SOUTHWICK – The Moose Cabin will soon be a reality.
Longmeadow resident Kara Fontenot spearheaded a fundraising campaign in honor of her late husband Lt. Col. Morris M. Fontenot, Jr, who died Aug. 29, 2014 when the F-15C he was piloting crashed.
Fontenot, Jr., call sign Moose, was stationed at Barnes Air National Guard Base. Since his death, his daughters Natalie and Nicole have attended a summer leadership camp for the children of military members who died during military service.
The camp, run by the Knights of Heroes Foundation in Colorado Springs, helped the Fontenot family deal with the tragic loss of a father and husband, and Kara wanted to give back.
“The Knights of Heroes used to rent camp space and spent $30,000 to rent a camp for a week,” she said. “Last year they were able to acquire their own camp, but the cabins are in need of renovation and there was no sewer system in place – it needs work.”
Kara and her daughters decided to raise $20,000 – the cost to completely renovate one cabin and bring it up to code.
With mostly small donations and several more substantial ones – including from Tucker’s Restaurant in Southwick – Kara exceeded her goal and the Moose Cabin will be renovated and dedicated this summer.
Evan Mattson of Tucker’s was touched by Kara’s letter asking for a donation. Instead of giving a small amount, Tucker’s asked Kara to participate in Tuesdays at Tucker’s, which is an opportunity to host a fundraiser at the restaurant. Tucker’s gives 10-percent of the day’s proceeds to the participating charity.
“Between the dining donation and additional donations from customers, we raised just over $1,200,” Mattson said.
For Kara, it was like receiving a million dollars because the funds raised at Tucker’s tipped the scales to get Kara just over the $20,000 goal she set.
“Everyone at Tucker’s was great,” she said. “They worked so hard for us that day and they promoted it, too. And we received direct donations online from Tucker’s customers as well.”
Kara said another large, last-minute donation brought the total funds raised to $26,000.
“We received a large donation from General Electric,” she said. “Without that though, the Tucker’s donation was our largest.”
Kara met Moose when they were both at the U.S. Air Force Academy. A classmate from the Class of 1996 now works for General Electric and requested the donation from the company.
The Moose Cabin will be one of 10 cabins at the camp, and the additional $6,000 will be put to good use at the camp, said Kara.
The cabin campaign was a way to continue Moose’s good works.
“He always took care of people,” Kara said. “People loved being under his leadership because he took care of them. This is something we are doing to keep that spirit alive.”
Kara said although it has been over a year since Moose passed, it is still tough.
“Any time I think about the fact that my husband is gone, it’s painful,” she said. “I don’t think that will change, but doing this does make me feel good.”
Kara said she will share photos of the Moose Cabin and dedication, which is set for July, through the a Facebook page dedicated to Moose.
The decorated officer had received high honors and recognition expressed by his receipt of the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal and the Aerial Achievement Medal. Before his death, Moose served full-time as a wing inspector general and as an F-15 instructor pilot with more than 17 years of experience flying the jets.
The Fontenot family settled in Longmeadow when Moose took a position at Barnes.
Donations are still being accepted at http://knightsofheroes.org.
