Pontiac, IL (Guns Save Life) – Guns Save Life isn’t just gun rights activism, lobbying and public education.  We’re not a single-dimensional group.  In addition to supporting our right to defend ourselves, GSL supports local peace officers and also our nation’s armed forces – both its members and veterans.

It is with that in mind that Guns Save Life has supported the local HOOAH Deer Hunt for Heroes group and their work helping wounded servicemen.  HOOAH helps the soldiers deal with the mental aspects of healing through camaraderie, friendships and other support.  In many instances, these soldiers have already been separated from their units because of combat-related injuries and are set to be released back into the civilian world.

For more on HOOAH, visit this link to a feature story at the Pantagraph.  Here’s an excerpt:

HOOAH uses hunting to help wounded vets heal

FUNKS GROVE — William White loaded an arrow into his gas-powered crossbow, took aim and pressed the trigger.

The deer fell. It was White’s first in three years of coming up empty.

Never mind that White is missing an arm and a leg. The U.S. Marine sergeant, a veteran of Beirut, Bosnia and Somalia, thanked a small band of soldiers and civilian volunteers who restored him to wholeness, if only for a day.

“It’s always good to find a friend when you need one,” said White, of Wood Dale, as he recognized the HOOAH Deer Hunt for Heroes program.

HOOAH is a local offshoot of the U.S. Army’s “Healing Outside Of A Hospital” program. Four Army specialists spent last week working with local founder Tom Huffington of McLean to set up a week of hunting for eight injured warriors at Funks Grove.

“We work with the Army to screen candidates for the program so that we can do the most good,” Huffington said.

Physical and psychological assessments, as well as material accommodations for what each candidate needs to succeed, are all factors that contribute to their inclusion, he said. Each wounded soldier is assigned a mentor and support staff to guide them on the hunting expedition.

Huffington said fundraisers, like LeRoy High School’s Hangar Dance, have enabled HOOAH to purchase hunting supplies and other items that provide mobility for the soldiers, many without use of their arms or legs.

And here’s a great story the Pontiac Daily Leader ran last Thursday.  An excerpt:

More to outing than just hunting golf balls

By Luke Smucker

Posted Sep. 24, 2015 at 9:03 AM

Pontiac, Ill. (Daily Leader) – A Department of Veteran Affairs study from 2013 revealed a veteran commits suicide in the United States every 65 minutes. While these statistics may sound staggering, a 2015 Huffington Post article concluded although current data made it impossible to accurately determine the current suicide rate, “it seems likely that the number is significantly greater than 22 a day.”

With the lives of United States veterans hanging in the balance, Tom Huffington, one of the founders of HOOAH Deer Hunt for Heroes, created an organization to reach out to veterans with the goals of:

• The development of a platform for disabled veterans to pursue outdoor activities

• Provide a quality whitetail deer hunting experience for disabled veterans — at no cost to the participant

• Create awareness among the civilian sector of the sacrifices made by veterans

• Coordinate with HOOAH to select suitable candidates

• Work with HOOAH to ensure its program guidelines are met

• Promote healing for our disabled Veterans in a non-traditional setting, outside of a clinical environment

To help support a new year for the program, Huffington, who is not connected to the Huffington Post, and others, including co-organizer Wendy Boch, a member of Guns Save Life, have organized the second HOOAH Deer Hunt for Heroes Golf Outing, a four-person best position golf event being held Saturday at the Pontiac Elks Golf Course. All proceeds are used to help wounded veterans.

“This is actually our biggest fundraiser of the year,” Huffington said. “This event is the best because everybody has a good time. What I like about best golfer is you can be a terrible golfer and as long as you’re paired up with someone who is really good, you can turn in a better team score. Or, you can just have fun. It’s a really relaxed environment and we will have one soldier team this year, the soldiers are coming out from Ft. Campbell (in Hopkinsville, Ky.)”

In addition to golf, the event will feature raffles, a live auction, silent auction and all types of games on the golf course like longest drive, longest putt, closest to the pin, a skins game and a pink golf ball.

“Essentially, you buy a pink golf ball and you have to play it every hole and you have to rotate who hits it every hole, so you have to hit it every time and if you have your pink golf ball at the end you can win a 50/50 jackpot when we draw names at the end,” Huffington said. “If you lose your ball and we draw your name, you’re out. Last year we drew five people who didn’t have their ball before we got to a winner.”

 

The soldiers arrived Thursday and the HOOAH program took care of everything for them:  Food, lodging, transportation and everything else.

Of note:  The Pontiac Elks Club and Country Club completely donated Friday’s golfing for the soldiers and some volunteers.  Food, drinks, golf, everything.  Big kudos to them for their unflinching support of our nation’s veterans – particularly the wounded servicemen.

Other local businesses and organizations helped out as well.  Bernardi’s II donated their meals Thursday evening.  St. Paul Lutheran Church and its members served breakfast Friday morning to the troops.  The Elk’s Club waived a host of fees and deposits for the dinner and gave us member pricing and then some for the golf outing on Saturday.  And then there is a long list of businesses and individuals who were gold and platinum sponsors of the event.  (I don’t have a list of those.)

Denny Vaughn and Wendy Boch were the coordinators of the event.  Denny took care of the golf course logistics and Wendy took care of staff volunteers and everything else.  Guns Save Life played a huge role in manpower and donations to make the event a tremendous success.

Wendy’s already planning for next year’s event.  Look for a golf outing combined with a formal fundraising dinner akin to a Friends of NRA or Whitetails dinner next year.  It’ll likely be at the Pontiac Elk’s Club once again, so it’ll be easy to find.

Enjoy!

St. Paul Lutheran Church hosted breakfast for the soldiers Friday morning.  They went above and beyond in their decorations…  and the food was outstanding as well.

Welcoming the troops.

Event co-coordinator Wendy Boch shares a laugh with the guys.

At least a score of volunteers from Guns Save Life and GSL Defense Training helped set up ahead of time, making things go smoothly.  GSL and GSL Defense Training members secured items to go in each golfer’s bag and pre-stuffed them the preceding weekend.  Included in the bag were nice stocking caps provided by Bridgestone, a lunch cooler provided by SC2, a day pass at the C.I. Shooting Sports Indoor shooting range in Normal, a pass to LA Fitness, golf balls, paracord keyrings (hand-made with love and attention by the Logue girls over this summer), the last two issues of GunNews Magazine and more.

Volunteers from the Huffington, Gaither and Graden families helped in the course set-up.  It was good seeing young people helping.

Volunteers stand ready for registrants.

Positive role models too!  Dave Blaha, a Denver Broncos alumni, with a young fan who looks up to professional athletes.

Pontiac Guns Save Life regional coordinator Jackie Gragson was present, helping out and selling tickets on a very nice Barnett crossbow donated by South Post Guns in Streator.

Spc. William Ontko talks with Tom Huffington.

Billy and SSgt. Brett Bender.

Wendy Boch, event co-coordinator, with former Chicago Bear John Janata (left) and former Denver Bronco Dave Blaha.  They were keeping her in line.

Brett bought a lot of raffle prize tickets and walked away with about two-thirds of the raffle prizes.

Talking tats.

Looking up to a good role model, John Janata.

Shaking hands with a role model.

Busted on Facebook.

And they’re off…

Where do we go?

HOOAH.

Ah, the first shot.  Does one need to use a “mulligan” if you don’t connect with the ball?  That’s SSgt. Danyel Braxton whiffing that first drive.  With a pink ball, no less.

He got it that time.

Spc. Thinakhone “Norm” Senmounnarath connects on that drive.

Got it!

Volunteers Jackie Gragson and Hollianne Logue selling tickets on the course for the Barnett Crossbow.  It was one by SSgt. Brett Bender at the end of the event.

Former Chicago Bear John Janata was well respected by the soldiers and outing participants.  Janata is larger than life too, at 6′ 7″ and 275 pounds in his younger days.

That pink ball Brett fished out had the potential to be worth about $200.  Heck yes he was going to hunt it down.

Norm takes a shot.

Brett shows us his awesome close range game.

Then Danyel shows how it’s done.

Yes, Brett’s hitting the pink ball with a putter in the fairway.  Why?  Because there was a water hazard and he didn’t want to lose a $200 ball!

Norm nails it.

Longest put at the time.

Yeehaw!

It’s all good fun.

Another good drive.

Considering shot choices.

Putting from the tee box?  Yep.  It’s best ball and that pink ball is valuable.

HOOAH!

And another!

Yes, this is all for you, Billy.  Stopping to take a picture of one of the hole sponsor signs.

Doug and Hollianne Logue selling tickets for the Kel-tec PF-9 drawing.

Nice putt!  Like they say:  Drive for show.  Putt for dough.

SQUIRREL?

Not only was John Janata offering autographs, he also sold getting onto the green for $10, as a fundraiser for the HOOAH event.  You give him your ball and he shoots the green on one of the par 3s.  Janana nailed a hole-in-one for one of the teams.

It’s worth noting that Mr. Janata and Mr. Blaha volunteered to be with us the entire day.  He also donated an autographed football, signed by a number of NFL members past and present.  They, like the other volunteers, came without any compensation aside from HOOAH buying their dinner and refreshments.  Hats off to them for their dedication and support for our wounded veterans.

GSL’s Executive Director bought the autographed ball at the live auction and gave it to Spc. William Ontko.

Awaiting the golfers to get back to the clubhouse for dinner / fundraising banquet.

Olivia Logue, one of the young ladies who made 125+ paracord keychains for this year’s event over the summer.

The Neoga Sew Happy Hearts Quilt Guild donated seven or eight quilts to be sold as a fundraiser for the HOOAH Deer Hunt for Heroes program.  A couple are pictured behind the soldiers.  From left:  Cadre leader SSgt. Danyel Braxton of Detroit, MI, SSgt. Brett Bender of Modesto, CA, Spc. William Ontko of Ft. Bragg NC, Spc. Thinakhone Senmounnarath of Nashville and Spc. Daniel Godbey of Bloomington, IL.

GSL Executive Director John Boch poses with the soldiers listed above plus SSgt. (ret.) James Pease, also of Bloomington, IL.  The signed 101st Airborne flag was a gift from the first year’s soldiers and is priceless to the HOOAH Deer Hunt for Heroes group.  Guns Save Life is the HOOAH group’s biggest supporter in terms of financial, promotional and volunteer contributions.

Wendy Boch, event co-cordinator, poses with the soldiers and three of the Gaither brothers who are integral members of the local HOOAH group.