Monterey, CA Veterans And Their Families Owe A Thank You To The David & Lucille Packard Foundation And Ted Balestreri, CEO Of The Cannery Row Corporation

View From A Nonprofit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

Veterans and their families owe a huge thank you to the David & Lucille Packard Foundation, as well as another icon on the Monterey Peninsula.  I wrote Thursday on my blog about the possibility of The Packard Foundation possibly lending $450K towards the development of land for a local VA cemetery, and it looks like this transaction will go through.  Ted Balestreri,  the CEO of the Cannery Row Company, also stepped up to the plate according to the Monterey Herald, giving a $150,000 loan to the vehicle which will fund the Veterans Cemetery on the old Fort Ord base.  I was stationed there when I served in the military and I think it's a fitting use for the land.  The Fort Ord Reuse Authority has received a Federal grant of $6.7 million towards the development but unless they can come up with $2.6 million by October 15 they may have to turn it down.  There is a loan that Governor Brown has until the end of next week to approve for $1 million, and the other $1 million is coming from a "mystery source" which the Herald had previously reported was a state agency as well.  For more information, go to the Central Coast Veterans Cemetery Association web site.