An event dedicated to disabled veterans and service members will be featured in Jefferson City's Salute to America celebrations leading up to the Fourth of July.
A Heroes Outing is intended to give military service members a chance to spend a day golfing, fishing and relaxing together.
Beginning at about 8:30 a.m. July 2, service members will get to play golf for free at Turkey Creek Golf Course and the Ken Lanning Golf Center, which is an Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible nine-hole course. Golfers will get to use a cart that allows them to overcome physical challenges. The par-3 course has artificial turf on the greens, on which wheelchairs and carts are allowed.
Participants will also be able to fish from an ADA-accessible dock on the center's 3-acre lake, said Hank Stratman, a retired U.S. Army major general.
"The time was right to start a long-term outing," Stratman said. "It was a dream of Danny Baumgartner's."
Baumgartner owns Turkey Creek Golf Course.
All the proceeds from the outing will go toward the purchase of at least two more disabled-accessible golf carts, one of two goals for the event, Stratman said. The other goal is simply to recognize area heroes, he said.
Local golf pros and well-established golfers will be available to assist golfers with their games. There will also be people available on the dock to assist anglers, he said.
Because it recognizes veterans, the event will fit in with the Salute to America celebration, said Diane Gillespie, executive director of the Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Sponsorships will fund the event, Gillespie said. A sponsorship for one participant is $600, and sponsorship for four is $2,000. For information, call Baumgartner at 573-659-1961 or Pat Rowe Kerr at 573-462-9531. For information and sponsorship forms, email [email protected].
Area hotels are offering special rates for veterans who come into town for the holiday's events, Gillespie said. And there will be food, music and a cool place for participants to take a break from the festivities during the outing.
Kerr, a former Missouri Veterans Commission ombudsman, said any veterans are invited to participate in the event.