To the Editor:www.veteransrowing.org.

Although neither of us are veterans, my wife and I were invited by a friend, E.J. Welden, to the holiday dinner dance for the Veterans' Rowing and Kayaking Association. This is an organization for veterans that promotes competitive rowing both on indoor rowing machines and outdoor lake rowing and kayaking. This organization should be brought to the attention of all veterans. The diverse membership includes veterans from World War II to the present and promotes adaptive rowing events and standard competitions.

We met veterans who compete at all levels of this sport. I happened to be seated next to a guy who rows indoors and is ranked fifth in the world in this event in his age category. Did I mention he is 89 years old? His friend seated nearby is in his 90s and also rows in this event. One of them has been trying to shave 12 seconds off his record to beat a competitor from Australia. The men and women in this group are an impressive lot and I felt both welcomed and overwhelmed by the energy and generous spirit in the room.

Membership is open and free so please pass on this information to any veterans you know who want to remain active physically and want to meet a great bunch of people. You can find information on this group at

John S. Boccuzzi, Sr

57 Queen Street, Newtown         December 28, 2016