Blinded Vietnam veteran and entrepreneur Urban Miyares will be the keynote speaker at the 11th Annual “Sky Ball” Gala, Oct. 5, DFW Airport,as he introduces Brian Leet, the Army medic who discovered him still alive in a KIA body-bag 45 years ago.
Joining Urban will be Gary Sinise, Tony Orlando, Wynonna Judd, Chef Robert Irvine (“Restaurant Impossible” TV Show) and other celebrities and dignitaries, to include many Medal Of Honor recipients.
Urban Miyares is the founder and volunteer President of the Disabled Businesspersons Association (DBA), a charitable and educational nonprofit, and oversees the organization’s Challenged America, National Disabled Veterans Business Center, Vocational Rehabilitation Training and Special Kids in Business programs.
For additional information on the Oct.5 , 11th Annual “Sky Ball” Gala in Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX, visit www.SkyBallInfo.com.
Once again, veterans from all over America are converging on San Diego for the annual National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic for recently injured veterans. In late September Challenged America (CA) will provide the sailing venue at the Marriott Marquis Hotel for Navy, Marine, Army, Air Force and Coast Guard veterans from the east, west, south and north who will come to “America’s Finest City” to participate in surfing in La Jolla, cycling and rock-wall climbing in Coronado, kayaking on Mission Bay, track & field activities at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, and sailing on San Diego Bay with Challenged America and Sail USA 11.
Veterans will not only be competing in the sports events provided to challenge our visitors, but they will be on the support side as well. Marshall Lubin, a veteran of four years service in the Navy will be sailing in the Martin 16 fleet as a companion sailor for Challenged America. Serving in Coronado at Seal Team One in the late seventies, Marshall was fortunate to serve on an anti-terrorist team that established protocols that were later put into place at Seal Team Six.
An avid sailor since his teens when Marshall traveled around-the-world, he was lucky to visit over fifteen countries during a two year sojourn. Fourteen months of his voyage was sailing on a 56-foot ketch. He remarks that he was privileged to circumnavigate the planet during his teens on a serendipitous journey that was the adventure of a lifetime.
During his Navy years, Marshall sailed at the Navy run Fiddler’s Cove Marina, on the Silver Strand. There, he taught many friends, from the ‘teams,’ how to sail on the Navy’s Catalina 27 sloops. In the late nineties, he purchased and sailed an Etchell’s for six years, and then discovered Challenged America three years ago. When a call went for companion sailors, Marshall answered the call. This will be his third VA Summer Sports Clinic.
At CA, Marshall learned how to rig the Martin’s and work with the disabled. He has sailed with the blind, deaf, amputees, individuals suffering from Parkinson’s, and spinal cord injuries. Marshall says that “the reward of seeing the grin on the face of a teenager (with a disability) after he’s conquered an afternoon of sailing on the bay is just reward for the effort.”
Marshall is not the only veteran at CA. Urban Miyares, the co-founder of CA, was a soldier in the Army. Lyle Lundberg, Doug Shaw, Mike Swall, Dave Hopkins, Gordo Parham, as well as supporters like “Rags” of the Maritime Institute volunteer at Challenged America, and Lynn Hanna of Sail USA 11 are examples of veterans who keep on giving. Over 50% of the volunteers at CA are veterans, as well as the majority of Challenged America participants. We live in a great country, exemplified by those that show their heart with their actions. Won’t you join us?
P.S. you can view Marshall’s new book, “From Boys 2 Men” on his website @ www.fromboys2men.com .
It will be a great honor and privilege for us to welcome Gy Sgt Mark D. Daemon Administration Chief 9th Communication Battalion , United States Marine Corps.
Gy Sgt Mark D. Daemon will be presenting the flag to the winner of the auction as well as give us background information on the flag and Camp Leatherneck above which it flew.
On behalf of Challenged America participants and volunteers, a big thank you for donating a US flag flown above Camp Leatherneck, Helmand Province, Afghanistan for our auction.
The flag is a tribute to the courage of the men and women of our armed forces, to their sacrifices, to those who made the ultimate sacrifice and those who came back wounded or disabled, some of whom we have or will see in the Challenged America program.
Following is a copy of the certificate.
United StatesMarine Corps
This certifies that the accompanying American Flag was flown over Camp Leatherneck in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan
On
1 January 2011
On this day, Gy Sgt Mark D. Daemon, Administration Chief
9th Communication Battalion dedicated this flag in honor of
Challenged America and *Auction winner*
The greatest gift that a person can give is time and efforts invested in the development and care of others. It enriched the one who gives and inspires those who receive. A person who finds values in their own life has dignity. A person who finds value in others is generous and serving. A person who finds value in both self and others and strives to communicate that through their actions and words is enlightened and brings peace where they travel. Thank you for your support of Challenged America and its work. We appreciate your commitment to making a positive difference.
