Support Our Troops fundraiser

Charles Bonesteel

Whether you are a golfer or not, Support Our Troops has activities planned for you in the months of October and November. All Robson Ranch residents are encouraged to participate, so please read on to determine how you can be involved.

The annual Support Our Troops Veterans Day Golf Tournament is November 11, 2014, which is fast approaching. There are only 36 slots available for teams, which are filling up fast. Do you have your foursome together? If not, I encourage you to get a team application form and submit it to Jerry Koppy, [email protected]. Where else can you spend $65 per person, play golf with friends, provide support for our veterans and have the opportunity to win wonderful prizes? Prizes will be award to the first and second place teams for men, women and mixed teams.

Other opportunities to win include hole-in-one contests. Jones Ford committed to provide a car for one of the holes in one. We also have hole-in-one prizes of a Harley Davidson motorcycle and a golf cart. Other golf contests include men and women’s longest drives, a closest to the pin contest and a putting contest. As additional details and incentive programs are finalized, information will be provided through email blasts. We hope the new banquet facilities will be available in which to have lunch and our closing ceremonies.

There are still donor and sponsorship opportunities available. They include the Platinum level ($1,000), Gold level ($500), Silver level ($250) and Bronze hole sponsorships ($100). As you reflect on what veterans have done supporting the United States of America, request a sponsor/donor form from Steve Anderson at [email protected]. Your support will be acknowledged through banners/signs placed throughout the golf course and in our program booklet provided to all participants.

There will be a basket raffle just as in previous years. Please donate a raffle basket or item by contacting Steve Anderson. If you have not purchased your raffle tickets there is still plenty of time to do so. Raffle tickets are 50 tickets for $20 and 250 tickets for $90. Along with the raffle basket drawings there will be a golden ticket drawn. This ticket holder will win a landscape makeover package from Earth Water Fire valued at $5,000. Look for the roaming SOT raffle ticket sales golf cart, which will continue to appear at various RR community events until the day of the tournament. These appearances will be announced via email blasts.

Even if you are not a golfer, do not despair; the SOT Golf Committee has not forgotten you. Plans are in the works to have a pre-tournament party on Sunday, November 9, in the cul-de-sac located near the corner of Grand Canyon and Pioneer. Plans include having live entertainment starting at 3:30 p.m. with adult beverages and possibly finger food. For those desiring to eat and/or drink, there may be a small, yet to be determined, per person admission charge. Around 5:00 p.m. we plan to have a live auction with some amazing items available on which to bid. Those items include landscape packages valued at $50,000 and $15,000 respectively donated by Earth Water Fire, LLC. Other items include four nights lodging in a San Diego condo from Jim Law; a four-night resort stay in Alaska from Thomas and Barbara Gayer; and an overnight stay at Ak Chin Casino in Maricopa with four dinners and small gifts. For all you fishermen and women, there is a fly rod and reel package with carrying case, for wine lovers six bottles of a 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon donated by Sequoia Grove Winery in Napa valued at $690. Finally, a $1,500 air conditioner or furnace installation or upgrade donated by Rush Air, with more to come. Keep an eye out for future email blasts containing final details pertaining to this event. Bring your checkbooks and prepare to bid on these and other exciting prizes while supporting our troops.

Other pre-tournament activities include Support Our Troops nights at two eateries. On Monday, October 6, Culvers is having an SOT night. Then on October 15 Rubios in the Promenade Mall will have a similar night. For each restaurant, a portion of their sales proceeds will be donated to the SOT club. Please take this opportunity to fill your stomach and assist the SOT in raising funds. Don’t forget to thank them for Supporting Our Troops through these special events.

In addition to the golfing activities, sponsorships, basket donations and those other opportunities previously discussed, we need volunteers to assist in putting these events together. Should you have some time available, please contact David Kantrud, [email protected], to serve as a volunteer.

Mark your calendar for the aforementioned activities and actively participate. These are community events for the benefit of our precious veterans. By doing so you demonstrate how much you value and appreciate the sacrifices veterans have made throughout the years as well as assist our organization in raising funds to help those active and inactive veterans who may be less fortunate than us.