Saturday, February 23, 2008
Savel, of Youngstown, is the new commander of the United Veterans Council of Greater Youngstown.
YOUNGSTOWN — The United Veterans Council of Greater Youngstown’s Veterans of the Year are Raymond Ornelas of Lowellville and Lloyd Edwards of Youngstown, and Anthony J. Lariccia of Boardman is its Citizen of the Year.
Edward Savel of Youngstown, newly elected commander, is to be installed, and the other honorees recognized, at the United Veterans Council’s annual installation banquet today at Italian American War Veterans Post 3, 115 S. Meridian Road.
The event begins with a gathering and cash bar at 5:15 p.m., followed by dinner at 6 p.m. and the program at 7 p.m.
The guest speaker is Maria Garza, director of the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery in Rittman. As such, Garza, who lives in Medina, is responsible for the administrative, burial and maintenance operations at the cemetery.
Savel, the newly elected commander, is a retired computer programmer for the Federal Highway Administration. He is a member of Disabled American Veterans Chapter 2, American Legion Post 15 and AMVETS Post 44. Savel is also a commissioner serving on the Mahoning County Veterans Service Commission as the DAV representative. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1970, working in radio communications. His duty stations included Fort Meade, Md., and Turkey.
Ornelas was in the Marine Corps and served in Korea 13 months with the Dog Co. engineers from 1951 to 1953. He has been an active member of the veteran’s community for many years serving in many capacities, including VFW Post 93 commander, VFW county commander, and VFW District 8 commander. He co-chaired the Tribute to Iraq Veterans Dinner that provided grants to disabled Iraqi veterans and was a precursor to the Ohio Military Relief Fund.
Ornelas is retired from Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co., and is a former general manager of the Youngstown Hardhats minor league football team. He also volunteers as a driver for the Veterans Service Commission taking thousands of veterans to Wade Park, outpatient/inpatient facilities of the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, since 1992.
Edwards is active in helping veterans in many capacities as a volunteer at the VA Outpatient Clinic on Belmont Avenue in Youngstown, Buckeye Boys State advisor, and Service Officers for Northeast Ohio. Edwards is past commander of the United Veterans Council, past trustee of the Mahoning Veterans Memorial, past commander of American Legion Post 247, county commander and district commander. He is also active in the Korean War Veterans Association.
Lariccia, UVC’s Citizen of the Year, and his family are well-known philanthropists in the Mahoning Valley.
Their contribution to the Mahoning Veterans Memorial located at the Canfield Fairgrounds made it possible to restore damaged logs in the log cabin structure and preserve the building for many more generations of veterans.