SERKET Racing’s Mark Llano took Travis Clennon for a lap at Circuit of the Americas, located in Austin, Texas. Travis is a former Army Staff Sergeant and was wounded by a roadside bomb while serving in Afghanistan, and was awarded The Purple Heart for his bravery. On September 21, 2013, Travis was given a home due to the efforts of Operation Homefront, Wells Fargo, and SERKET Racing.
While we were in the UK earlier this summer for the Hot Shots Calendar photo shoot, Combat FlipFlops was also on hand, preparing a short, behind the scenes video.
Don’t forget, the 2014 calendars and playing cards are now available for order.
This story from Bates Footwear is pretty cool. They’ve given five wounded warriors the opportunity to partner with an artist through Fashion Has Heart to creat their ArtPrize entries. The HERO[series], pairs a Hero with an Artist to collaborate in order to share that hero’s story through the medium of art and design. Each veteran was paired with artists and designers to create two pairs of Bates boots – one for themselves and another to be included in ArtPrize® in September 2013. The veterans returned to Grand Rapids unveiled their ArtPrize® entry, “HERO[series],” on Wednesday, Sept. 11. The entry can be found at the Fashion Has Heart venue, 144 E. Fulton St, Grand Rapids, MI. Voting begins September 18, 2013.
Above, you can see COL Kathryn Champion’s entry. To see all five entries as well as learn about the participants, visit www.batesfootwear.com.
Today we had Lucy Pinder and Kelly a hall on hand to sign 2014 Hot Shots Calendars.
They are located in the Edgar Brothers booth # S4 240.
If you weren’t at DSEi today you missed the opportunity to have the lovely models Holly Peers and India Reynolds sign your 2014 Hot Shots Calendar. Don’t fret, the models will be back tomorrow in the Edgar Brothers booth #S4 280, in the UK pavilion.
I am always impressed with the work that Mark Llano does on behalf of his fellow Veterans. This past weekend, SERKET Racing working with philanthropic partner Operation Homefront and sponsor Wells Fargo Capital Finance made a motor sports first. They gave away the keys to a home, mortgage free. And this is the first of three homes that will be given to Veterans and their families.
SERKET Racing made a first-time homeowner out of Veteran Army Specialist Joseph Saunders and his family this Labor Day weekend.
By working with philanthropic partner Operation Homefront and sponsor Wells Fargo Capital Finance, SERKET Racing was able to present keys to a mortgage-free home to the Veteran and his wife at the start/finish line of the Grand Prix of Baltimore. The Saunders were welcomed to the track by a sea of ecstatic race fans applauding their sacrifices for our country.
The shared mission of raising support and awareness for veterans and their families brought the SERKET Racing, Operation Homefront and Wells Fargo Capital Finance trio together. Each organization boasts programs that are uniquely designed to help veteran families conquer hardships their loved ones face upon returning home.
“Our mission at SERKET Racing is to raise funds and awareness for veterans and their families and this is our first step towards that goal,” said SERKET Racing driver and former Marine Mark Llano. “Members of the racing community in Baltimore have always been avid supporters of our troops, so we felt that hosting the event at the Grand Prix of Baltimore would be perfect. I’d also like to express my gratitude to Operation Homefront, Wells Fargo, the rest of our sponsors and our fans for their continued support of our mission — we could not do this without you.”
Operation Homefront’s participation in the ceremony gave racing fans an opportunity to show their support for America’s best and bravest. The non-profit spent this race season working closely with the SERKET Racing team to raise awareness and assistance for veterans on and off the track. Most recently the two teamed up with Hertz to award free car rental vouchers to veterans receiving homes.
Jim Knotts, President and CEO of Operation Homefront, expressed the organization’s gratitude and excitement for SERKET Racing’s support of their mission:
“Operation Homefront appreciates our ongoing partnership with Wells Fargo, and we’re thrilled to be teammates with a vet like Mark Llano,” said Knotts. “SERKET Racing’s commitment and dedication to bring awareness to our military families is obvious on many levels, and Llano and the number 24 car are great ambassadors for the needs of our military men and women.”
Wells Fargo Capital Finance also has deep-rooted ties to aiding the families of our servicemen and women. Their sponsorship of SERKET Racing has opened new avenues of opportunities to aid those who serve. This year, 25 percent of the Wells Fargo Capital Finance sponsorship funding was donated from SERKET Racing back to veterans in need.
“It is an honor for Wells Fargo to work with organizations such as SERKET Racing and Operation Homefront that strive to enrich the lives of the amazing men, women and their families who sacrifice for our country,” said Dave Marrin, head of government services, Wells Fargo Capital Finance. “Wells Fargo has been helping military members and veterans succeed financially for more than 150 years. Wells Fargo Capital Finance is proud to help military service members and veterans reach their business goals.”
The trio agrees that the opportunity to help the Saunders family and hand the keys over was worth a year of planning. SERKET Racing, Operation Homefront and Wells Fargo will next award a veteran with a home at Circuit of the Americas for the Super Endurance Weekend Sept. 20-22.
To join the SERKET Racing mission please follow the team on Twitter at @serketracing and on Facebook. Join the conversation by using the hashtag #WarriorsLivebyaCode.
Thanks to ADS Inc for making us aware of the upcoming East Coast Washington, D.C. Metro EODWF Undefeated Bike Ride on Sept. 27-29, 2013. Riders will have the option to choose between a challenging 2-day 155 mile ride from Annapolis, MD to Boulder Crest Retreat in Bluemont, VA, or a single day, 50 mile out and back event on Saturday the 28th.
Now in its 5th year, the Undefeated EOD 2-Day Ride benefits the EOD Warrior Foundation, which funds and supports military EOD families caring for their injured loved ones at military medical facilities across the country, and with financial stresses they encounter on the path of healing after the hospital.
To register, visit www.eodwarriorfoundation.org/events/events/view/19
During SHOT Show Drake Clark reached me about helping out with an upcoming project. John Noveske had just passed away and Magpul was going to commit to a run of special “Johnny” PMAGs to raise money for his family. He asked if I would help. While I had only met John once through the introduction of Stickman, we had quite a few friends in common. And, I appreciated his hard work and innovation. “Sure,” I told Drake, “count me in!” Now, I know some of you guys are asking yourselves why the family of a guy who owned a business would need money. Well, my answer is simple. It’s for his kids. Very, very few small business owners are rich, or even well off. They work insane hours and put everything extra back into the business. And now, in the case of Noveske, John, the creative force behind the brand, is gone. It will never be the same and the lives of his kids will never be the same. As a father and small business owner, I can tell you, none of this was lost on me. It’s the reason I agreed to be a part of this and a reason I purchased some of these magazines when they were first available.
Now mind you, all of this planning for the Johnny mag was going on during the panic of 2013. Despite this, Magpul came through with the initial push which they offered in conjunction with Noveske. And then, another tragedy struck, and a similar magazine-based fundraising campaign came along. And during that period, in late Spring, 300 Johnny PMAGs showed up at my door. When I was planning to start this fundraising effort, I foolishly thought I could offer them through PayPal, but I soon found out that wasn’t possible. Then, eBay was a bust. SSD has a long reach but what we don’t have is a web store. Once the other fundraising effort ended I reached out to my friends at Grey Ghost Gear and they thankfully agreed to handle the sales aspect of this effort.
If you missed out on the initial run of Johnny mags, Grey Ghost has just under 300 (they are selling already). The Johnny PMAG is a Magpul GEN M2 30 round PMAG designed for 5.56×45 NATO and .223 Remington AR15/ M4 platform weapons. This memorial magazine includes the Noveske “Flaming Pig” on one side, and the Noveske logo on the flip side.
Please join us in supporting the Noveske and remembering an innovator by purchasing one or more of these memorial magazines.
www.greyghostgear.com/accessories/johnny-memorial-pmag
-Eric Graves
A lifelong shooter and outdoorsman, Eric served in the US Army before retiring from the US Air Force after 21 years of service. After his retirement Eric also worked in industry and has served as the Editor of Soldier Systems Daily since launching the site in May of 2008.
