The Munro House
Bed and Breakfast in Jonesville, MI, participated in a national bed and breakfast program honoring veterans and active duty military personnel called
B&Bs for Vets. The idea was to offer a free night bed and breakfast on the day before Veterans Day to allow vets to be in town for morning programs at local memorial services.
About 1,000 B&Bs across American gave 1 or more of their rooms to veterans at no charge on this day. We have accommodations for 14, but can only seat 12 at the big table, so we gave 6 of our 7 rooms to vets (and blocked the remaining room off for a regular businessman) so all of our vets could sit together at one table during breakfast.
Our first guests arrived at 3:00 check in time and my last guest arrived at midnight--she kept me informed of their progress in the fog--and I greeted them with a smiling face. The majority of our vets found out about this event through a military website,
military.com. One found out through a state newspaper article and another through USA Today. Two of our guests were active duty, two were retired military, and two served their required term and moved to the private sector. Only one couple had previously emjoyed a B&B experience.
Weekday breakfast time is negotiable and they individually told me they wanted breakfast at 9:00--Woo-hooo! I had 6 guests down at 8:00 and 10 by 8:30--SURPRISE!!! Good thing I had coffee going, so they all mingled while I finished my prep work. When it comes to making breakfast, I am "the man". We offered our signature item--Lori's Secret Recipe Belgian Waffles" plus any kind of eggs along with fruit, juice, toast, and bacon. Those vets can eat! I plated 20 entrees to 12 people in about 30 minutes. We had lively conversation over breakfast and made sure everyone could attend the veterans day program that was taking place just a mile away.
Veterans from the Cold War, Vietnam, and Desert Storm representing the Army, Navy, and Air Force spent the a day with us in our great old house. All were very appreciative at the generosity of this program. One guest remarked that he did the math on the lost revenue incurred when giving free bed and breakfast to 6 couples this morning. He said that as a small business, the Munro House "went beyond the call of duty" and honored the innkeepers, Mike & Lori Venturini, for what they had done. A Vietnam vet was in tears saying "no one has ever been this good to me on Veterans Day". The wife of a current serviceman, heading for the Middle East on Tuesday, said "we really needed this".
Jonesville has a great
Freedom Memorial. The local American Legion Post has organized programs for all military holidays. My town of 2,400 had over 300 people show up for the morning service. I was proud, and my guests were moved when all vets were asked to step forward and join the color guard. The program lasted under a half hour and everyone went their separate ways after "taps" was played. Veterans were honored, support was shown, and new friendships were made. Everyone had a great time at no cost and all felt honored on their day in this small town in Michigan.
We will probably participate in this program honoring vets again next year. We will begin to release free rooms sometime in August. We will not take a waiting list, but will announce our participation on a random date through our facebook fan page and give away rooms on a first come-first served basis. Anyone interested in coming to Jonesville and staying with us free and attend the 11/11/11 service will need to
become a fan of the Munro House by clicking the "like" button on
our facebook fan page. You will get regular postings of events and things of interest in Jonesville including additional military discounts for Flag Day, Memorial Day, and Independence Day. Our fans will be the first alerted to the availability of a free room for Vetereans Day.
Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast
Munro House was the only Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast participating in the international B&Bs for Vets program. This event gave free rooms to veterans and current active duty military personnel on the night before Veterans Day so they could participate in local morning programs.
Seven couples from three service branches and four conflicts were honored with a veterans reception at the Munro House that also included members of the local American Legion. After breakfast, a rededication of the G.A.R. Memorial in downtown Jonesville was this year's program. The Grand Army of the Republic Statue was constructed in Carl Fast Park in 1912. The local American Legion funded the project that repositioned the statue on a new stone foundation. A new flagpole with a lighted base now flanks the lone soldier. 
A photo slideshow of the local attendants, participants, and band is online at Mr. Mike's Blog.
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