(Photo by Christina Myer) Denver Adams, of the Marine Corps League, loads donated food into a truck to be taken to the Gospel Mission Food Pantry, Saturday at Walmart in Marietta.

The Marine Corps Veterans Association in partnership with The Marietta Times hosted the Roy Trembly Annual Fall Food Drive Saturday in the Walmart parking lot at 804 Pike St. in Marietta.

The food drive was also in partnership with Walmart and will benefit the Gospel Mission of Marietta.

“We got a whole truckload of food,” Bryan Reeder, commanding officer of the Marine Corps Veterans Association, said on Sunday. “The Gospel Mission provided a pickup truck, so we filled up the back seats of it, because it was like a four door truck, big four door truck, so the back seat and the bed was completely full of food.”

He said the donations included a wide variety of items.

“We got everything from peanut butter to pancake mix to boxes of cereal and all kinds of canned meats and canned vegetables and toiletries, stuff like that, that they need and distribute to the community,” he said.

(Photo by Christina Myer) Bryan Reeder, commanding officer of the Marine Corps Veterans Association, stands with donated food - including one full cart donated by an individual, Saturday at Walmart in Marietta.

Reeder also said in addition to food, the drive collected $1,145 in donations.

He said while the group doesn’t set specific benchmarks, they were pleased with the turnout and the donations received.

“We never really set a benchmark. We just hope that the community, which they always do, they always come out and support the veterans and the Gospel Mission,” Reeder said. “But yeah, we were pleased with the incoming gifts from the Mid-Ohio Valley community.”

This was the second year the event took place at the Marietta Walmart, and the second year after the food drive was renamed in honor of Roy Tremblay, a Vietnam veteran, Purple Heart recipient and former commanding officer of the Marine Corps league.

“He was all about giving back to the community and giving back to veterans,” Reeder said. “He passed away… so it’s a great way to honor him.”

(Photo by Christina Myer) A Marietta VA clinic nurse prepares to administer a flu shot to Marine Corps veteran Paul Stacy, of Marietta, during Saturday's annual Roy Trembly Fall Food Drive hosted by The Marietta Times and the Marine Corps League at Walmart in Marietta.

Reeder said giving back is at the heart of the event and the Marine Corp League.

“The most important thing is it’s not about us, it’s about everybody else,” he said.

He said the event also received support from other local organizations.

“The sergeant Bob O’Malley Marine Corps league in Marietta, 1436, they were instrumental in collecting donations as well. They were on one door and we were on the other,” Reeder said. “Along with the VA clinic, who gave veteran flu shots. The Washington-Morgan Community Action was there, and the SSG Fox Suicide Prevention Program had a table set up there for information.”

Reeder said a special contribution came from the Knights of Columbus, who collected donations during a dinner cruise on the Valley Gem earlier this year.

(Photo by Christina Myer) Jim Heikkinen, left, a member of the Marine Corps Veterans Association and 1st Vice Commandant of the Marine Corps League; and Denver Adams, a member of the Marine Corps League, load donated food into a truck Saturday at Walmart in Marietta. The food will go to the Gospel Mission Food Pantry in Marietta, after the annual Roy Trembly Fall Food Drive hosted by The Marietta Times and the Marine Corps League, in partnership with other area veterans organizations.

“They brought in four trash cans full of donated items that they collected and wanted to give to us. That was very considerate of the Knights of Columbus to do that,” Reeder said.

Looking ahead, Reeder said the group has another food drive scheduled for Oct. 18 at the Parkersburg News and Sentinel in Parkersburg, benefiting the Old Main Rivers Food Pantry and the DAV Chapter 32 in Davisville, West Virginia.

He said community members can stay informed about future events by following the group’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/movpohwv.

“I try to keep our Facebook page updated on any local veterans events,” Reeder said.

He said all donations made at events or directly to the league go back into the community. “Everything that we collect is donation based, and everything goes right back out to the community. We don’t keep anything for ourselves,” Reeder said. “We’ll do scholarships. We might buy flags so we can teach flag etiquette in elementary schools and high schools throughout Wood County and Washington County. But if anybody wants anything like that, all they have to do is contact us, and they can do that through our Facebook page, or anybody wants to donate money, they can send us money through that PO box on our Facebook website page.”

(Photo by Christina Myer) Gary Sampson, left, with the Gospel Mission Food Pantry, and Denver Adams, with the Marine Corps League, load donated food into a truck to be taken to the Gospel Mission Food Pantry, Saturday at Walmart in Marietta.

(Photo by Christina Myer) From left, John Rauch, Jeff Waite with the Gospel Mission Food Pantry, Rodney Strahler and Commanding Officer of the Marine Corps Veterans Association Bryan Reeder unload food Saturday, which was collected as part of the admission for a Valley Gem cruise hosted by the Knights of Columbus Assembly 840.

(Photo by Christina Myer) John Rauch, left and Rodney Strahler, with Knights of Columbus Assembly 840, unload large trash cans filled with food donated as part of the admission to a cruise the organization hosted on the Valley Gem. The group's collection was done with the aim of giving all food and money collected to the Roy Trembly Fall Food Drive, hosted Saturday by The Marietta Times and Marine Corps League - in cooperation with other veterans organizations - at Walmart in Vienna.

(Photo by Christina Myer) Jeff Waite, foreground, with the Gospel Mission Food Pantry, removes an empty cart as (from left) Jim Heikkinen, Gary Sampson, Ron Morris (with the Marine Corps League), Denver Adams and Gary Ward (with the Marine Corps League) stuff the truck to capacity. In addition to a truckload of food, the organizations also raised $1,145 to be donated to Gospel.