Veterans Assembly Hall, Introducing the 1st Annual VetFest in Merrimack NH

Veterans Assembly Hall 

September 2025

 

Studio Call In from Rae O’Donnell, President & Co-Founder of the Veterans Resource Alliance of New Hampshire.

 

Jeff Riley – Vice President & Co-Founder

Donn Mann – Director & Co-Founder

Scott Chausee – Treasurer & Co-Founder

 

Introducing the 1st Annual VETFEST to be held in Merrimack NH on November 7th (Friday evening) at the  Anheuser-Busch Biergarten, November 8th (Saturday) on the Anheuser-Busch event grounds, and the formal Gala on Sunday, November 9th, at the American Legion Post 59, Hillsborough, NH.

 

Rae comes from a “family deeply rooted in military service, following in the footsteps of her grandfather, father, and brother”. She introduced herself as US Army Veteran serving in the Military Police and married to a Combat Experienced Veteran. Being a veteran is in the “foundation of everything that is me, it is how I was taught,” she says. 

 

Veterans Resource Alliance of New Hampshire was initially co-founded by four individuals: herself, Jeff Riley, President of Salute the Troops Foundation, Donn Mann, Commander of the American Legion Post 59 in Hillsborough NH, and Scott Chausee, Nam Knights MC of America’s Granite State NH Chapter. She laughs when she remembers the four of them sitting in a Mexican Restaurant, thinking about the concept of an NH VETFEST and wondering if anyone would even be interested.

 

Given the social media buzz and frequency at which it appears on our feeds, emails, and calendars, I would be surprised if this event becomes anything other than a tremendous success. Rae points up that more than 60 non-profits and veteran-focused organizations have already signed up to participate in Saturday’s Resource Partner Day.

 

Rae talks about how she was impacted by a veteran's suicide and identified the need to make the Veterans Community in NH more aware of the resources that are available and how to access them. Rae recognizes the role that larger “Institutional Organizations” play also knows that sometimes it's difficult for them to be as responsive. The demand is sometimes overwhelming, and the resulting message being sent is that there’s no help available. The group set out to change that messaging and connect both the individuals with resources, but also help the organizations themselves network together.

 

In doing research in the State of New Hampshire alone, they identified over 290 Veteran-centric non-profit organizations operating in NH. “That astounded me,” she remarked. We were also taken back to learn there were so many organizations servicing our Veterans in the state.

 

 Rae says their challenge was to figure out a way to bring all of these non-profit veteran organizations together. “If we didn’t know there were this many organizations out there, how are the veterans struggling day to day going to know? They’re Not!”

 

An event like VETFEST pulls the organizations out of their silo’s. The goal is to connect these smaller organizations and establish “resource partners” amongst the community. She wants to change the perception from seeing the neighboring non-profit as competition to one of collaboration and networking.

 

VETFEST has a two-fold goal, to resource the individuals and network the organizations.

 

I asked her if the idea of hosting VETFEST NH was something they were bringing in from elsewhere, and she replied, “No, not at all, we didn’t do any research, we didn’t look, it really did come from all of us.” We asked ourselves, “What can we do to put this into action?” Because the Veterans Resource Alliance of New Hampshire was so new, they never anticipated going down this road. VETFEST NH initially was just “let’s get people together and open up those days.”

 

What they discovered was that it was overwhelmingly well-received and became “a lightbulb moment” for so many. They soon realized that they really needed to make this official and ensure that what they were saying was going to happen actually happens.

 

I asked if they found themselves facing a Put Up or Shut Up Moment. “Yes, absolutely”, she laughed. She recalled that if Jeff Riley, one of the board members, were on the call he often says that “it’s time for non-profits to put their money where their mouths are”. Essentially the same message.

 

She explained that smaller non-profits are often overlooked or overshadowed by those bringing in big money budgets. For the Veterans Resource Alliance of New Hampshire, it's not about being “on the map”, they’re about making Veterans aware of what is out there. “It has nothing to do with where we (the non-profits) land and everything to do with what we are producing for our veterans, are we servicing our veterans, and do they know the resources are out there.” She points out, quite correctly, that there are plenty of small non-profit, veteran centric organizations that are “boots on the ground” and having a big impact.

 

VETFEST is about changing that message we discussed earlier, where we appeared to be saying there isn’t help to there is help, “because that’s where the hope comes in”.

 

We asked her if the organizers were vetting the participating organizations, was there a criteria they needed to meet to participate? If the entity is a veteran-centric organization 

 

Rae explained that at the outset, they were only permitting non-profits to participate in the resource partner day, but they found in doing so that there are organizations out there that were not non-profits, but the service a large number of veterans, in some cases, upward to 90% of their clientele. They approached VETFEST not seeking money or to profit, but to partner with the organizers and deliver their message that they are there to help the veterans as well. 

 

Rae says, “If you help veterans and that is what your focus is, you are welcome at VETFEST. There are presently more than 60 resource partners enrolled for VETFEST, and that number is continuing to grow. We are accepting resource partners right up until that Saturday.

 

Reach out to [e-mail] if you’re interested in participating.

 

Veterans Resource Alliance of New Hampshire is entirely volunteer, and no one draws a salary or benefits from their participation. 

 

The NH VETFEST is a three (3) day festival that kicks off on Friday evening at the Anheuser-Busch Biergarten. Rae points out that Anheuser-Busch has been an amazing partner in organizing this event over the first two days. 

 

Friday evening, they’re inviting the public and participants to join them for music, beverages, and to meet everyone informally. It’s an Open Event. The 39th Army Band will be playing live.

 

Anheuser-Busch will donate $1 for every beer purchased back to VETFEST. All proceeds from the festival will be donated back to the participating non-profits.

 

Saturday starts at 9 am with a completely FREE venue for a family-friendly event. In addition to the resources we’ve discussed, they have a Kids zone, food trucks, a Cornhole Tournament, the National Guard Rock Wall, a Motorcycle Poker Run starting and ending there, Military Vehicles on display, and the list goes on.

 

 On Sunday, the weekend wraps up with a formal Gala at the American Legion in Hillsborough NH. She pointed out that the Gala hits a different audience and features guest speakers, media, and fundraising. It’s also a way to formally recognize everyone.

 

Veterans Resource Alliance of New Hampshire is not just VETFEST. It is and will become their staple or flagship event, but they want people to know that they are continuing to work throughout the year and bring organizations together. They are already looking at how they can change and improve going forward.

 

“It is a movement for change, it's a movement for hope, and actually changing that narrative where asking for help is a badge of honor, it's not a weakness.”

1st Annual VETFEST

Anheuser-Busch in Merrimack, NH

https://www.facebook.com/share/1Fzc5kP2cd

 

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7 – OPENING NIGHT: “Buy a Vet a Beer” & OFFICIAL KICK-OFF

Location: Anheuser-Busch Biergarten, 221 DW Highway, Merrimack, NH

Event Time: 5:00 PM – 10:00 PM

Live Music | Community Connection | First Cheers for Change

 

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8 – RESOURCE PARTNER DAY

Event Time: 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Anheuser-Busch Grounds, Merrimack, NH

 

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 9 – VETFEST GALA

American Legion Post 59, Hillsborough, NH

A Formal Ticketed Event

Our closing event is a formal evening to honor our partners, recognize our sponsors, and reflect on the impact we've made together.

The Gala features: Special guest speakers, hero recognition, sponsor recognition, dinner music, and remembrance.

 

The 39th Army Band

https://www.39tharmyband.com

 

Veterans Resource Alliance of New Hampshire

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574823903671