Market 32, Price Chopper Customers Raise Over $60K for Special Olympics

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Market 32 and Price Chopper customers at 129 stores across New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire raised $50,143.72 for Special Olympics through a checkout round-up campaign in February and March. Market 32 and Price Chopper contributed an additional $10,000, bringing the total donation to $60,143.72.

The funds will benefit Special Olympics athletes in the six states where the stores operate. In March, over 30 athletes, partners, and coaches from these states participated in the 2025 Winter World Games in Turin, Italy, as part of Special Olympics USA, winning one gold, six silver, and 20 bronze medals.

Pam Cerrone, Market 32 and Price Chopper director of community relations, acknowledged the customers' contributions to providing opportunities for local athletes.

Stacey Hengsterman, Special Olympics New York President & CEO, emphasized the value of retail partnerships for their organization and the impact of customer donations on athletes with intellectual disabilities.

Headline:

WWII Veteran Reflects on D-Day at VFW Post Induction

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
12:25PM / Saturday, June 06, 2026

The members in the picture are Bret Miller, Coast Guard, Desert Storm; Hank Morris, Army, Vietnam; Brad Havill, Navy, Global War on Terror; VFW Post 448 Vice Cmdr. Mark Pompi, Army, Global War on Terrorism, Afghanistan; Post Cmdr. Arnold Perras, Korea; Joe Difillipo, Army, Vietnam; Teri Billington, Navy, Desert Storm; and Carmen Ostrander, Air Force, Afghanistan.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Anthony Salatino Jr. says his memory is getting a little foggy about his time in the Army. 

But he remembers how terrible D-Day was, and feeling lucky he wasn't among those in the initial invasion force 82 years ago. 

 

"One of the most horrible things was in Normandy. We went shortly after D-Day. I got lucky, very lucky on D-Day. We went to a staging area the night before … and at the very end, somebody called, I was in headquarters, they called all the headquarters personnel at the center," the 103-year-old said. "We did not go. There's about 30 of us. The rest of the battalion was gone, and the reason for that was because there was another battalion coming from the States, and they had no headquarters. 

 

"We stayed back, but we did go to Normandy shortly after that, and when we went to Normandy, it was all over."

 

Salatino was attending an induction ceremony on Thursday at the Lt. John N. Truden VFW Post 448. Joseph Texidor, who served in the Army for 17 years with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, was sworn in as the post's newest member. 

 

Salatino served in the Medical Corps and wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, a World War I veteran wounded at Verdun. Salatino was in the Army for about three years.

 

"The whole memory is what I just told you, very, very alive to me," he said. "That is, I can never forget, never forget that."

 

D-Day on June 6, 1944, was the start of Operation Overlord, and the largest invading force to cross the English Channel since 1066. Their goal: to liberate Europe from Nazi Germany.