2015 Saw Great Success at 3rd Annual Dinner in the Vines
MVAT Foundation supporters came together on May 2 at the Alpha Omega Winery in St. Helena, California for the third annual Napa Valley gala benefitting our mission to support carefully vetted charities serving wounded warriors, Veterans, and their families.
The event was the first to be put on by the MVAT Foundation’s newly established Northern California Council (NORCAL). The MVAT Foundation, the NORCAL Council, and the amazing volunteers who helped make the event possible wish to express their gratitude to event patron RIX Industries, and to the benefactors: Douglas and Jane Berl, Ray Brown, Don and Susan Schwarz, Alpha Omega Winery, California Industrial Rubber Co., CEM Corp., GALLINA LLP, Grocery Outlet, and Wells Fargo.
Retired U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Pauley and Crystal Gonzalez at the May 2, 2015 event. Staff Sergeant Pauley, a combat wounded Veteran of the Iraq War, was a featured speaker at last year’s event.
Alex Quade
Acclaimed war reporter and documentarian Alex Quade gave a passionate keynote presentation to the audience of more than 100 attendees on the intrepid American special operations troops she has covered in Iraq and Afghanistan. Clips from her lauded documentaries Chinook Down and Horse Soldiers of 9/11 were shown to a rapt audience. Attending the event with her was retired Army Sergeant First Class Joe Jung, a member of the Special Forces detachment that rode horses into combat against the Taliban and al Qaeda in 2001.
Col. Jack Jacobs
Medal of Honor recipient Col. Jack Jacobs, USA (ret.) reminded the attendees that America’s Veterans, who through service and sacrifice made a lasting contribution to our society, require an equal measure of compassion and support from the country. The NBC military analyst noted that the MVAT Foundation serves as a vehicle for delivering that compassion and support via the carefully vetted Veterans support charities it funds.
Dr. Kent Drescher
Dr. Kent Drescher spoke of the challenges and successes he and his staff have experienced treating Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress (PTS), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and other post-combat mental health challenges at The Pathway Home, a residential treatment center located in nearby Yountville. Drescher serves as Clinical Director of The Pathway Home, which is supported by the MVAT Foundation.
Terry Moran
Terry Moran, a volunteer leader with the small Sausalito, California based-charity Wooden Boats for Veterans expressed gratitude for an MVAT Foundation grant in 2014. The grant supported the charity’s work to lower depression and suicide rates among the local Veteran population through positive experiences centered on wooden sailboats, including at-sea crewing and vessel restoration. Their other activities for Veterans include providing support and convalescent care to wounded service persons recovering in Bay Area hospitals and rehabilitation centers, supporting internship opportunities for Veterans with wooden boatyards, and funding educational training to Veterans in surveying and operating wooden boats.
Corporate sponsors of our 2015 MVAT Foundation Napa Valley event:
