Donation from Chelmsford Couple Helps Pay for Lunch for Vets

John and Kathy Conner are lunchtime regulars at The Elegant Chef, the in-school restaurant staffed by students in Nashoba Valley Technical High School’s Culinary Arts and Hotel & Restaurant Management programs.

The Chelmsford residents know a good value when they see one. They also know a good cause when they see one.

So when the Conners heard from Chef-Instructor Steve Whiting that staff and students in Nashoba Tech’s Culinary Arts and Hotel & Restaurant Management programs serve Thanksgiving lunch to local homeless veterans every year, they liked the idea so much that they decided to donate money to the school to host another luncheon for veterans in the spring. 

“We got to know Chef Whiting and then we heard about how they do a luncheon for the veterans at Thanksgiving, and we decided we would give him some money to help pay for one in the spring,” Kathy Conner said.

She and her husband both served in the U.S. Air Force, she for two years and he for 20, retiring as a master sergeant.

“I had a veterans agent who helped me out big-time, and I just wanted to give back to the veterans,” John Conner said. “It’s something we wanted to do to help the less fortunate ones.”

The luncheon was held in April in the school’s restaurant, The Elegant Chef.
The Conners’ two sons, Joel and Jerome, both graduated from Nashoba Tech in the 1980s, and the Conners make a habit of stopping by The Elegant Chef for lunch on a regular basis.

The Elegant Chef is open to the public for lunch Tuesday through Friday, while school is in session, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Submitted by Nashoba Valley Technical High School.