SHORTS
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com 19
WBM
Honoring Veterans Thank you for your service BY ALLISON POTTER
Cupcakes for the Battleship
Apple Annie’s launches annual fundraising campaign BY FRITTS CAUSBY EACH year Apple Annie’s Bake Shop carries out an operation to support the USS North
Carolina. During the week of July 4, the bakery creates a signature cupcake with a red,
white and blue swirl. A $1 donation is made to the battleship for each one purchased.
“We usually end up being able to present them with a check of around $500,” says Krissy
Mingia, Apple Annie’s marketing manager. “It’s a great way to support this local treasure and raise
awareness for the battleship.”
The USS North Carolina was launched in 1941 and saw significant action in the Pacific theater in
World War II. It was decommissioned in 1946 and saved from being dismantled as a result of a preserva-tion
campaign and transitioned into a floating museum on the Cape Fear River in Wilmington in 1962.
It does not receive any support from tax dollars to support its operations. Instead, funds originate from
ticket sales, rentals, donations, gift shop sales and investments.
Mingia says Apple Annie’s owner was a previous commissioner of the battleship and, during his time
there, he wanted to find a way to raise money for the restoration fund.
“One of our core values is community and throughout the year we support many local organiza-tions,”
Mingia says. “This one is something that we feel very passionate about, especially since we are a
veteran-
owned business.”
ALLISON POTTER
VIETNAM-era
veteran Rich
Elsen kisses his
wife, Harriet, at
Wilmington International
Airport upon arriving home
from an Honor Flight on
April 30, 2022. Elsen was one
of 69 veterans traveling with
Honor Flight of the Cape Fear
volunteer guardians, including
Cathy Doty (middle), for the
one-day, all-expenses-paid
trip to Washington D.C.’s war
monuments. A crowd of nearly
1,000 friends, relatives and
community members gathered
at the airport to greet the group
when they returned.
During the week
of July 4,
Apple Annie’s
donates $1 to
the USS North
Carolina for
every signature
cupcake
purchased.
ALLISON POTTER