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36 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | MAY 2024 RESIDENT SPOTLIGHT By Claudia Rozzi Do you know we have a Veterans Park here in Four Seasons? Do you know where it is? If so, have you stopped by lately? If you have, did you notice the many garden f lags posted about? How did they get there? Who is doing the decorating? How much does this cost the HOA? Keep reading and these questions will be answered. On California's 101 Freeway, half-way between Paso Robles and Monterrey lies a small town of King City. Approximately 3,000 people called this town home, nearly one-third of them WWII veterans. This wonderful small town is where our neighbor Len Tavernetti was born and grew up learning about history, public service, and dedication to family, friends, and country. King City had an active American Legion chapter that sponsored veterans' parades and two of Len's uncles had served in WWII. Len was immersed in the history of this significant event while living in King City. In Len's early days of college at UC Berkley, it was mandatory for young men to enroll in ROTC classes during the first two years at a state sponsored school. While not intending on a military career, Len entered the NAVY ROTC. After transferring to Arizona State to finish his college degree, Len completed his ROTC with the Army and was #1 in his unit. Now a military career was something to think about. On to Fort Benning, GA to jump school, infantry training, and all things ARMY! During this time, he married, adopted a daughter and son, and survived an ambush, being wounded four times. After 21 years, LTC Tavernetti, a Purple Heart awarded Vietnam Veteran with 155 jumps, retired from the Army then spent the next 23 years with McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing), starting in research and development then moving into sales of the C-17 airplane to American allies. Upon retirement, Len jumped in to serve his local Four Seasons community by running for the Board of Directors subsequently serving for four years. As president of the Board, Len oversaw the transition of our community from being under the direction of the developer to being totally homeowner- controlled. As a history buff and military officer, Len knows all too well that some soldiers who pay the ultimate price of service to this country do not ever come home. They lay in rest in foreign lands where they fought and died for our freedoms. Such is the case with 27 WWII servicemen from Redlands, CA. Through Len's affiliation with the Redlands' chapter of the American Legion, he became very familiar with the WWII memorial at Hillside Cemetery where 27 empty gravesites are dedicated to Redlands' sons who died and were buried or lost overseas during that war. Their sacrifice is not forgotten by their hometown. Len saw an opportunity to be of service to these fallen fellow Purple Heart veterans. He had an idea to provide a monthly decoration to their grave sites. He collaborated with Hillside Cemetery and came up with the idea of custom made garden f lags with military, historical, nature, and holiday themes (these are a few of his favorite things!). Len donates his own time and money on a monthly basis to create, print, and install these colorful informative f lags and their f lag stands at Hillside Cemetery for his fallen military brethren and their families. After Len started to change out the f lags on a monthly basis at Hillside, the used f lags began building up in his own backyard, he then got the idea to share his efforts with our community. During the COVID shutdown in 2020, Len and a few of our other neighbors installed 270 of the custom f lags along Four Seasons Circle for our enjoyment. After that, our Board of Directors approved an area along Trail C west of Four Seasons Circle and The Summit as our own dedicated Veterans Park. Each month throughout our Veterans Park, you can enjoy the many custom f lags that Len creates. He uses special software to design 27 themed f lags each month, uses online printing and delivery services, then installs the new f lags at Hillside Cemetery. When he changes out the cemetery f lags, he brings them here to Four Seasons Veterans Park for all of us to enjoy! Thank you Len for this very generous gift of your time, talents and treasure in our community. And thank you for your lifetime of dedication and service to our country. A LIFETIME OF SERVICE Len Tavernetti with his custom flags and signs at Four Seasons Veterans Park. One of Len Tavernetti's custom signs at Four Seasons Veterans Park.

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