ROCKBRIDGE — Along Kreashbaum Road in Rockbridge, a retreat that’s being developed for combat veterans and their families is taking a step toward completion, with an upcoming concert and fun run to raise money for the project.
Valor Retreat — whose name is an acronym for “Veterans Are Loved, Owed, and Respected” — is a 22-acre site, donated by businessman and veteran Larry Teichman, which will provide “a serene and therapeutic setting” for vets suffering from PTSD.
The site came complete with horse stalls, pastures, and an indoor riding arena, which Teichman hopes will allow the place to offer equine therapy, known as an effective treatment for PTSD.
Eventually, the hope is to raise enough money to have cabins built on the property, where vets and their families can stay for free up to a week, and enjoy the surrounding hills, ponds, and hiking trails. Valor Retreat is also looking to work with medical professionals to hold group therapy sessions, similar to those offered by Boulder Crest Foundation in Bluemont, Virginia.
“The idea behind the retreat is a non-chemical, non-clinical approach to treating (PTSD),” Teichman told The Logan Daily News this week. “It will be the first retreat of its kind in the state of Ohio.”
The Logan Daily News profiled the founder and his big idea back in 2021. Since then, underground wiring and other significant infrastructural strides have been made, though the cabins have yet to begin construction.
This is where the Country Fest for Vets comes in, a massive fundraiser from which 100% of the proceeds will go toward Valor Retreat. The event is set for Saturday, June 22, and was arranged with the massive help of local resident Damon Kuhn, who took over recently as president of the Valor Retreat board.
The day will begin at 3:30 p.m. at the site of the retreat, 16171 Kreashbaum Road, where an honor guard ceremony will take place. That will be followed by a fun run, with all vehicles allowed, including stops at the local American Legion and the Amvets.
The run will end at the Poston Manor and event barn at 36560 Hocking Drive, at 6 p.m., but that will hardly be the end of the festivities. There, country musician Bobby McClendon will headline a concert — a Nashville-based singer-songwriter who has played with Jason Aldean.
“We got a professional stage and sound company (for the concert),” Kuhn told The Logan Daily News. “Guys don’t come from Nashville expecting to sit up on a wooden platform with bales of straw all around,” he joked.
Along with McClendon, the band Hillbilly Deluxe and singer-songwriter Kalysta Minton will take the stage. The evening will close, Kuhn said, with a tribute to the famous country musician Toby Keith, who passed away earlier this year.
The Logan Daily News has agreed to throw its support behind the event by giving away two free tickets that include the fun run, parking, food, the concert, and the opportunity to meet McClendon.
Kuhn said the event will be catered by Ron Webb of Fat Guys, and will also feature food and drink supplements from Bailey’s Concessions, Chuck Wagon, 58 West, and Hocking Hills Winery. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase.
“It’ll probably be the biggest concert held in Hocking County this year,” Kuhn said. Tickets are available for pre-sale at $49, or $59 on the day of the show.
In order to donate to Valor Retreat separate from the concert, or learn more about the organization, they can be found online at www.valorretreat.org. For more information about the June concert, Damon Kuhn can be reached at 740-808-2281, or Sydney Kilbarger at 740-438-6179.
Email at rmorris@logandaily.com
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