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GREG DENYS

GOSHEN - These apprentices weren't celebrities, but a Goshen couple has rave reviews.

With their son away in the military, it fell to Kathy and Bob Berrena of Goshen to figure out how to install the standby generator they bought after last December's ice storm.

They were grappling with the chore when a call came in from the director of the union with which Kathy's son and Bob's stepson, Greg Denys, is serving his apprenticeship.

The director, Mark Kuenzel of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 7 in Springfield, had been in touch with the couple to inquire about Denys, an electrical apprentice with the union who is also a Marine deployed in Iraq.

"Mark would call to check on Greg's status to see how he's doing," said Kathy Berrena.

As they talked, she told Kuenzel that the couple was feeling stuck when it came to the important chore of installing the generator they had bought.

"Mark said, 'Why don't you stop doing that and let me call you back,'" recalled Berrena.

Two hours later Kuenzel called back to inform them that Greg's instructor and classmates would do the job.

"I almost fell over when he said that," she said.

In fact, Greg Denys got home to Goshen last week in time to see classmates from his apprentice program show up at his 20 Corner Road house Saturday to help install the generator.

Denys was just in from a one-year deployment that saw him spend seven months in the Iraqi city of Al Asad. He is a Marine reservist based in Glendale, N.Y., and is on leave from an apprentice program at IBEW Local 7, where he is in his fourth year.

"It was very nice of them do that," said Denys, who helped with the project. "I felt that for them to go out of their way and give up one of their Saturdays was amazing. I felt very appreciative of them doing that."

Kuenzel said he felt it was the union's obligation to help the family of someone serving the country.

"Greg's over there protecting us," he said. "The least we can do is help his parents."

Denys' instructor, Dave Roe, and three of his classmates, Jacob McGrath, Ryan Silk and Mark Rodrigo, made the drive to Goshen to help install the generator. M.L Schmitt, an electrical company in Springfield, donated all the additional parts for the generator.

The generosity left Kathy Berrena amazed at the reservoir of support for military families.

"It blew us away that there are people in this country that are so supportive of the military and the people that protect us. It was awesome to see that," she said.

Berrena said the family was without power from late Dec. 11, a Thursday, to late the next Wednesday, Dec. 17. They tried to keep pipes from freezing by stoking a fire in the fireplace, but to little avail. According to Berrena, the temperature in their bedroom sank to 41 degrees the Monday after the storm.

Berrena said it was heartening to see how the community banded together as a result of a natural disaster.

"Everyone worked hard. The guys from the power company worked really hard to get everyone back up," she said. The the family borrowed a generator from Jerry Bird of the Spruce Corner Restaurant as they entered the end of their week without power.

After that, though, they vowed they would never repeat the ordeal, and resolved to install an emergency generator.

They never expected the help that was to follow.

"We didn't seek out any of this assistance," Berrena said. "They said, ¿We're doing this for you because of what your son is doing.' It blew us away."

Denys, who is home until August on leave, said that knowing the community was looking after his family helped while he was in Iraq.

"It's always good to get a letter, but it is even better to get good news like that," said Denys, explaining how he had heard of the project. "To hear that people are looking out for us guys over there feels really good."

For Kuenzel, the feeling was mutual. "To help a soldier's family, I just felt fantastic," he said.