Local events to raise funds for Missouri Veterans
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- Two upcoming summer golf tournaments, as well as a Patriots Day event in the fall, will provide needed funds for Veterans in Northwest Missouri.
The 8th Annual Veterans Home Assistance League Golf Tournament will take place on Thursday, July 17, at the St. Joseph Country Club.
Twenty-seven teams will participate in the event this year, along with corporate sponsors. On Friday, Aug. 1, the 12th Annual Veterans' Golf Tournament will take place in Maryville, Missouri, at the Mozingo Lake Golf Course.
Longtime member of the Veterans Assistance League and Vietnam veteran, Roger Foreman, said 100% of the proceeds will go to assist veterans in Northwest Missouri.
"Through these funds, we will be able to furnish all the wheelchair accessible transportation for veterans at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cameron," Foreman said. "Neither VA nor the state is able to provide funds for that."
Foreman also said special activities and fun events throughout the year is also partly provided through these funds.
Committee member Michael Meierhoffer said it's a unique way for the community to have fun and to provide for extra needs of those who have served the nation in the military.
"As a veteran who supports veterans, I will say that these events are extremely important," Meierhoffer said. "We will be able to do things that federal and state funds are just not able to do. Both the tournaments this summer and the Patriots' Day event will be able to contribute to the needs and to the comfort of our veterans at the Cameron Veterans' Home."
The Patriots Day event planning for Thursday, Sept. 11, is already underway. It'll feature a gathering of veterans and community members at Wyatt Park Baptist Church, at 6:00 p.m.
This event, coordinated by corporate sponsors, Retired Air Force Captain Guy Gruters and Retired U.S. Army Colonel Milt Toratti, will feature special speakers and special displays.
"The Missouri Vietnam Veterans mobile wall will be featured at both the golf tournaments and at the Patriots' Day event," according to Truman Hardy, another member of the Veterans Home Assistance League. "This coincides with the fiftieth anniversary of the official end of the Vietnam War."
The September 11th event will also feature keynote speakers like former Vietnam POW Guy Gruters and books by retired Vietnam veteran Milt Toratti.
Corporate sponsorships are still available for both the golf tournaments and the Patriots Day event.
For more information about sponsorship, donations or tickets, contact Cheri Morton at (816) 383-4940 or visit the Veterans Assistance League of Cameron, Missouri, on Facebook.
