The Everyday Heroes organization of El Campo, Texas, held its annual fundraiser banquet and auction on Wednesday, Oct 21, 2020, in the El Campo Civic Center. Everyday Heroes is a local organization that helps Veterans by providing daily transportation to & from various Veteran medical facilities in the area, including Houston. Approximately 40 Members & spouses of VVA (Vietnam Veterans of America) Chapter #1069, of El Campo, attended and participated in the fundraiser. Special guest speaker was Shilo Harris (photo below), a wounded veteran of the Iraqi war.
Shilo was a Cavalry scout with the 10th Mountain Division in Iraq. He survived a brutal IED attack, and, after more than 75 surgeries, he is now a motivational speaker. Everyone agreed that his presentation was very interesting and inspiring and all enjoyed it very much.
A "Missing Man Table", (above photo) also known as a "Fallen Comrade Table", is a ceremony and memorial that is set up in military dining facilities of the United States Armed Forces and during official dining functions, in honor of fallen, missing, or imprisoned military service members, or civilian, or includes all (Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard and POW/MIA). The table serves as the focal point of ceremonial remembrance, originally growing out of US concern of the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue. The table included 6 empty chairs that represents fallen members of the 5 military Services (Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy and Coast Guard) and an additional chair for the POW/MIA (Prisoners of War and those Missing in Action).
Above photo shows chapter Vice-President, Leonard Sternadel, giving a short presentation regarding the Missing Man Table. Leonard also gave the introduction for special guest speaker, Shilo Harris.
EveryDay Heroes is a local Veterans Support organization, based in El Campo, that provides various help for veterans and also provides a daily bus service for veterans that may be used to transport them (there & back) to local VA facilities in nearby Richmond/Rosenburg and the Houston DeBakey VA Hospital. Use the link below to read more about Everyday Heroes.
CLICK HERE to learn more about Everyday Heroes
Shilo Harris (above photo on the left) is seen talking to chapter Vice-President, Leonard Sternadel. As it turned out, Shilo loved having his picture taken and had a great sense of humor, as you can see in the photo. He seemed to really enjoy mingling with and speaking with everyone that attended the event.
And to say again, 40+ members & spouses from VVA Chapter 1069 attended the event!
VVA Chapter 1069 purchased 5 tables for the membership! A big thanks to those who helped Dana decorate and provide candies and snacks at each of our Chapter's 5 tables.
Most of the pictures below were taken while our membership were having the evening meal.
And a great meal it was. The menu included either chicken fried steak or roasted chicken.
Above photo - Say hello to our VVA Chapter 1069 President, Frank Laitkep, far left.
He can't speak right now - he's eating.
Above photo shows 4 of the 5 total tables reserved for our VVA Chapter members & spouses.
Everyone seems to be enjoying their meal.
The first item on the agenda after the meal was the presentation by Shilo Harris.
Overall, the attendance for the fundraiser was pretty awesome.
One of the highlights for the fundraiser high-end auction was an item that sold for $7000!
And some of our chapter members did win some items in the normal gift raffle.
And a big thanks to Chapter Vice-President, Leonard Sternadel, for organizing our chapter's participation in this year's Everyday Heroes Fundraiser Banquet. And to Dana for all her work purchasing and laying out all the table decoration and snack items. In general, a big thanks to all those who helped make our membership participation in this event an enjoyable one. Another feather-in-the-hat for VVA Chapter 1069.
Above photo - VVA 1069 Chapter member, Buck Matthews, shows off a special appreciation gift that he received from the Everyday Heroes organization sponsor, Mike Ryan. Buck sold 50+, $100 raffle tickets for the fundraiser event! And as an added bonus, one of Buck's ticket customers purchased a winning ticket. The prize was a brand new Mahinda yard tracter with front-end loader. A big Thanks to Buck for supporting the Everyday Heroes organization and in turn helping many Veterans in the area! VVA Chapter 1069 is proud to have Buck as a member.
Above photo shows Shilo talking to a World War II Veteran that attended the event.
Shilo was a Cavalry scout with the 10th Mountain Division in Iraq. He survived a brutal IED attack, and, after more than 75 surgeries, he is now a motivational speaker. Use the link below to learn more about Shilo Harris.
Click Here to visit the Shilo Harris websiteShilo also has a book out called "Steel Will: My Journey through Hell to Become the Man I Was Meant to Be".
The hard cover version may be purchased on Amazon - the link is below. The description for the book reads as follows...
"On February 19, 2007, SSG Shilo Harris was patrolling an infamous southern Iraqi roadway when his Humvee was struck by an IED. Moments later, three members of his crew were dead and Shilo had sustained severe burns over 35 percent of his body, lost his ears and the skin off his face, and lost much of the use of his badly mangled fingers. This fiery moment was just the beginning of an arduous road laced with pain, emotional anguish, and much soul-searching. For forty-eight days Shilo lay trapped in a medically induced coma as his wife, unable to ease his suffering, had to come to grips with a man utterly changed.
Click Here to see Shilo's book on Amazon