For the second year in a row, VTel hosted complimentary Thanksgiving dinners for senior customers in Danby and Springfield. The feasts were served free of charge to all customers over the age of 65.

Dinners were served on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 18th and 19th from 11:30am to 3:00pm at both the Riverside Restaurant in Springfield, Vt. and the White Dog Restaurant and Tavern in Danby, Vt.

This is the second annual Thanksgiving celebration of its kind for VTel. Last year, VTel served a free turkey dinner for over 300 of their senior customers. VTel decided to expand the celebration, so that it would be easier for seniors from the western portion of its service territory to also attend.

"We treasure the strong bond we have with all of our customers, and hosting a Thanksgiving meal for seniors, who may otherwise spend the holiday alone, is a particularly meaningful community outreach gesture," said Sharon Combes-Farr, director of marketing for VTel. "I am very excited that we were able to serve 573 VTel senior customers this past weekend between the two locations."

Karl Wentworth, chef at the Riverside Restaurant, was happy to participate in the holiday tradition again this year. "Many of our regular customers come in for this meal," said Wentworth. "They would probably be in here on Thanksgiving anyway, but thanks to VTel, we are able to provide them with a free Thanksgiving dinner. It makes people really happy.

206 seniors attended the event at Riverside Restaurant in Springfield (another 80 attended at the White Dog Tavern in Danby). Pictured above are more than a dozen VTel senior customers enjoying Thanksgiving dinner.

Maurice & Martha Lucas enjoyed VTel’s annual Thanksgiving last
year & this year, and look forward to attending many more.


Norma Sawyer, a VTel customer from
Woodstock, shares a laugh and a toast.