By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
OLEAN — The sixth annual Southern Tier Wounded Warrior Benefit will be held from 3-9 p.m., Sunday, July 27, at Good Times of Olean.
Col. Patrick Miller, an Allegany native who was seriously wounded in a domestic terror attack at Fort Hood in 2014, is back at the helm of this year’s benefit — at a new venue.
The annual benefit began in 2014, but was sidelined for three years due to Covid 19. Last year’s benefit concert was held at Bradner Stadium after several years at Firemen’s Field in Allegany.
This year’s performers include headliner LOCASH from Nashville, up-and-coming national recording artist singer-songwriter Greylan James, and Buffalo-based VOYAGR.
Miller said LOCASH is “an incredible band. They’ve been around for a while. They were scheduled for the Southern Tier Wounded Warrior Benefit in 2020, which was canceled due to Covid 19.”
He met the band prior to that at a central New York casino and was convinced they’d get a good response from Olean’s country music fans. The fundraiser was put on pause for the next couple of years.
“It felt like unfinished business,” Miller said in a telephone interview with the Olean Star on Thursday. “When he spoke with the band earlier this year, he asked if they could fit Olean into their summer touring schedule. The answer was yes. “They want to support veterans,” Miller said. “They understand why we are doing this.”
One of LOCASH’s most requested songs is Three Favorite Colors.”
Miller said he wants to continue to give back to the local veterans community — the community that supported him when he was stationed in Iraq, and that supported him and his family after the Fort Hood shooting. His later mother was part of a local Military Support Group.
This year’s Southern Tier Wounded Warrior Benefit comes at a time Miller and his family have moved to a new posting in Louisiana, where he is part of a brigade command structure. The family is flying to Buffalo next Thursday.
An army of volunteers helps Miller organize and put on each benefit concert. Plus, Miller said West Long, owner of Good Times of Olean, and the facility’s staff “are incredible. They’ve held concerts there before.”
Miller said the venue will be more right-sized than Bradner Stadium. With 1,000 or more concert-goers expected, things like parking and bathrooms will be closer. There will be four food trucks at the site and plenty to drink as well.
Besides the music, there will be bounce houses for children, as well as a chicken wing ride similar to a bucking bronco.
“We rely on so many volunteers back home to make this happen,” Miller commented. Many are score group that formed in 2017.
Some organizations help provide volunteers. Kinley Corp. is a major contributor, he said. Other volunteer groups include the Reinforcements motorcycle group, Allegany-Limestone students and family and friends.
Miller said 100% of the net proceeds go to wounded and disable veterans and local groups that support them.
“Bring your lawnchair and be ready for a great day at the Southern Tier Woiunded Warrior Benefit,” Miller said.
Tickets are $30 and may be purchased at the door or on the Southern Tier Wounded Warrior Benefit website at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/southern-tier-wounded-warrior-benefit-concert-featuring-locash-tickets-1291751145449?aff=oddtdtcreator&fbclid=IwY2xjawJg-BdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHv3y-q9c4e74vtpSmeoM-CJ_V5oY9QO0pF9e2hQetzmCGnCJTiHWLqvUCYQt_aem_o3KdFdCY0cro0hBsOobqug
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All Rights Reserved. Star News LLC. Eric M. Firkel.
