw that it has brought to our downtown area in particular in support of programs like Folds of Honor and it complements our Veterans Committee, you know, we’re very active in our veterans park and our other things that we do every year, I just think this is a natural for Trussville.”
