Cathy Czarnecki

The Early Years
Cathy was born in Lewiston Maine on May 21, 1950. Growing up, she had a cousin who was essentially her inseparable twin since they would not go anywhere without the other and they tried not to get into too much trouble! She attended a Catholic school where the nuns kept the children strictly in line with the threat of visits to the convent where a form of corporal punishment, mostly on their hands, was greatly feared. This may have contributed to Cathy’s shy nature as a child.

Her fondest childhood memories were of her mother, who Cathy describes as the sweetest, loving mother in the world. However, she also describes her mother as a “tough bird” who kept her kids on the straight and narrow but was always there for them. She was also close to her father, and when she graduated from high school, she joined him working in the shoe mill where she worked for many years. In 1979, Cathy welcomed her baby boy, robin, into the world. One evening while in a bar with her friends, she happened to look up and saw a handsome man looking down at her (Mark Czarnecki). This was meant to be, with love at first sight, and the rest, as they say, was history. They married in 1984 when Robin was four years old. Mark was a combat Vietnam Veteran and suffered from severe PTSD because of his war experiences, so they went through some tough times. However, he was the best thing that ever happened to her and loved Cathy so much. He would do anything for her and supported her in every way possible.

The Maine Troop Greeters

In 2003, Cathy’s cousin, Pat Jenkins, invited Cathy to join her to greet Troops at the Bangor International Airport. She went, and by the second visit, she was totally hooked, and it became an integral part of her life. Some of her childhood shyness persisted and it took her a while to become comfortable with the greeters, the routines and talking with the Troops.

As mentioned, Cathy quickly became a regular, greeting the troops day and night. Mark was not crazy about her being gone for so long, but he recognized how important this was to her and supported her in every way.  In fact, it was Cathy and Mark who designed the original Troop Greeter coin. They also researched and found the manufacturer and were responsible for all aspects of coin ordering, logistics, resupply, and finances.

Cathy quickly became totally immersed in most aspects of the Troop Greeter organization, volunteering for many critical roles. She was especially sensitive to the needs of the older Troop Greeters to make sure they were taken care of and comfortable. She also volunteered to be on the Board of Directors as well as being the Treasurer for many years. Later, when the Troop Greeter museum was proposed, Cathy and Gil Corey, another greeter, volunteered to manage the effort. They devoted many hours and worked tirelessly to do fund-raising, get the greeters involved, worked with the airport, vendors, donors, and more to make it a reality.

The Troops

When the troops arrived and walked down the ramp, Cathy was visibly moved each time and found the experience of greeting them unbelievably touching. While the Troops were there, she would spend a lot of time in the troop greeter room, talking with them, handing out supplies, replenishing the snacks and more. She often would walk into the terminal area to mix and mingle, and talk with the troops, to share a smile, learn their story and try to make them feel as welcome, valuable and appreciated as possible.

One evening, during the surge, she saw a young man come down the ramp and go sit in one of the chairs. She noticed that he was looking at her, so she went over, sat down next to him and asked, “How are you?” and he started to cry. She asked, “What do you need?”. He replied, “I need to get home and see my fiancé.” This was a time of intense fighting with many casualties. He had been in a battle and had lost all his friends. He said that he did not know how to come home and tell her and how to deal with it all. Cathy was not sure how to comfort him, so she asked if he would like to talk with a pastor. He was silent. He was just a boy. He finally nodded yes, and she walked through the airport to find Pastor Steve Nute, a fellow troop greeter, to talk with him. By the time his plane was ready to depart and having spent some time with Pastor Steve, Cathy went to check on him, and he told her that he felt a little better. This experience had a profound impact on her forever after.

Mark was never able to talk about his war-time experiences, so meeting and talking with the troops helped Cathy learn and understand a little more. Cathy and Mark also supported the troop greeters in additional ways. They bought a new sign for “Troop Greeter Way” at the entrance to the airport. Cathy volunteered to help with the brick memorials outside the airport for troop greeters who had passed away. Cathy was also involved with Wreathes Across America to honor and remember Veterans. In fact, in 2010, Cathy and Nory participated in the wreath laying at Arlington National Cemetery, laying many wreathes including one at the Maine state memorial.

Cathy has been an incredible and valuable contributor to the Maine Troop Greeters for over 20 years. Her mission has always been simple: to make sure that the Troops felt valued and appreciated. We now say thank you to Cathy for her immeasurable work in achieving her mission and helping to make the Troop Greeter organization successful in its mission.