Clark CARES Sponsors Inaugural Charity Fishing Tournament in Tampa, Florida
TAMPA, Fl.—On Thursday, September 23, Clark Realty Capital and Clark Builders Group hosted the inaugural Clark CARES charity fishing tournament at Westshore Yacht Club. The catch and release tournament attracted 51 anglers representing 30 corporate sponsors, and raised over $68,000 in charitable proceeds to benefit the Special Operations Warrior Foundation and Friends of Military Families. Both organizations are local military charities associated with MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.
Clark CARES Sponsors Inaugural Charity Fishing Tournament in Tampa, Florida
"I am always astounded and thankful for the generous support the Special Operations Warrior Foundation receives from caring Americans," said Colonel John T. Carney, Jr., the Foundation's president and chief executive officer, "Americans who give of their time and resources to assist our noble cause to provide for the college educations of the children of our Fallen Warriors. We simply could not accomplish our mission without the support received here today from the Clark CARES foundation and tournament sponsors. Again, I am truly grateful for your support."
"Our military families make so many sacrifices and often ask little in return. It is what they choose to do" said Mark Stanford, treasurer for Friends of Military Families. "Separation from deployments places a strain on our families and that strain doesn't go away when they get back together. There are still adjustments and struggles a family must face when it comes time to reintegrate back into the 'normal' family life. The generous support from Clark CARES will go a long way towards making that adjustment easier."
Before they set out for fishing in Tampa Bay, participants enjoyed a catered breakfast. During the six-hour tournament, anglers attempted to catch the longest measurement for snook, redfish, and trout, and to achieve the highest overall cumulative score.
"We are very excited about the outcome of this tournament," said Justin Trowbridge, development associate at Clark Realty Capital. "For an event in its first year, the participation is exceptional, and we are so grateful to our generous sponsors. We are thrilled that everyone had an enjoyable time today and more importantly, that we are able to support these two admirable charities who are serving our military families at MacDill and throughout the entire country."
At the tournament's end, participants enjoyed live music and a barbeque dinner, viewed a slideshow of photographs from the day, and purchased tickets to win raffle prizes. Tournament hosts then announced the official weigh-in and raffle prize winners, and presented the tournament check to the beneficiaries.
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About The Clark CARES Foundation
The Clark CARES Foundation is an Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) public charity committed to improving local, national, and global communities through its charitable contributions program. The Clark CARES Foundation provides grants to deserving organizations in an effort to promote five main pillars of support: Community - Bringing individuals together to build a stronger society; Advocacy - Raising awareness as inspiration for action; Responsibility - Fostering a culture of accountability; Education - Empowering others to improve the world around them; and Service - Committing resources to set values into motion. For more information, please visit www.clarkcares.org.
About Special Operations Warrior Foundation
For 30 years, the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization, has been devoted to providing a college education to every child who has lost a parent while serving in Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps Special Operations during an operational or training mission. The Warrior Foundation is currently committed to providing scholarship grants to more than 800 children. These children survive more than 700 Special Operations personnel who gave their lives in patriotic service to their country. To date, over 160 children of fallen special operations personnel graduated from college. The forces covered by the Foundation are over 60,000 military special operations and support personnel stationed in units throughout the United States and overseas. MacDill AFB, Florida which is the home of Special Operations Command, has one of the largest concentrations of special operations personnel in the military. For more information, visit www.specialops.org.
About Friends of Military Families
Friends of Military Families is a 501(c) (3) non-profit charity headquartered at MacDill AFB. Friends of Military Families was created shortly after September 11, 2001 in effort to enhance community outreach and emergency assistance to military families in need at MacDill AFB. Additionally, since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom, Friends of Military Families has expanded its community outreach to include financing and organizing reunions for deployed service members upon their return to MacDill AFB as well as assembling and sending care packages to deployed serviced members. Moreover, since MacDill AFB has personnel from all branches of the military services, Friends of Military Families assist members of the Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. Contributions to Friends of Military Families assist families with personalized care packages that can be sent to deployed members. Reunion support for members returning from deployments includes spa packages, dinner cruises, restaurant coupons, and more. Friends of Military Families also provides reunion support, videos and cameras for sending deployed loved-one a personal message, and hosts specialty and family activities and events. The organization also provides free child care, phone cards, food vouchers, and emergency assistance. For more information, visit www.friendsofmilitaryfamilies.org.