OS AI recently noted an ask by Richard Green, President and CEO of Ghostwerks, related to a raffle for a non-profit, and a networking group that were new to us, so we asked him to share more. Passionate about supporting Veterans and their families? In or around Dayton? Read on.
Honoring Purple Heart Warriors and Gold Star Families
Blue Skies was dreamed up and created by David Hart and John Hart II. They wanted to create an opportunity to honor our nation’s Purple Heart Warriors and the families of fallen heroes, or Gold Star Families. The idea was to create a bonding, healing, and life-enriching experience. I was drawn to the organization because of their focus on creating a platform to help our veterans work through the traumas that they endured while service our country. As an Air Force veteran myself, I am always pulled towards organizations that support those that give selflessly to a greater cause.
Multiple Opportunities to Support
Anyone who has a passion to support veterans and their families would be interested in the Blue Skies mission. There are various ways for someone to get involved from making a donation, purchasing a Bourbon Raffle ticket, becoming a corporate sponsor, and volunteering. There are several events throughout the year, but the main annual event is the Warrior Weekend to Remember (WWTR). This year’s event is scheduled for August 6th-10th at Camp Chautauqua in Miamisburg, Ohio. This will be the 14th WWTR, where we will bring in 35-50 Gold Star Families and Combat Injured Veterans from across the country to be welcomed into the Blue Skies Family. The weekend is filled with fun and enriching events like jumping out of airplanes, go-cart racing, Jeep parade through Miamisburg, concerts, and a large “Bond-Fire”. The weekend is capped off with a dinner for participant, sponsors, and volunteers.
Throughout the year there are smaller alumni meet-ups and events, to continue building relationships. The website, https://warriorwtr.com/, is a great way to learn more about the mission, it includes videos from past events, applications to nominate Warriors/Gold Star Families to attend, and applications for volunteers. You can also find links to make a donation or become a corporate sponsor.
Bourbon Anyone?
The Bourbon Raffle is an idea that I had to attempt to raise enough money to cover the costs of 10 participants. All proceeds, sponsorships, and donations go towards covering the travel expenses for the 35-50 Purple Heart Veterans and Gold Star Family attendees. This ensures that the only thing attendees have to worry about is making connections and having a positive experience. My ask to the industry is to purchase 1 ticket and promote Blue Skies within their networks. If anyone would like to assemble a basket to be included in the raffle and promote their company, that would be great as well. The goal for the raffle is to raise $50,000.
In or Around Dayton?
Dayton Bourbon Development (https://www.bourbondev.com/) is a local networking group of local business professionals from various industries, everyone with the shared passion for Bourbon. The events are very well attended, February’s event had over 100 attendees. The Dayton meetings are held at a local distillery, Dayton Barrel Works, and is opened on the third Wednesday of the month specifically for our group. This concept is growing and recently added a Cleveland Bourbon Development, with two additional locations getting stood up.
The Blue Skies raffle drawing will be held during the June 18th event that will be co-hosted by my company Ghostwerks and Fast Rope (Fast Rope – Home), a GovCon networking group with chapters in Dayton, Columbus, National Capital Region, Hampton Roads, San Antonio, St. Louis, and Charlston. During the event we will be highlighting and celebrating Blue Skies, with some Blue Skies alumni on hand to share their experiences. We will also have 4 Paws for Ability, a local service dog organization, on hand with a pack of puppies and service dogs in training. In addition, we will have local Country Music artist Kevin Kelsey performing. Plus some other surprises.
An Opportunity to Connect
The opportunity is to network with other like-minded businesses leaders that have a passion for supporting our Veterans and Gold Star Families. In fact, it’s the sacrifices of many active military and veterans that make all of this possible in our country.
A Call to Action
All of the groups that I have mentioned are filled with outstanding individuals and professionals. I would encourage your readers to check out each one and see if they are drawn to joining. I highly encourage every reader to click the link to the raffle and purchase a ticket. Your purchase will go a long way to supporting the Blue Skies mission and you may get a great bottle of bourbon and some cool company swag. Finally, you do not need to be present to win, I will make arrangements to get winners their items locally and outside of Ohio.
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