Ribbon cutting kicks off opening of new GR Home for Veterans outdoor amphitheater

Alongside partners at the nonprofit Finish the Mission Veteran Relief Fund, the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans held a ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday to celebrate the rebirth of an outdated 1970s-era band shell at its 3000 Monroe Ave. NE campus after nearly six months of extensive renovations.  

Originally built in 1976, Finish the Mission Board of Directors Chairman Thomas Antor says rebuilding the old, crumbling structure was a top priority for organization leaders at GRHV, who haven’t been able to factor funding the renovation into the budget for nearly two decades.

“I made a commitment that it would be our number one goal to replace that structure, regardless of how much money we raised during the Freedom Cruise, we would make it happen,” says Antor, a Kent County commissioner whose nonprofit organization works to generate revenue through its week-long annual West Michigan Freedom Cruise. 

“These guys love music, that's the one thing they all love probably more than anything else,” he says. “There’s one guy named James there and he sits down there everyday. I call him the Centurion because he's always down there. A lot of these guys watched this being built — it gives them something to take pride in. They feel like they’re a part of it.” 

With a brand new electrical system for maximum sound capability and clusters of large oak trees surrounding the lawn to shade concert goers, Antor says the amphitheater is now armed with capabilities that extend to enhance the other events GRHV hosts there each year such as its Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies, fish fry, and family carnival.

GRHV will operate the new venue, which is open to the larger public to come and see performances, as well as rent out the space for others to host their own events. 

The new amphitheater was dedicated to Antor’s father, WWII vet and former resident Gerald Albert Antor — a small display of gratitude to both the man himself and the work Finish the Mission Veteran Relief Fund does for veterans in Grand Rapids through its annual West Michigan Freedom Cruise event in June. 

“100 percent of proceeds from the event — every dime of it — goes back to West Michigan vets,” Antor says. “There are no administrative costs, because there are no paid positions here, we’re all volunteers.”

Antor says proceeds from this years’ event are earmarked for an even bigger undertaking than an amphitheater — the 49-bed GRHV solarium where over 90 percent of the residents can rarely leave the unit due to special needs, and require one-on-one supervision if they do. 

“That project is way, way overdue,” he says, adding that the current building is less of a home and more of an “institution” due to it the crumbling Civil War-era infrastructure

“If we're gonna call it a veterans home, let’s rebuild it from the ground up and give it those features,” he says. “Let’s make it warmer and friendlier and help them rebuild their rooms so it feels more like a home and less like an institution.” 

Some say it’s a bit of a lofty goal, but Antor says that’s exactly what they were going for.  

“We set the goals really high because that keeps the fire lit underneath us and we're going to do everything we can to get that done,” he says. 

For more information on the West Michigan Freedom Cruise and Finish the Mission Veterans Relief Fund, visit www.freedomcruise.net. 

By Anya Zentmeyer, Development News Editor
Images courtesy of Orion Construction Co.