Salute to Veterans 2008 Recap

A Great Evening for Veterans
U.S. military veterans representing all the major services received well-earned recognition, and in many cases a nice gift, at the Navy League Salute to Veterans 2008 Honors Dinner and Prize Drawing, Oct.16 at the Florida Yacht Club. In the process JaxCouncil raised nearly $17,000, much of which will benefit the Sea Cadets, Jacksonville University's Tillie Fowler Memorial NROTC Scholarship Fund and the Wounded Warrior Project.

Thanks to the generosity of sponsors and donors, 55 prizes were awarded this year—30 in the Grand Drawing and 25 in the Veterans Drawing. (By comparison, the 2007 event awarded 20 prizes.) The Hawaiian Cruise Vacation grand prize was won by Mike Johnson. But Salute to Veterans 2008 encompassed much more than prize drawings:

• Frank W. "Skip" Allcorn IV presented a loving audio-visual tribute to his father, WWII submarine hero and long-time Navy League stalwart "Skip III," who passed away earlier this year.

• Lt. Cmdr. Don Brammer, associate regional director of Sea Cadet Region 6-2, received the Sea Cadets National Chairman's Medal in recognition of 30 years of faithful volunteer service. The Chairman's Medal is the highest award that may be bestowed on an individual and recognizes sustained distinguished service.

• AT1 Brian McCray delivered an insightful first-hand account of his experience on a just concluded Navy Individual Augmentation (I.A.) assignment in the Global War on Terrorism. All three presentations were most appropriate to an evening devoted to saluting American Veterans. JaxCouncil gratefully acknowledges the generous participation of the following sponsors and prize donors for Salute to Veterans 2008: