Photo By Jeremy Todd | The donated building provides shelter for Hyner Lodge Foundation's horses and stores...... read more read more
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LOCK HAVEN, Pa. — Eighty veterans gathered at the Hyner Lodge Foundation outside Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, in January for the annual Family Traditional Butchering event, where it’s possible to see partnership on display between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Baltimore District (USACE) and the foundation that serves the veteran community.
Following the conclusion of the 30-year Spring Valley Formerly Utilized Defense Site (FUDS) project in Washington, D.C., the Baltimore District donated an 80-by-40-foot steel building to the lodge, providing the foundation with a horse barn and storage facility that supports its programs for wounded, injured, and disabled veterans and their families.
The donation represented a solution that benefited both organizations while strengthening the partnership between USACE and the veteran community. For USACE, it meant saving taxpayers an estimated $150,000 in demolition and disposal costs. For Hyner Lodge, it meant gaining infrastructure to expand services.
"The building is fantastic," said Donald Koch, founder of Hyner Lodge Foundation. "As you can see, it's the perfect barn for the horses that I have. And I truly, truly needed that."
Koch's journey to founding Hyner Lodge began in 2007 when he started building what was originally meant to be a family property. But in 2008, his son Michael, a Navy SEAL, was killed in Iraq during close quarters combat. Koch's younger son asked if they could turn the property into a foundation for wounded and disabled veterans.
Since earning its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in 2017, Hyner Lodge Foundation has served over 8,000 veterans as a destination where veterans and their families can stay at no cost.
Todd Steelman, a Baltimore District Ordnance and Explosives Safety Specialist, worked on the Spring Valley project for eight years and met Koch when he was the Quality Control Officer for Weston Solutions, a project contractor.
As the Spring Valley mission approached closure, Steelman faced the challenge of disposing of a building that had housed a detonation chamber.
"Don was a contractor, and I'm standing there looking at this building thinking, ‘what am I going to do with it?’" Steelman recalled.
Koch mentioned he could use the building at the foundation. What followed was a coordinated effort to transfer ownership and legally and safely relocate the structure.
The major challenge was navigating the process of transferring building ownership from the federal government to a nonprofit organization. Once this important step was approved, volunteer veterans disassembled the building at Spring Valley, and the foundation arranged transport to Hyner Lodge where it was reassembled.
For USACE, the donation saved taxpayer dollars while supporting the veteran community.
"Just from us having to demo it and get rid of it, it would have cost at least $150,000," Steelman said.
The donation aligned with the district's commitment to community partnerships. Steelman credits then-Baltimore District Commander Col. Estee Pinchasin; Dan Noble, the Spring Valley FUDS program manager; and Emily Schiffmacher, Chief of the Environmental and Munitions Design Center, for their support in making the donation happen.
This partnership demonstrates Baltimore District's commitment to finding solutions that benefit both the government and the communities it serves.
"When we're closing out a project like Spring Valley FUDS, we look for opportunities to leave communities better than we found them, and what better way than helping veteran organizations," Schiffmacher said. "Working with Hyner Lodge Foundation allowed us to support an organization doing meaningful work for veterans while being good stewards of resources."
Volunteers, including Steelman, regularly participate in foundation events. Steelman also took a personal interest in the project, funding and arranging for a dedication plaque on the donated building.
The January butchering event exemplifies this volunteer spirit. Koch continues a family tradition that his grandfather and father practiced on their farms, bringing together approximately 80 veterans and volunteers for a traditional butchering of one steer and three hogs. Volunteers work alongside veterans throughout the day as they cut, grind, and package the meat. At the end of the event, participants take home their share, and the shared work reinforces the bonds that define the partnership.
For Steelman, a 10-year USACE employee who regularly volunteers at the lodge, the partnership reflects a shared commitment to service. He sees the lodge providing veterans something they often struggle to find in civilian life. "I think the camaraderie is really good out here because they all get to work back together again alongside their brother and sister vets that, most of the time in civilian life, you don't get to do," Steelman said.
For more information about USACE FUDS, visit https://www.nab.usace.army.mil/FUDS/. For more information about Hyner Lodge Foundation, visit hynerlodgefoundation.org.
| Date Taken: | 01.21.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 01.23.2026 15:59 |
| Story ID: | 556460 |
| Location: | LOCK HAVEN, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Hometown: | LOCK HAVEN, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 13 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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