Ann Marie Cilley, the franchisee of the Hamilton location at 130 Riverfront Plaza, said this is the first time in the company’s 11-year history that “every franchise location is doing a simultaneous charitable initiative unique to their location.”
November includes Veterans Day on Nov. 11,and that seemed appropriate for Cilley.
“My dad was a veteran and served in Korea in the Navy. Kevin, my boyfriend, he’s a 23-year Air Force veteran. Lots and lots of our customers are veterans,” said Cilley. “Men and women in uniform are very, very special to me.”
The Tap 4 Good handle will change over the course of the month. Two of the beers are tributes to members of the Hamilton Veterans Hall of Fame Committee. Mayor Pat Moeller’s favorite beer is Wiedemann Bohemian Special Brew Pilsner, and a yet-to-be-named beer from Country Boy Brewing is a nod to “our country boy” Chris Haynes, the president of the hall of fame committee.
Haynes said this type of fundraiser continues to highlight veterans to the community “and how special they are.”
“Ann Marie takes it to heart, and our committee has built a good relationship, not only with her but with other establishments in the city that support our cause,” Haynes said, which is to not only recognize veterans for their service but to appreciate what they did when they left the service.
The first beer to be featured at The Casual Pint Hamilton for the Tap 4 Good initiative is the 2023 Pan Ohio Hope Ride Kolsch, a collaborative brew between Fat Head and Third Eye breweries that supports a charity ride benefitting the American Cancer Society. The breweries, Cilley said, are donating a portion of their proceeds to the American Cancer Society, so it “felt fitting that our first Tap 4 Good beer is bringing together and ‘doing good’ for two organizations that mean so much to us.”
But it’s not just Tap 4 Good beers supporting the Hamilton Veterans Hall of Fame Committee. Cilley said there will also be a Dine2Donate night where a portion of food served will be donated to the cause.
“We’re not just doing a Tap 4 Good donation, but we’re trying to do a month-long worth of stuff to support them,” she said.
The Tap 4 Good handle won’t be stowed away after November as Cilley said it will be used in additional outreach efforts, something The Casual Pint does throughout the year.
“It might not be a full month-long event every month, but I plan to use it in all of the fundraising and sponsorship efforts,” she said.
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