Letter: Veterans Day Tourney

Editor, The Friday Flyer:

I want to thank the community and our golf clubs for their generous support of the 3rd annual Veterans Day golf tournament, held November 9, to benefit our nation’s wounded servicemen and women through the Wounded Warrior Project. WWP is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors.

This year we invited players who were active duty and Wounded Warrior Alumni to play with us.

One of these warriors, Dan Smee, addressed the golfers afterwards and shared his story of support he received from WWP.

Dan was a medic in Iraq and suffered Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) as well as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD. Through the WWP, he was able to turn his life around, finishing his master’s degree in social work at USC and now working as a counselor for the VA. Dan is now living the WWP logo, having gone from the warrior on top, being carried by his fellow veterans, to the warrior on bottom, carrying his brothers and sisters through their darkest times.

These warriors had only high praises for the WWP and were thankful for events such as ours that help provide the needed funds to support the organization.

Many thanks for the generous support from our community and the tremendous time and effort of my committee members, Joe and Carmel Lemke, Jill Batinich, Bruce Wallace Donna Nunes, Mary Leathly and many others.

I want to give a special thanks to Golf Pro Pat Kemble. He was instrumental in the planning and organization of this event, helping us raise over $13,000.

A special thanks to our hole-in-one providers that included a pontoon boat provided by Chuck Sachs of California Skiers, golf carts from Ron McClellan, Canyon Golf Carts and Doug Highsmith Prestige Golf Carts as well as golf clubs and golfing vacations.

Richard Messer