Chapter 26 - DROP Article

[Bill Hanrahan]

Chapter 26 continues to provide outstanding support to our wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. With funds raised from a very successful golf outing we delivered 37 adjustable desk chairs to all three Fisher Houses at Walter Reed. All of the desks were the original furniture when Fisher Houses were built and needed full replacement. In the past four months we have completed Fisher Houses Top 2 requests – replacing all the bed comforters and replacing all the desk chairs. Our next project - we are breaking ground in May to install an outdoor patio at one of the three Fisher Houses at WRAMC.

We have also made a sizable contribution to the SOF Warrior Foundation in the past few months.

It’s the Smiles per Miles that Count
On April 17, 2010 SFA Chapter 26 hosted a group of wounded SOF warriors and their families at Summit Point Motor Sports Park. Our SOF heroes are all wounded soldiers recovering from various injuries at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
We worked with the National Automobile Sports Assn (NASA). This Assn was formed in 1991 to deliver high quality motorsports events to racing enthusiast at major venues around the nation.

It was a great day for our Chapter, our Wounded Warrior and their families. We transferred everyone by minibus from Walter Reed to the race track in Summit Point, West Virginia. Upon arrival we fed everyone a nice “Welcome Lunch” and then preceded to different view points around the track to watch the racing. At 1710, after signing waivers and helmet fitting, we got eleven service and family members into race cars driven by the best of the best instructors in the NASA Mid-Atlantic region. All 43 instructors volunteered to take a wounded soldier for a ride.
The NASA folks were VERY helpful all day; entrants were cordial and invited Vets to get up close with their cars in the paddock
As they rolled off of the track it was nothing but grins and smiles. A young SOF soldier went out on a Z06 and one of the wives went in a Cobra (Factory 5). Several folks have new favorite cars that they wish to buy (Lotus, Corvette, and Porsche).

A big THANK YOU to Chapter members who made it happen: Steve Stratton, Randy Runkles, Nick Raymond, Henry Arup, Mark Gilbert, Tupper Hillard, Don McCreadie, Michael Cronin, Marty Thompson, Larry Wroten and Mike Dougherty.

Our next NASA Event for our wounded SOF soldiers is the 19 June “Hyperfest” - the biggest sellout event of the year at Summit Point with over 8,500 spectators expected.