HAWLEY, Pa. — Tony Schwartz has been in the entertainment business for about 20 years, and that's how long a building at Tanglwood Resorts has sat empty.
"Until January. New Year's Eve was the first event in here in over two decades," Schwartz said.
Schwartz hosts trivia contests at bars in the area, and that's how he met Virginia Weniger. She's the director of resorts at Tanglwood.
"He came over to me, and he was talking about needing to store some stuff. And I said, 'Well, I have a big place if you need to.' And he just kind of looked at me; he goes, 'I like to do shows too.' I said, 'Well, I have a place for that too.'"
At that point, this room was filled with about 100 mattresses in storage. Tony saw past that.
"He could see the dream that he's always wanted, he and his wife, Roxanne. And he said, 'Let's do it,'" Weniger said.
Tony and Roxanne have since hosted several events this year, and there's a big one coming up to help kick off the summer—a Salute to the Veterans concert on the lawn.
"We'll have a classic rock band, a country band, places for everybody to gather on their blankets and chairs to watch the music, as well as vendors, food trucks, basket raffles, a lot of stuff going on this Saturday," Schwartz said.
It all includes a beautiful backdrop: A view of Lake Wallenpaupack.
Money raised from the event will go to Camp Freedom, a nonprofit in Carbondale that provides outdoor adventures to disabled or wounded veterans, first responders, and Gold Star families.
"This is what we can do because I was never in the service, but this is a way for us to give back," Roxanne Schwartz said.
That's why Amanda Macdougall and Timothy Enot wanted to get involved; Amanda as a vendor, Timothy as a raffle donor.
She owns Amanda's Crafty Creations. He does woodworking as a hobby and is raffling off wooden flags.
"I'm a veteran, and I've supported veterans for many years. My daughter's in the Air Force," Enot said.
"I have a lot of family members that are veterans. My son-in-law is a veteran as well. Anything to support our vets, we have to remember that they put their lives on the line every day for us," Macdougall said.
The concert is free for veterans on Saturday, otherwise, it's $5.
The event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Lodge at Tanglwood.
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