Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Scott Wood | 170818-N-KH214-315 OAK HARBOR, Wash. (August 18, 2017) Vertical Horizon performs...... read more read more
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OAK HARBOR, Wash. (NNS) – In lieu of its third annual customer appreciation picnic, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island’s (NASWI) Moral, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) program hosted the alternative rock band Vertical Horizon for a concert on Friday, August 18 on Whidbey Island.
The annual picnic is MWR’s public thanks for the participation and support the base provides and also helping it recently receive the MWR five-star accreditation.
“The five-star accreditation is a program that MWR developed based around standards on how to deliver our programs,” explained NASWI’s MWR Director, Jeffrey Shaw. “You have to have a fitness center on base and you have to have so many ball fields and run so many sports tournaments. It really elevates what you have to be in order to be a good MWR program.”
The five-star accreditation isn’t something easily handed out either. In 2014, only five programs out of the roughly 70 Navy-wide earned the accreditation, while in 2016 with NASWI’s most recent nomination, only 17 programs were selected.
“Actually, ours scored in the top five.” Shaw stated.
In further elaborating the precise requirements for the five-star accreditation, Shaw outlined some very distinct particulars.
“We even have to have a sauna and that sauna has to have a panic button, and this is in the standards.” He said laughing.
As the concert began, Seattle-based ska band, Simple Minded Symphony, which traces its origins to Oak Harbor, opened for Vertical Horizon. Earlier in the summer, Simple Minded Symphony won the inaugural Battle of the Bands competition held at NASWI’s theater against several other top local bands from the Whidbey Island area. The winning band was awarded the privilege to open for Vertical Horizon.
Capt. Geoffrey Moore, commanding officer of NASWI, came onstage to introduce Vertical Horizon.
“Making their Whidbey Island debut," said Moore. "You’ll know them by their hit single “Everything You Want”, which was recently nominated by Billboard Magazine as one of the top 50 singles of all time. They are part of the Navy MWR family, their tours supporting DoD installations around the world, so let’s give a warm welcome to Vertical Horizon!”
The crowd cheered as founding member and lead singer and songwriter Matt Scannell walked onstage and proceeded to encourage everyone to stand up and get excited.
Before the concert, Scannell explained how important music has been in his life.
“It’s been a form of therapy," said Scannel. "It’s helped me through some challenges and difficult times. It continues to. It’s like another appendage. It’s like a part of my body. I don’t want to live without it. I don’t want to spend a day without it.”
Arising from this passion, Scannell stated that performing for the military “has been a lifelong dream. It means so much to me, like to the core of my being when I saw my friends going away into the military and I was not.”
His sole purpose is to bring relief, to calm nerves and show appreciation for what seems taken for granted.
“You come to one of our shows and all we want to do is show we care," said Scannell. "We just want to give you guys a break.”
These performances for the military have brought some memorable experiences with them. Scannell told a story of how a man serving in the Army came to him after one of the shows.
“He said to me, 'You know when I was watching your show I had to turn to my friend and ask if something was wrong with my face, and my friend looked at me and said I was smiling.' He hadn’t felt that feeling in so long that his face felt weird. It breaks my heart to this day.”
Scannell frequently demonstrated his gratitude for the military as throughout the band’s performance he continued to spice the audience with humorous and tearful stories all in his effort to entertain.
| Date Taken: | 08.18.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 08.19.2017 16:35 |
| Story ID: | 245359 |
| Location: | OAK HARBOR, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 141 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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