by: HB News staff writer
Posted: November 12, 2018
Banner at the Mobile Station at Edinger and Beach Blvd.
HUNTINGTON BEACH...For those of you old enough to remember the gas lines of the 1970s, will be glad to know they are still around. If you were lucky enough to have your grandkids in the car on Sunday, November 11th near the Mobile Station at the corner of Beach Boulevard and Edinger Avenue in the early morning, you could have shown them what you went through 48 years ago.
NuVision Credit Union who are based in Huntington Beach wanted to help veterans this Veterans Day. They came up with the idea of giving free gasoline and paid full price for all the gasoline that filled vehicles of past and present veterans.
Mobile Station Owner Kaiser Korkis
Mobile Station Manager Ray Ghamari
Kaiser Korkis, the owner of the Mobil Station wanted to do his part to help veterans and let NuVision use his pumps. Station Manager Ray Ghamari was busy with paper work for the event and helping outside with the cars.
One of the side streets south of the station
Cars try to enter the Edinger line from Arby's drive thru
Cars began to line up around several blocks Edinger, Arby's parking drive-thru, Parkside Lane, etc. at 7 a.m. an hour before the event starts. This year they had to begin at 7:30 a.m. because of the traffic.
A line of cars on Edinger west of the station
Veterans got a free tank of gas up to 20 gallons thanks to NuVision. Any veteran who are now serving in the military or had served in the military could receive this gasoline. All they had to do was show a valid VA or military ID to one of the NuVision staff at the pump.
NuVision's CEO Roger Ballard
Lt. Col Kenneth Graham (Retired) with some of his helpers
Helping Saturday morning was NuVision CEO Roger Ballard, NuVision employees and several active members of the military under the direction of Lt. Col Kenneth Graham (Retired) whose directions help kept the flow of vehicles in and out of the station running smoothly.
On Parkside Lane
Turning from Parkside Lane onto Edinger Avenue
Although the event was be begin at 8 a.m. vehicles formed a line on Edinger Ave., on Beach Blvd, on Parkside Lane, and through the parking lot of the Wells Fargo Bank very early so that the event had to begin at 7:30 a.m. vehicles were lining up on Aldrich, and Start to feed into Parkland and this would continue throughout the two-hour event.
Fill the tanks with free gas
As cars entered the single open driveway of Edinger, members of NuVision or the military would direct them to the nearest open pump in an orderly manner.
Priseilla Padilla, a U.S. Naval Sea Cadet guide the vehicles along Edinger Ave.
NuVision Credit Union has been helping out the people of Huntington Beach in several ways throughout the years as a way to thank them.