Tim Finnegan juggles a lot of job titles in his daily life: small business owner, U.S. Army veteran, commander of the VFW in Harriman and the father of a 2-year-old daughter. With all those responsibilities on his plate, it's hard to believe Tim is only 26 years old.

"Timmy is a one of a kind guy that shows nothing but care for others," Danny Daley said in a letter to us nominating Tim for the WPDH Vets Who Rock program.

Danny was one of several people who reached out to us to praise Tim, who recently reopened Finnegan's Pub in Woodbury after months of closing down during New York's coronavirus shutdown. Tim had purchased the pub only a year earlier when the shutdown took place.

Tim had been bartending at the establishment--one of the multiple jobs he simultaneously held--when he and his boss started talking. His boss wanted to sell, he wanted to buy and within a year, the changeover had taken place. Finnegan's Pub developed a dedicated following and had held St. Patrick's Day just before the shutdown took place.

"I learned never to take an opportunity for what it is at face value. We didn't want to sit around idle. We redid the whole bar," Tim said. "Me and my family and some friends did a lot of work to not let that time go to waste. When we opened our doors, people thought they were in a whole new place."

When Tim isn't busy running his pub, he volunteers with veterans organizations. In addition to serving as commander of the VFW Post in Harriman, he is also a member of the American Legion Post in Monroe and the Nam Knights Motorcycle Club.

As a younger member in veterans' organizations, Tim looks for ways to get younger veterans into the fold.

"It oftentimes does prove difficult to recruit younger members. Most people work two jobs or they have kids earlier. We try to tell them that there's a great camaraderie that you'll not get unless you were in the military. You'll get that back. We're a very close-knit organization," Tim said.

If there's a veteran in your life you'd like us to recognize for the WPDH Vets Who Rock program. Each month, one veteran is selected to win a $500 gift card courtesy of Tompkins-Mahopac Bank, MHA of Dutchess County and Unity Ambulette.

WPDH Vets Who Rock Honorees

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