There are about 19,000 honorably discharged veterans in Saratoga County, and pretty soon they’ll get a thank you for their years of military service in the form of FAVOR identification cards.
`This is a wonderful way to be able to say ‘thank you’ to our vets for all they’ve done for us and at a time when the economy isn’t the best, having the ability to get discounts throughout the county is a wonderful benefit for veterans,` said Kathy Marchione, Saratoga County town clerk.
It’s still months away from completion and implementation, but the county clerk’s office, offices of the Board of Supervisors and the Veteran’s Services Agency are hard at work trying to bring the `Return the FAVOR` program to fruition.
FAVOR, meaning Find and Assist Veterans of Record, is a discount program that will enable Saratoga County veterans to receive discounts from select businesses. To be eligible, veterans with an honorable discharge must file their paperwork with the county clerk and will in turn receive a picture ID card to present to participating merchants for discounts.
Saratoga County will be the first in the Capital Region to offer such a service. FAVOR already exists in 11 other counties around the state, though, which is how Marchione first heard about it.
`I first heard about the project from a county clerk in Rockland County I brought it to chairman of the Board of Supervisors Tom Wood and he was very excited about it and took it as a county initiative, so it’s a cooperative project,` said Marchione.
FAVOR is still in the early planning stages, said Marchione, with the primary focus being to find businesses willing to get involved. Many veterans are already expressing interest and wondering when they can enroll.
`We had an influx of veterans wanting to apply for the program but we’re not ready yet,` said Marchione.
Andy Davis of the Veteran’s Service Agency said those working on FAVOR have been cautious about giving out too much information to veterans because they don’t want people too excited about a program that isn’t ready yet.
`We’ve kept it a little tighter lipped until the official roll out date but some found out because we told various organizations about it. We wanted to make them aware but not overly anxious,` said Davis.
The program is looking at a start date of either Memorial Day or the Fourth of July, depending on when necessary equipment arrives. Marchione said the clerk’s office needed additional software and minor renovation to accommodate the additional foot traffic expected.
`A veteran can file their discharge papers with the county clerk’s office and they’ll get a discount card with their picture and will be able to look on the website to find merchants,` said Marchione.
According to Davis, there are about 60 different types of discharges from military service.
`You have to do something fairly wrong to get something other than honorable; either a mistake you’ve made or didn’t meet standards,` said Davis.
Eligible veterans will be able to discover businesses that will save them money by looking online.
`As we continue to add merchants to the program there will be more and more places within Saratoga that our veterans will be able to secure discounts. The amount of discount will depend on the place.`
Besides benefiting veterans, Marchione said businesses can also reap positives from the FAVOR program.
`It’s also I think a great opportunity for businesses. They’re able to say ‘thank you’ and we believe it will bring more traffic into their business so hopefully it will be a win for them,` said Marchione. `Many [businesses] are excited about the program. I thought the response was overwhelming from businesses and I got the feeling they were very excited about wanting to participate in the program.`
Interested businesses can sign up on the county’s website, www.saratogacountyny.gov by clicking on `County Initiatives` and following the link to the discount program and online application.
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