U.S. REP. RON BARBER WILL SERVE THANKSGIVING DINNER AT DAVIS-MONTHAN, SHOP AT SMALL BUSINESSES ON BUY LOCAL FRIDAY
TUCSON – U.S. Rep. Ron Barber will help serve Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow to airmen and retirees at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base before spending Black Friday shopping at local businesses and attending the Arizona-Arizona State football game.
Barber today issued the following statement on the Thanksgiving holiday:
Thanksgiving is a treasured national holiday that we have observed in the United States for 151 years. Although this holiday is historically an American one, it now is celebrated in several other countries as well. With roots stretching back to the 17th century, Thanksgiving was established in America to express our gratitude for the abundance that has blessed our great nation.
Yet for far too many of our fellow Arizonans, this holiday will be marked by hardship and hunger.
According to the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, about 240,000 of our fellow Tucsonans live at or below the federal poverty level. More tragically, 1 in 4 Southern Arizona children live in families where their parents struggle to put food on the table. One in 5 seniors in Arizona also goes to bed hungry.
The plight of these families should concern each and every one of us, particularly at this special time of year. Thanksgiving is the perfect day to open our hearts and our cupboards to those who are less fortunate.
Please help our fellow Arizonans have the Happy Thanksgiving that every person deserves and do what you can to help throughout the year. This is the spirit that led to the first Thanksgiving – and it is the spirit that lives on today.
Happy Thanksgiving from the Barber family to you and yours.
Tomorrow, on Thanksgiving Day, Barber and his wife Nancy will be at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base to help serve a turkey dinner with all the trimmings to airmen and to retirees. This is the fourth consecutive year that the Barbers have served dinner at the base.
The Barbers will be joining Col. James Meger, commander of the 355th Fighter Wing at Davis-Monthan, and his wife Kari in working in the base’s food service line for the midday meal.
Yesterday, Barber helped serve an early Thanksgiving dinner to airmen living in the dorms at Davis-Monthan. (Photo is below.)
On Friday, traditionally one of the busiest shopping days of the year, the Barbers will be patronizing local merchants on Buy Local Friday – one day ahead of Small Business Saturday, a day set aside to support and celebrate neighborhood retailers and restaurants.
The Barbers will shop at Picante Designs, which features products from Mexico including furniture, ceramics and Day of the Dead figurines. They later will eat lunch at Monterey Court, where artisan galleries and specialty shops are clustered around a central courtyard.
Barber is a member of the House Small Business Committee. He and his wife are former owners of a local small business.
The Barbers will end the day by attending the Arizona-Arizona State football game. Ron Barber is a graduate of the University of Arizona.
NEWS RELEASE
Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2014
CONTACT
Mark Kimble
Communications Director
mark.kimble@mail.house.gov
(520) 881-3588 or (520) 904-5876