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By Walter Elliott
LEHIGHTON, Pa. -- Mahoning Valley Speedway Late Model driver Kristian
Kalch is so committed to assisting Marines Helping Marines that the 17-year-
old from Tannersville and his Infinity Racing team brought their No. 8 Ford
Fusion to the banked, paved one-quarter-mile speedway when his division
had Saturday night off.
Kalch, his parents Jamie Lee and Erich and Marine Corps League's Ted
Bienkowski were at the MVS spectator gate waiting for an interview from
a local Blue Ridge Cable Communication Channel 13 cameraman. Kristian's
Fusion wears the Marines Helping Marines logo on its doors and crew members
erected posters about the charity by the ticket booth.
The Kalchs and Bienkowski would leave the speedway before the 7 p.m.
program started - but with more than their Blue Ridge 13 interview
accomplished. MVS Media Relations maven Dino Oberto would talk about
their sepcial July 4 Racing Towards Recovery Night, where local Marines
will recieve MHM donations prior to the Firecracker 100 modified stock
car race.
The Kalches, aboard their Infinity Racing Hummer H3 tow vehicle, will
also bring the No. 8 Fusion to various appearances the Carbon-Schuykill-
Monroe county area.
Two key appearances are set for Aug. 1, coinciding with the NASCAR
Sprint Cup racers and fans returning to nearby Pocono International
Raceway. Kristian Kalch, Bienkowski and company will appear at the Lehigh
Valley Quarter Midget Club speedway on Pocono's Long Pond property that
day before returning to MVS that night.
"It'll be great to come back to Lehigh Valley Quarter Midgets," said
Kalch. "I started racing there 10 years ago. The kids racing there now
can see me and say 'If he can do this, I can.' "
"We'll get a lot of exposure for Marines Helping Marines," added
Jamie Lee Kalch, "with the Sprint Cup race going on that weekend."
Bienkowski, of Summit Hill, said he had seen some drag races in
the past but had never been at an oval track before coming to MVS
Saturday. He directs the Marine Corps Leagues' Schuykill-Carbon
Detachment No. 626, which is Marines Helping Marines' parent group.
The Corps League has been around since the 1920s - but Marines
Helping Marines was founded in 2005," said Bienowski. "Marines Helping
Marines assist those Marines and Navy Fleet Marine Force Corpsmen
who have been severely wounded or disabled from the wars in Iraq,
Afghanistan and on terror."
The 65,000-strong League, founded in part to protect and advance the
welfare of wounded Maries and their dependents, has 900 detachments
across the country. Each detachment is charged with assisting
Marines Helping Marines.
Marines Helping Marines assist wounded corps members with emotional
and material comfort during their recovery. The ais ranges from
furnishing bedside radios and toiletries to organizing cookouts, ball game
trips and other outdoor activitiesto catered Christmas and New Year's Day
meals.
Marines Helping Marines, according to Bienkowski and organizational
literature and Web sites, started in Washington, D.C.'s Walter Reed
Hospital and has spread to San Diego's Balboa Naval Hospital, San Antonio's
Brooke Army Hospital and Wounded Warrior Regiments at Camps Pendleton
and LeJeune.
The Kalchs' Infinity Racing effort booosts Schuylkill-Carbon Det. 626's
year-round campaign. The detachment's Web site includes several
donation drives among the area's churches and businesses a month. The
leagure has awarded the group a gold rating.
This is not the first time the Kalchs have worked with the United States
Marine Corps. They first worked with the USMC Toys for Tots drive last
year, generating $3,500 in donations during their Sept. 7 Monroe County
Car Show.
Good works, indeed, have been a Kalch family tradition. They are known to
help in area soup kitchens during the holidays. They started a goods and
money drive in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, sending a
racecar trailer full of goods and checks worth $1,500 for Ground Zero
rescure and recovery workers.
Kalch has some 11 years' racing experience, graduating from the LVQMC to
Mahoning's division for imported four-cylinder stock cars in 2006. The
The Pocono Hills-East High School student, after winnng three four-cylinder
features, became the late models' Rookie of the Year in 2007.
Kalch is currently ranked sixth to late model points leader Todd Stehle.
Kalch and Infinity's sponsors include: Volpe & Son, of Tannersville; F/J Hess
& Sons Plumbing & Heating, of Tannersville; the Howard Johnson Hotel and
Serengeti Restaurant, of Bartonsville; Vital Signs lettering, of East
Stroundsburg; Ken's Castrol PDQ Lube, of Tannersville; Top Gun Painting, of
E. Stroundsburg; DNA Waterproofing, of Manhattan, N.Y.; CIP Restoration, of
Brooklyn; and Sharp Shooters video productions.
Visit Kristiankalch.com or call Infinity Racing at (570) 620-9863 for team
details. Bienkowski and Det. 626 may be reached by tedb@ptd.net or (570)
645-9535.
Further information may be found at www.MCL626.com, pamcleague.org,
mcleague.com and/or marineshelpingmarines.org.
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