Good Vibrations
Read the stories of these locals and local organizations making waves throughout the Brigantine community and beyond.
text KRISTEN DOWD • photos KELLY & CRAIG PHOTOGRAPHY
Ashlyn Tate
Competing at the rodeo feels natural to Ashlyn Tate.
But it still takes a lot of hard work.
The 16-year-old Brigantine resident and Ocean City High School sophomore has been riding horses for nine years, but it wasn't until the COVID-19 pandemic hit that she pivoted to the world of rodeo.
And in just the five short years since, Ashlyn has honed her skills, joined the New Jersey High School Rodeo Association and earned a myriad of accolades in competitions, including in the national circuit.
The teen got her start with horses in formal English riding when she was 7 years old.
"So, like jumping and all that - the fancy stuff. But I kind of got tired of going slow," Ashlyn said.
During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ashlyn was introduced to the world of rodeo when she tagged along with her mom taking their dogs to a trainer.The trainer's family was involved with horses, and her son was big into bull riding.
"We would go over and ride together, and he would have rodeos. And, I don't know, it was just cool to me," Ashlyn said.
She also started competing in game shows - one night occasions featuring a selection of rodeo events. They re small, "but they're very fun,"" Ashlyn said of the game shows.
After some time taking part in the weekly game shows, Ashlyn's mom decided to start looking for a horse for her daughter at the end of 2020.
"She saw how much fun I was having with it," Ashlyn said. "So, we got Pansy. I tried her right before Christmas, and then we bought.”
Pansy was an off-the-track thoroughbred and retired racehorse who won over $180,000. They moved her to Rockin' J Ranch in Galloway, where Ashlyn started competing in game shows every Monday night in the summer. The shows honed her skills in barrel racing and pole bending until she joined the New Jersey High School Rodeo Association, part of the National High School Rodeo Association, and headed to her first rodeo in August 2021.
"It was definitely a learning experience, but it was just more fun than anything I've really ever done," Ashlyn said.
Ashlyn first competed in barrel racing and pole bending but after working with Pansy, they entered the team roping event. At the end of their first year of New Jersey High School Rodeo in May 2022, Ashlyn and Pany qualified for Junior High Nationals in pole bending. In May 2024, Ashlyn and Pansy qualified and competed at High School Nationals in Rock Springs, WY in both poles and barrels. Ashlyn said a good run in barrel racing is exhilarating.
"You're just very pumped up. Everyone's cheering you on," she said. "It's definitely a different feeling."
Gavin Emory
When Gavin Emory was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2020, he was not quite seven years old. The Brigantine resident was treated at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, but even though he was sick, his memories of that time are actually quite positive.
"As a kid, you never feel like a patient," Gavin said. "It was kind of fun."
He feels the same way about CHOP now when he needs to go for infusion treatments, thinking about coloring with his doctors and nurses and playing Xbox in his hospital room instead of the treatment itself.
His parents, Nicole and Brian, said their son's inpatient experience at CHOP was amazing.
"We are so blessed to live close to such an amazing hospital," Nicole said. "When going to CHOP, you see so many sick children. It puts life in perspective and it makes us think that Gavin's illness could be so much worse. We try to look for the positive!"
And they try to share that positivity with others. For the past three years, the Emorys have hosted Gavin's Snack Drive to collect donations for the Ronald McDonald House at CHOP, which is where families can stay free-of-charge while their child is hospitalized. Snacks include granola bars, goldfish crackers, animal crackers, and other types of individualized items that parents and family members can grab on the go.
"Since CHOP helped me, I want to help them in a way that it would help other people, too," Gavin said.
The first year, the Brigantine Community School student estimates they collected around 50 boxes of snacks - and the drive has only grown every year since. His parents publicize it on social media, let the school community know, and it just sort of takes off from there.
"Brigantine is a strong community, and it shows just by our snack drive," Nicole said.
The proud mom says her middle son - she also has Landon, 17, and Jackson, 6 - is always a thoughtful and generous kid, so his enthusiasm for doing the snack drive was no surprise. And while Gavin's No. 1 passion may be baseball, helping others is a close second.
Gavin was also CHOP's Inflammatory Bowel Disease Ambassador in 2023, completing a walkathon around Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia - and raising $4,000 along the way.
"We don't let his disease define him," Nicole said. "We tell him he can do anything he puts his mind to!"
Gavin would like to keep his snack drive going "forever," he said, and would like to see another snack goal fulfilled, too.
"To get a whole truckload," he said.
Mindy Pomatto
In 2018, health and physical education teacher Mindy Pomatto helped organize a special Veteran's Day program at Brigantine Community School. Veterans were invited to visit the school and share their stories, and as they walked through the building, the students lined the hallways and welcomed them.
"The whole school got involved and it was so powerful," Mindy said. "Veterans came up to me and they were in tears. I was so proud of our kids and our staff and our community for making them feel that way. And it's just been growing off of that ever since.
In 2020, the event moved outside due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and "Steps for Vets" was officially born. Students and veterans walked the track (masked and at safe social distances), while others lined the track and cheered them on. Once COVID-19 regulations lifted, the outside component continued - and the overall event continued to grow.
A ceremony and assembly start the day, followed by the Steps for Vets around the track, and things culminate with lunch indoors - with all donated foods from the community.
"It's easy to do that. The island is super generous and so appreciative of our veterans," Mindy said.
There are a number of visual displays to help teach the children about military service, too. A Coast Guard helicopter lands at the school and they bring a boat on a trailer. There are mannequins wearing uniforms, equipment to check out and a cannon to see.
Visitors can also look into veteran resources the school has on display.
"It's really grown and the kids have such appreciation now for veterans. They re just showing so much patriotism and so much respect for our veterans and our country," Mindy said. "We make it a powerful day for everyone.”
Although Mindy spearheaded Steps for Vets since the beginning, she is quick to credit the school and Brigantine community for its participation and support.
"I'm just so thankful that I work in this community and I have administrators that support everything we do and want to create," she said.
Mindy has several veterans in her own family, including her uncle who came out for Steps for Vets for the first time last year. Mindy would love to see more veterans come out to next year's event, as well as expand the visual displays for the students.
"We're always looking to make it bigger and better," she said.
American Legion Riders & Captain Rick Palatucci
Captain Rick Palatucci served in the Marines during the Vietnam War.
He also owns a Harley.
It was those two things that got
Captain Rick involved in the American Legion Riders, a charitable motorcycle organization that raises money for children's hospitals, veterans' homes, schools and scholarships. According to the American Legion website, there are more than 2,000 chapters of the American Legion Riders with more than 110,000 members today.
One of those chapters - and the one to which Captain Rick is involved - is out of the Clark-Eliason American Legion Post in Somers Points. The group's president is Gene "Bones" Nace and vice president is Don "Cowboy" Landry.
"American Legion Riders are a mixture of people - some are veterans and some are veteran advocates," Captain Rick explained. "We do a lot of things with the veterans, a lot of the parades - people get excited when they see 25 motorcycles coming down the street."
The first American Legion Riders chapter was founded in 1993 in Garden City, Michigan, according to the organization's website. Over the past 30-plus years, the chapters have collectively raised hundreds of thousands of dollars.
One of the biggest fundraiser of the Chapter 352 is their annual barbecue, held each May. Last year the event drew around 500 guests for barbecue pork and chicken platters, drinks and live music.
"The important thing is we just keep raising money,, Captain Rick said.
Captain Rick serves on the Donation Committee, fielding periodic requests from local veterans who need assistance. They may be short on an electric bill, or perhaps they're hospitalized and need some financial support. The request needs to be approved by the committee, and then the funds can be donated.
"We get a check out pretty quickly and we help a lot of people," he said.
At Christmastime, the chapter collects and donates gifts for children in need. On New Year's Day, they come out to the Brigantine Polar Bear Plunge and make a generous donation to the Fisher House Foundation, which builds homes near VA medical facilities for veterans families to stay in while the veteran is hospitalized.
Another big part of the American Legion Riders, Captain Rick said, is taking part in interment services for veterans who have passed away. The riders will hold the flag line in formation at the funeral, and near the end of the service they will perform a last salute in front of the casket. The group will also lead the funeral procession to the cemetery.
"The one thing we can't lose sight of is the veteran, the veteran who put his life on the line," Captain Rick said.
