Lynne Moore
Support Our Troops (SOT) had its March meeting before everything was closed down. There have been many significant changes to this year’s planning. Our annual golf tournament has been cancelled for this year but has been rescheduled for 2021. For all of those who volunteered and worked so hard to make this happen, thank you so much for your time and effort. We still continued our shipments to deployed troops, shipping 34 boxes in February to Germany, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Qatar. We also made and sent out 160 paracord bracelets, and we thank the 29 volunteers who did the work. We send out cards each month to our military, here and abroad, and this month we mailed these to deployed troops in South Korea. To our wonderful Sassy Stampers, thank you for the beautiful cards you prepare for this activity.
We also had to cancel the March meeting of the Young Men’s Service League. This wonderful group of teenage boys and their moms from Argyle come each month to the Ranch to write cards to our troops and listen to a presentation by one of our veterans. It has proven to be a really popular event for all of us, and we hope we will be able to continue these meetings again soon.
The SOT Silent Auction is set for Veterans Day on Nov. 11. At this event, we have donated items that you can bid on and purchase. All the money raised at this event goes to support our men and women in uniform. The Life Works organization has offered to give waterproof shower bags to SOT to include in our monthly shipment. Life Works trains people with limited mental ability in basic living and vocational skills.
One of the other charities that SOT donates to is the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. There are seven of these centers throughout the country, including one in Texas. Each center costs about $14 million dollars and contains 25,000 square feet. It is designed for therapy for post-traumatic stress and brain injury. Their success rate is 90% for treated persons who continue to serve in the military.
The Veterans Park Brick Drive continues. You can call president Darin Burk at 309-530-0124, and he will tell you about the price and the forms to fill out. If you would like to join SOT, just go to our website, www.supportourtroopstexas.com. You do not have to be a veteran to join, and we would love to see you at one of our meetings. They are held on the second Monday of each month at 1 p.m. in the clubhouse.