My Visit to Fort Bragg

This past weekend's trip to Fort Bragg was a great experience. I arrived Saturday evening and was greeted by one of the founding members of FUBAR and Warriors’ Promise, Ken Hunt. Ken recently retired from the Army after 27 years of service. He was a Green Beret. His father, Master Sergeant William B. Hunt was Vietnam Special Forces and went MIA after being shot from above in Vietnam. It happened when Ken was 5 years old, so he doesn't remember him much. He has spent most of his life asking questions and trying to search for him or any last detail that he can track down.

On Sunday morning, Ken and I were scheduled to meet at the US Sports Bar on Fort Bragg where I would be signing autographs and hanging out with the soldiers and their families.

When we first arrived on the Fort, we set up our display at the bar where lots of families and individuals would be watching Sunday Football. We displayed all the FUBAR and Warrior's Promise give-aways we had. We gave out drinks, bars, stickers, patches, T-shirts, hats, and autograph cards from me and Nascar driver, Johnny Sauter. There was a great turnout.



(This is a picture of an inscriptions on one of the memorials at the site dedicated to the memory of the soldiers in the 82nd Airborne Division who made the ultimate sacrifice for America. It is one of my favorite pictures because it is a reminder about who the true "All-Americans" are.)

The visit at the sports bar went very fast. Unfortunately, I did not have the chance to actually play volleyball with the troops and their families, but hopefully we will plan a summer visit and get people out using the courts. The sand courts looked very nice, but November in North Carolina is not a good month for beach volleyball... A little too cold for me! I did get the chance to talk to a lot of the soldiers. Most of them were either returning from or getting ready to go back to Iraq or Afghanistan.



After the Sports Bar, Ken showed me around the Fort. The visit was very nostalgic for him. He was born at Fort Bragg and had been stationed there many years ago himself. We visited Special Forces Memorials for our fallen soldiers including Master Sergeant William B. Hunt, Ken's father. It was a special moment that I was proud to share with Ken.

He also showed me around a few of the museums. My favorite was the old aircraft. When I was young, I collected plastic toy replicas of these old, beautiful planes. I felt like a wide-eyed kid again.

It was a great weekend that was very special for me. It has inspired me to do more. I want to encourage all the civilians I know to thank our veterans and active military. These holidays, please do not forget them.

One way to honor our soldiers is to support the Warrior's Promise Foundation. The mission of the Warrior's Promise Foundation is to improve the quality of life for the men and women of the military community in need. Please read more about it at http://www.warriorspromise.org/.

Wishing you all a very Happy and Safe Thanksgiving Holiday!

Angie

PS. I just posted all the pictures from my trip to my website. Go to www.angieakers.com and click on the Gallery to find Fort Bragg 2008 pictures.

Roy Williams Charity Bowling Event

This past Thursday, I had the opportunity to be a celebrity guest at the Roy Williams Bowling with the Boys' for Safety Net Foundation. Safety Net helps low-income, single mothers in the Dallas area.

The event was fantastic. When I first arrived, I met up with some of the other celebrities that were participating. Chris Kirkpatrick from N'Sync, Comedian Gary Owen, and Deal or No Deal's #1 model Claudia Jordan. We were driven to the event in a limo bus. When we arrived at the Bowling Alley, we walked the Red Carpet into the event. Our pictures were taken and we were escorted to get our shoes and shirts and then to our lanes to meet our teams.

I was on Pastor Ricky Rush and Pastor Sewell's team. There were quite a few of us, as the turnout for the event was fantastic! The first hour and a half was spent talking with people and throwing a few warm up bowls. I warned my team just how bad I was going to be. Being the nice people that they all were, they welcomed me anyway! We had a hard time keeping a real score because there were so many of us in our lane. We would bowl out of turn on purpose just to keep things moving. I called in a sub, my new friend, Jace, who is a 3rd grader in the Dallas area. He was there with his grandfather, Pastor Sewell. Jace was pretty darn good! I tried convincing him that beach volleyball was a great sport and that he should watch it more often, but he was not so sure. He was a bit shy and really liked to stick with football. I could not blame him. He was surrounded by most of the Dallas Cowboys Football team. Terrell Owens was bowling in the lane right next to us! Jace was dying for his autograph and I think he got it!

Roy Williams made a very good effort to come around to each lane and spend a fair bit of time talking with everyone. With so many people at the event, I know it took a great effort from him. He was so friendly and thankful to have us there supporting his Foundation. I was honored to be there.


Toward the end of the night, each celebrity did a quick interview/sound byte for the Foundation. My first take was with the comedian, Gary Owen, who by the way was hysterical! I didn't say much because I was laughing so hard at him. I ended up doing my own byte after we were finished. I had a fantastic time hanging out with Gary and Chris. We all had just met, but by the end of the night it felt like we had known each other for awhile.

It was a great experience for me to meet and interact with so many amazing people. I felt that I had about 50 new friends. It was a fantastic feeling.

After the Bowling, we took the limo bus back to the hotel and I called it a night. I had an early morning flight to catch and was ready for bed.

It was such a short trip, but packed full of fun and great experiences. Plus, we helped out a great cause! I loved every minute of it!

My next trip will be in 2 weeks. I will be visiting Fort Bragg to meet and greet the troops there! I am really excited for the trip and know it will be another fantastic journey!

Peace!

Angie