Victoria Rivas stands at the USMC memorial with Marines
StanDown: SOT-AZ continues to provide resources to our local veterans, and this month was no exception! In addition to providing our Pinal County StanDown veteran participants with a multitude of services, your generous donations of new socks that accompanied the new shoes overwhelmed our vets.
Honor Flight: SOT-AZ has been financially supporting Honor Flight for the past three years, but 2016 is the first time we have sponsored a local veteran for the annual trip to Washington DC. Casa Grande resident Victoria Rivas, a Marine Veteran of both WWII and the Korean War, now 93 traveled with escort Josie Kakar-Delsi on the three-day journey. They joined 50+ veterans touring the WWII Memorial; Arlington National Cemetery for the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and many other iconic memorials in Washington DC. May we always remember their sacrifices. Our nation is blessed by those like Victoria who step forward when duty calls. Whether they fought on land, sea or air, all our vets contribute to the character and greatness of America. Listen to their stories, and you will know the pains that still remain part of their everyday lives. Even though many of our veterans never received a medal, they are all heroes. We remain struck by the valor, gallantry and sacrifices. May we never forget the price they paid for our freedom. We have included pictures of Victoria’s memorable journey graciously provided by your continued SOT-AZ support.
Please mark your calendars for the following upcoming events.
SOT-AZ Annual Veterans Day Golf Tournament will now be a Veterans “Week” of festivities, November 4-11, 2016. We will continue to update you throughout the summer regarding all our traditional events as well as new activities. Remember, the main golf tournament on Veterans Day, November 11, fills up quickly. Watch for our early registration announcement sometime this summer!
Membership Drive: We now offer lifetime memberships for $25 per person, which includes our new flag magnet to proudly display on your vehicles (Reminder: please remove before commercially washing your car.) Annual memberships are still available for $5pp.
Flag Drive: For a $25 donation receive a yard or boulevard flag…or you can do both for $50. As most know, your donated flags line the main roads of Robson Ranch each HOA approved patriotic holiday, and many residents also proudly display their purchased yard flags. It is truly a magnificent site to see these flag-lined streets and neighborhoods. Our goal is to line them all!
Please contact Steve Anderson, [email protected], if you are interested in any or all of the noted events and contributing missions. Your support is needed and greatly appreciated by all our SOT-AZ volunteers and of course, our local veterans and their families.