Veteran’s Day dinner is local woman’s way of saying thanks

    BRIGHTON -  It wasn’t a normal birthday request.
    Even if Tracie Morris was pondering a way to commemorate the big 5-0, her birthday wish still wasn’t one that would be expected.
    But friends Ann Taddeo and Scarlett Morris (no relation) knew Tracie well enough to know that she wasn’t kidding.
    “My first thought was, ‘Absolutely. If that’s what Tracie wants, that’s what we’ll do,’” Taddeo said.
    “My second thought was, ‘I don’t think she knows what we’re getting into,’” Taddeo said.
    “I had no clue,” Tracie added.
    But that’s the funny thing about what happens when you take a terrific idea and bring a group of friends together – six in this instance – determined to make their friend’s wish come true.
    Things have a spectacular way of coming together.
    And the most peculiar part about Tracie’s 50th birthday party (her birthday is actually still a couple months away) is while there will be food and friends and memories and even cake, it won’t have a single thing to do with her.
    Just the way she wanted it.
    “I just want one time in my life where I want to give, just to give,” she said. “And I’m dragging (my friends) all into it.
    “These poor girls,” she added.
    Here’s what they came up with.
    From 5 to 9:30, Friday night (Veterans Day) all military veterans, active military personnel, firefighters and police officers (with valid proof) are invited to Jordinelli’s Sports Bar and Restaurant, 25 N. Main Street, Brighton, for a free meal of roast beef, potatoes, salad, bread, dessert and a beverage. All others are welcome to attend as well. The cost is $7 a ticket and the money will go toward American Military Family Inc., an organization that supports military members and their families in a variety of ways. In addition to the meal, there will be musical performances by 2nd Wind, Mostly Joe and Phil Slade.
    The idea of honoring military members and emergency responders comes from a special place for Tracie, a Brighton native. Her husband of 3 ½ years, Larry, is a Vietnam veteran and, like many veterans of that war, never got a proper welcome home.
    “When he came home, he was spit on. He had things thrown at him,” she said. “He went over because that was his duty. That’s what he believed in.”
    Tracie simply can’t say thank you enough to her husband or any other military veteran.
    “I tell every military person I see, ‘Thank you,’” Tracie said. “I buy them dinner if I have the ability right then,” she said. “I can give them that much. I can’t give them what they gave to me or my family or my friends. I can’t possibly match that but I can give them little things back.”        One of the easiest parts of planning the dinner turned out to be finding a location.
    “I’ve known (Jordinelli’s owner) Dan (Doherty) for a while and I just walked up to him and said, ‘Dan, can I talk to you about borrowing your hall for Nov. 11?’” she said. “He said, ‘Anything you want.’”
    From there it was a matter of lining up food donations to prepare the meal. They received gift cards from Safeway and King Soopers. American Title Services, which has a Brighton office, agreed to purchase the meat for the dinner. The key dinner item they were still trying to nail down last week was potatoes.
    The group secured generous donations from a handful of area businesses to be used as door prizes. Tracie’s husband used his own connections to line up the musical entertainment.
    “These are all friends of ours and it wasn’t even a question to them. Of course they’ll do it,” she said.
    Tracie admitted she’s a bit nervous as the event moves closer. In one dream, or maybe a nightmare, she’s the only one who shows up for the dinner.
    “I’m so offended,” Taddeo teased. “I’m not even in your dream helping you.”
    Because that, of course, is a given. Even if, by some stretch of imagination, no one showed up to take advantage of Tracie’s birthday gift, the group of friends, which includes Amanda Durland, Diana Long and Aimee Barnes, would still be there. They jokingly refer to themselves as “The Real Housewives of Brighton.”
    “We get together,” Scarlett said. “We celebrate each other’s special birthdays. We’re emotional support for each other. We’re family.”
    It’s not what they expected at all for Tracie’s 50 birthday. And that’s what makes it perfect.
    “I thought we were going to go to a soup kitchen, serve the homeless,” Scarlett said. “But that’s what we do. It’s a gift to her. It’s a gift to our community.

Contact Kevin Denke at kdenke@metrowestnewspapers.com or 303-659-2522, ext. 225.

Veterans Day Benefit Dinner
5 to 9:30 p.m., Nov. 11
Jordinelli’s Sports Bar & Restaurant
Dinner free to all veterans, military personnel, firefighters and police officers (must provide proof)
Tickets $7 for all others
Call Tracie Morris at 720-366-1962 for information or to donate.