St. Agnes Cathedral choirs ‘sign’ up to help vets

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The lawns around Rockville Centre may be looking a lot more patriotic in the coming days.

In anticipation of Memorial Day, the St. Agnes Cathedral choirs commemorated the service and sacrifice made by our country’s veterans by creating lawn signs that displays the American flag and the words “Thank You For Your Service.” The boys’ choir proudly showed off the signs in front of the cathedral on Monday.

The choir members got their inspiration by watching cathedral chorale bass singer and U.S. Army veteran Lt. Col. Edward L. Fabian Jr. perform in uniform during a memorial concert at St. Agnes last fall. From there, they decided to make supporting a veterans service organization a part of its fundraising efforts. The signs were printed by Raul and Marci Potillo of allin1graphics.

Commander Frank Colon Jr. of Rockville Centre American Legion Post 303 said he was approached with the idea from former St. Agnes School Board President Jane Houdek and agreed to the choir’s offer to be an equal recipient of the proceeds of the lawn sign sales.

“She’s the one that’s doing this to support the veterans,” Colon said. “The kids were enthusiastic. It was a nice thing.”

Choir director Michael Bower said both the adult and boys groups always had a strong bond with the U.S. military. Some of his singers include military veterans, parents of active duty members and spouses and children of veterans.

“I’m so proud of them,” he said.

Rockville Centre Mayor Francis X. Murray was invited to St. Agnes by Colon and was especially moved by the signs. His father, former Mayor Eugene Murray, was stationed in Germany during World War II and his cousin, Arthur, was a helicopter pilot who perished in Vietnam.

“They’re taught to give back to the people who saved our country in World War II,” the mayor said of the choir members. “It means so much to me.”

About 130 signs have been sold so far. Each one costs $15 and can be purchased at the St. Agnes Cathedral Music Ministry, after the masses on May 20 and 21 and Monaghan’s Restaurant.