A Legacy That Continues to Feed the Hungry on Thanksgiving & Beyond

When beloved local businessman Mark Braunstein passed away in 2021, the Hudson Valley lost one of its most impactful and inspiring philanthropists. Braunstein not only founded one of the area’s most successful businesses, global video production supplier Markertek, he was a man dedicated to an array of grassroots charitable efforts that have touched our community for decades, from co-founding Woodstock’s Daily Bread Soup Kitchen to a program that marshals a host of local charities, businesses, farms and volunteers who provide thousands of meals to families in need every Thanksgiving.

“Mark was one of the most unique and giving men I ever met,” says Tom Struzzieri, owner of Diamond Mills Resort in Saugerties, and its acclaimed Blackbarn Hudson Valley restaurant, which handles all the food prep for this Herculean effort.

“Mark was a man who put everyone in front of himself, whose commitment to giving rubbed off on and activated seemingly everyone around him. This Thanksgiving campaign he started is alive and well and growing more with each passing year. It’s a legacy anyone would be honored to be remembered for.”

The Thanksgiving initiative begun by Braunstein is truly a group effort. It’s made possible with the active support of the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley, The Boys & Girls Club of Ulster County and local farms, along with Diamond Mills | Blackbarn and Markertek employees, the latter providing the actual boots on the ground necessary for food pickups and deliveries.

“Above all else, Mark believed that no one should ever go hungry…,” says Pat Lieske, Markertek’s recently retired Vice President of Human Resources and current Board Member who spearheads this annual effort. “Even when the company was small, Mark worked to provide and serve meals for people in need through Family of Woodstock, the Daily Break Soup Kitchen and other charitable organizations. He believed happiness begins with good health, and that that begins with good food and nutrition.” Lieske continues, “This is a deeply rooted passion for me as well. I was someone who grew up with hunger in my family and years later, as I struggled to make ends meet, I depended on a local food pantry. Hearing about and witnessing Mark’s commitment to feeding the hungry was one of the reasons I decided to join the company in 1997.”

The Thanksgiving program begins with food donations secured through the efforts of Kevin Quilty, Vice President of the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley.

“When we call, our local farms really open their hearts and deliver everything we need,” says Quilty. “This year, the Hudson Valley Farm Hub has provided hundreds of pounds of potatoes, carrots, broccoli, squash and other vegetables, while the Albinder Family’s Hudson River Fruit Distributors have donated the apples for our pies. When the shipments are ready, Markertek employees, including executives like its Chief Sales Officer Andy Barth, head down there to collect and deliver donations.

“I can’t speak highly enough of Pat,” adds Quilty. “She begins this effort with a call to me every August, then works to put the pieces and the partners together to really deliver each and every Thanksgiving.”

The next step is food prep, a laborious but joyful effort coordinated by Tom Struzzieri and his chef/daughter Samantha at Diamond Mills’ Blackbarn Hudson Valley Restaurant.

“Mark got me involved with a Thanksgiving meal program with People’s Place in Kingston 20 years ago,” says Struzzieri. “When COVID-19 hit in 2020, he thought it was vital that we go ahead and create this new effort together – to provide people in need with Thanksgiving meals in spite of the complications presented by the shutdown. It’s an effort we are carrying on in his name and with him beside us in spirit.”

“The whole process takes about 10 days for us to complete,” continues Struzzieri. “We’ll have volunteers in here peeling potatoes and apples starting a week or so out. We cook and prepare about 1,600 very elaborate meals, 100 of them for families of five, with turkey, stuffing, bread, gravy, cranberry sauce and apple pies. And we have them ready to go, ready for delivery, the day before Thanksgiving.”

Next, Markertek employees take to the roads to distribute this bounty to sites including the Boys & Girls Club of Saugerties, Family of Woodstock and The Mill at Saugerties Senior Center.  Diamond Mills also prepares another 7500 individual, shelf-stable Thanksgiving meals which are distributed by Heavenly Harvest. It will also raise $5,000 and donations of canned goods at a Thanksgiving week triathlon produced by Alpha.Win.

“This effort is a true game changer for our families,” adds Dan Whalen, CEO of The Boys & Girls Clubs of Ulster County.

“What Markertek, Diamond Mills | Blackbarn, Community Foundations and our local farmers are doing is very different – they’re providing fully prepared meals with all the trimmings, not just frozen turkeys. Unfortunately, many of our families are in living situations where cooking a whole Thanksgiving dinner isn’t feasible. Also, the dinners provided to the Senior Center are individual meals. The team understands how many of our seniors may not be able to be with their families on this holiday. So if they can’t go to Thanksgiving, we’ll bring it to them.”

The Thanksgiving effort is just one part of Mark Braunstein’s and Markertek’s charitable legacy.

Like many tech entrepreneurs, Braunstein started his company in his Woodstock garage in the mid-1980s. As the company grew with the support of local lending institutions in Saugerties, he kept Markertek headquartered in the town, even as it established outposts in Las Vegas and the U.K.

The firm’s charitable arm, The Markertek Fund, has been a consistent force for prosocial efforts in our community and beyond for over 30 years.  With a commitment to “help those who need emergency food and shelter”, and by supporting The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York and Food Bank of the Hudson Valley, it supports local soup kitchens, food, emergency shelters, senior care, day care and medical rehabilitation sites.  Together, the two food banks provide over 30 million pounds of food to 1000+ emergency providers in 23 New York State counties.

Markertek’s other annual tentpole event is their Markertek Open Charitable Golf Tournament, held every July. Since its founding in 1997, the event has raised over $700,000 to support the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley.

One other further example of Braunstein’s commitment to community:  Upon his retirement in 2016, Braunstein sold the company to his employees, making Markertek an ESOP, which gave his staff a meaningful equity stake in the company they worked so hard to build with him.

Thanks to all who make this essential annual endeavor and community initiative possible, from the staff at these participating companies who generously volunteer their time and dedication to the organizers, farmers, chefs, kitchen staff, drivers and local organizations who enable locals in need to enjoy their Thanksgiving meals.

Markertek
Diamond Mills Resort | Blackbarn Hudson Valley
Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley Farm Hub
Hudson Valley Fruit Distributors
The Boys & Girls Club of Ulster County
Family of Woodstock
Heavenly Harvest

And a special, heartfelt thank you to our beloved Mark Braunstein.