Layne Jones
SOT-AZ Veterans Day golf tournament/annual fundraising week – another huge success!
SOT Military Appreciation Dinner: 140+ local and community residents enjoyed a buffet dinner netting $456.
Honored Guests:
WWII Veteran Donald Wallace Weil was present; his slide show interview at the WWII Memorial in Washington DC was shown. His dedication and love of country was inspiring, and his advice to the young interviewer was inspirational.
SOT’s first V.A.L.O.R. (Veteran And Loved Ones Relief) scholarship recipient, Alejandra Cano, a student at Central Arizona College who plans to eventually become a mental health nurse practitioner.
Casa Grande Veteran Center Director Kim Rodriguez gave an emotional overview of how important SOT-AZ is to the success of this very busy center helping Pinal County veterans with housing, food, clothing and many other needs.
Fourth Annual Live Auction: San Tan Golf carts provided two refurbished custom golf carts; Tom and Barbara Gayer donated an Alaska vacation; Greg and Veronica Long donated a Whitefish, Montana vacation; AMA Waterways generously donated a River Cruise; and Trane and Rush Air donated several different packages. In addition we auctioned golf packages, beautiful handcrafted table linens and many more items raising our auction total of $19,815 after expenses. The associated canned food drive netted over 400 non-perishable food items, which will be given to our Veterans Center Food Bank.
Baked Food Sale: A variety of scrumptious baked goods from our local residents added an additional $1,335 for our local veterans.
Raffle: Ticket sales continue to raise substantial mission supporting funds. This year we had 126 great raffle items, again generously donated by local Robson residents and many local vendors. We raised a net $5,064 to support our local veterans.
Garage Sale: Thanks to the many residents who cleaned out garages and closets. Your donated items raised $1,180.
Par 3 and Veterans Day Golf Tournaments: Our four-person Veterans Day Team Scramble featured a fun day of golf, skill games, putting contest and lunch. Net funds raised, including the Thursday Par 3 Tournament, were $9,151.
Net total raised for our local veterans is $37,000.75.
Veterans Day Golf Tournament Winners:
1st Place Men’s Team: Arizona Sky Dive, Eloy – Scored 53
2nd Place Men’s Team: Ted Poplawski, Ben Blisett, Nick Pike and Mike Pryor
1st Place Women’s Team: Bobbie Johnson, Kathy Holwick, Susan Unsinger and Patty Bruchez
2nd Place Women’s Team: Linda Walker, Betty Kumbera, Mona Rod and Gloria Lemere
1st Place Couples Team: John and Candy Burtis; Jim and Teresa Baxter
Closest to the Line: Men: Steve Bishop; Women: Teresa Baxter
Closest to the Pin: Men: Nick Pike; Women: Marie Fredrick
First Ever Hole-in-One Honors: DuWayne LeMere and Rich Taubinger
SOT-AZ Board of Directors/Officers want to thank everyone. Our week-long fundraising event would not be possible without your continued support. A special thank you to Dan Snyder, coordinator, and our many volunteers. Your countless hours of work made 2017 a great success. To everyone who enjoyed the week of festivities, please accept our heartfelt thanks!