HEADLINES & HISTORY SINCE 1879 Goldendale, Washington
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2023
Operation Song matches vets, military, first responders with songs LOU MARZELES EDITOR “Music can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable.” —Leonard Bernstein Veterans and active military personnel often have hearts seared with a kind of pain others cannot understand. Perhaps first responders—but we’ll come back to them in a bit. Many veterans struggle to find release, some way to express what they’ve been through. For the past years, veterans and active military have had a powerful tool to aid them in that process. It’s called Operation Song. And Goldendale’s Keesy Timmer, now residing as a successful songwriter in Nashville, is closely involved with it. Operation Song (OperationSong.org) is a nonprofit that connects veterans and military personnel with professional songwriters. The songwriters put the ineffable stirrings of the heart into song for them, giving them expression in music to soothe, comfort, and share. And there are few things that can accomplish that so well as music. Timmer came to that realization years ago when he got into music therapy. “I started in that field back around 2011, 2012, when my friend, Stacy Donahue, and I decided to start the very first Special Olympics choir,” Timmer recalls. That was in Nashville, where we met at Glencliff High School. The Special Olympics director for middle Tennessee is a guy by the name of Terry Watkins. He was real passionate about it, and we put together a little choir, starting off small with about four or five kids. It just grew and grew. I didn’t really know how powerful music could
be for therapy reasons, and to see the way that it impacted kids with all sorts of different disabilities, from Down Syndrome to severe autism, and to see the leaps and bounds that they made through music! You couldn’t get them to talk, but you could get them to sing. The music was just so therapeutic for them, and it just helped them come out of their shells and helped them thrive. It was super powerful, and I did that for about five years.” Timmer would go to state Special Olympics games, staying with the kids in the dorms. He and his wife would coach kids in track and field. “It was just very rewarding,” he says. “I had never worked with special needs kids before. It was just eye-opening and rewarding. I got a ton out of it, and so did the kids.” In 2013, Timmer was approached to be part of a prison ministry in which he and other songwriters went into prisons and wrote songs with inmates for their rehabilitation. He found that experience equally awe-inspiring. “I believe in giving back,” he relates. “I’ve got the volunteer bug big time, and I live in the Volunteer State, so I’m real big on volunteering. I just wanted to be able to donate my time and my talent to something I thought was a really worthy cause.” Enter Operation Song. “I got asked to do an Operation Song event in Georgia last year,” he says. “We went down, and we wrote songs with active military and former military. Man, I just couldn’t believe it.” Operation Song was founded by one of Nashville’s most shining songwriter lights, Bob Regan. Regan’s songs have been recorded by Roy Rogers (younger people, go Google him), Kenny Rogers, Andy Williams, Hank Williams
‘It’s not just you who serves, it’s your whole family.’
Vol. 144 No. 48
$1.00
LOU MARZELES
IT’S OFFICIAL: Two stores combined into one office space and held a ribbon cutting Saturday morning. 3C’s Fabric and Wild Daffodil are now located next to CarQuest on Columbus Avenue. Here, Teja Finch (left) and Lucille Bevis (right) hold the ribbon while Debby Culver (left center) of 3C’s and Willeke Pratt of Wild Daffodil cut the ribbon.
TOP: OPERATIONSONG.ORG. ABOVE: MUCHOLOVEMUSIC.
BRINGING THEM BACK ONE SONG AT A TIME: Goldendale’s Keesy Timmer, above, contributes to Operation Song, a nonprofit that writes music for veterans, active military, and now first responders. Jr., Reba McEntire, Randy Travis, Keith Urban, Tanya Tucker, Trisha Yearwood—we’ll have to stop the list here for sake of space. Regan began Operation Song in 2012 to help active-duty military personnel and veterans tell their stories through music. “Bob is an awesome guy,” Timmer states. “Anybody who knows Bob loves him. He’s been volunteering for the USO for years, going overseas and performing for our troops during conflicts and even in peace times. He just had this idea of, how can we do something with them that honors their service and helps them in some way when they come back? Operation Song was born out of that.” The organization grew and grew. It’s held retreats in conjunction with local VFW and American Legions and the VA and other groups in which military meets musician, and they come up with solace in songs. And it’s not just the person in the military for whom songs are composed. It’s for their spouses and family members as well. “When you serve, it’s not just you who serves,” Timmer points out. “It’s your whole family.” Timmer has first-hand experience with musical healing. He began writing songs during a particularly rough patch in his youth. He found it to be a highly
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SECOND ANNUAL GIVING TREE: Taletha Wagoner is repeating her successful Golden Giving Tree event this year, setting up her tree in Pat’s Place on Main Street. Now through December 16, anyone can come in and “buy” a certificate to go on the tree to benefit families who need help this Christmas season. You can choose an individual (such as “For a child”) or a whole family. Taletha says last year’s event was a big success, and she hopes to see even more contributions this year. She says anyone wishing to help with wrapping is very welcome; contact her at (360) 439-3716–text only, please.
See Song page A8
CONTRIBUTED
TRIBAL EXHIBIT AT OBSERVATORY: The Kamiltpah Band of the Yakama Nation will be at the Goldendale Observatory tomorrow, November 30, from 6 to 8 p.m. to present an exhbit they call “Tribal History, Culture, First Food, and Tribal Art Exhibit.” No registration is required for the event.
A SENTINEL PUBLICATION
PERFECT HOLIDAY GIFT: The new Klickitat County calendar for 2024 is now available at The Sentinel office, Goldendale Pharmacy, Holcomb’s, and Allyn’s. Price is $8, which includes tax.
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HIGH-STRUNG CANDY CANES: The KPUD was out doing their holiday thing recently, hanging candy cane lights from streetlights around town.