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NSOF Gala Raises $140,000 For Navy Special Operations Warriors and Their Families

NSOF Gala Raises $140,000 For Navy Special Operations Warriors and Their Families

Suzanna FisherAug 08, 2022

On June 11th, Navy Special Operations Foundation (NSOF) brought the Hampton Roads community together for the fourth annual NSOF Charity Gala

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA  August 8  The Navy Special Operations Foundation (NSOF) is proud to announce that the recent NSO Foundation's fourth annual gala, held June 11 at Hilton Norfolk The Main in the Hampton Roads community, raised $140,000 for NSO operators and their families, Wounded Warriors, as well as Gold Star families. ​​Over 300 guests attended the event, which featured former White House Physician and Retired Rear Admiral Congressman Ronny Jackson as the keynote speaker. Navy EOD Combat Wounded Warrior, six-time Paralympic gold medalist, author, and Vice Chairman of NSOF’s Board of Directors Brad Snyder also spoke at the event. 

In addition to raising critical funds to support Navy Special Operations Service members and their families and Gold Star families of fallen service members, the event raised $16,500 for the Navy Special Operations Memorial Project. The Memorial Project will begin construction on the Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story later this year.

Honorary guests of the gala included: 

  • Brad Snyder, Navy Lieutenant, EOD Officer and six-time Paralympic gold medalist 
  • CAPT Hung Cao (USN ret.) VA-10 Congressional Candidate
  • David Galluch, Former Navy EOD Officer and PA Congressional candidate 
  • Jen Kiggans, Navy Veteran & Virginia State Senator 
  • Brian Stephens, President & CEO of Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce 

The event could not have happened without our top supporters and sponsors. 

Presenting Sponsors: 

  • Prodigy Realty: Award-winning Real Estate Company in Hampton Roads that takes a family-like approach to Real Estate. Owner, Founder, and Navy EOD Spouse Karen Tyler has sponsored every NSOF event since its inception and has also included donating office space for the NSOF headquarters. 
  • Obsidian Solutions Group: Service-Disabled Veteran-owned firm providing Enterprise Information Technology, Military and Force Training Support, and Intelligence-based knowledge and solutions to the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community. Obsidian CEO, Co-Founder, and Decorated Navy EOD Veteran Tyrone Logan expresses his support to the Foundation as a Veteran who has witnessed the positive impact NSOF has made to support this community in preventing suicide and taking action to help those in need. 

Platinum Sponsors: 

  • Point One: CEO, Founder, and Retired Navy EOD Operator Bob Brush is also a founding NSOF Supporter who has shown his support across multiple events, including the Memorial 5K run and NSOF galas on both coasts. 
  • Sky Dive Suffolk: CEO and Retired Navy EOD Mike Manthey is also a founding NSOF Supporter.

Gold Sponsors: 

 

Keynote Speaker Congressman Ronny Jackson

Rear Admiral and Texas Congressman Ronny Jackson used his keynote speech to express the need to support our Navy Special Operations Warriors on and off the battlefield, and his close ties to the community as a Dive Medical Officer, embedded with Navy EOD commands.

“As a retired Rear Admiral and Navy Deep Sea Diver, who spent many years working with the diving and special operations community, it was a real honor to be part of this year’s gala. The Navy Special Operations Foundation (NSOF) is doing tremendous work to ensure our warriors, their families, veterans, and Gold Star families are taken care of. Hooyah NSOF!” stated Congressman Jackson. 

The $140,000 raised will be distributed throughout NSOF’s support pillars that serve service members and their immediate families.

One such initiative is Coop's Reset, which was recently renamed in memory of EOD Senior Chief (ret) Steve Cooper, who took his own life in 2021 after 20 years of honorable and distinguished service within Navy Special Operations.

Like countless others across the community and all of the armed forces, Steve suffered from the invisible wounds of war that became too burdensome for him to carry any longer.  In early 2022, this initiative brought together around 60 active duty and separated operators simultaneously on both coasts to enjoy a relaxing weekend at Big Bear Lake in California and Wintergreen Ski Resort in Virginia. 

This annual event offers a deeply meaningful opportunity for these men and women to come together in a relaxed environment that allows for organic and unscripted conversations that can have tremendous impacts on those who are struggling with the invisible wounds left from years of combat fatigue. 

For information on how YOU can SUPPORT this program and others, please visit NSOF.ORG to DIRECTLY help our heroes!

“This was an incredible opportunity to gather with like-minded supporters who want to help us raise awareness around the need for increased support for our brave NSO operators, who are doing important work every single day on our nation’s behalf, often away from their families for long periods of time,” said Suzanna Fisher, Executive Director of NSOF.

“We were so grateful to have such great support from those who attended and donated in this effort.”

 

About Navy Special Operations Foundation (NSOF):

The Navy Special Operations Foundation (NSOF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The Foundation is the only organization in existence exclusively serving the Navy EOD and Navy Diver community. NSOF was established in 2018 by Navy Special Operations (NSO) veterans and their spouses. Since its inception in 2018, NSOF has provided more than $620,000 in Support to over 5,300 NSO Operators and families. The Foundation was founded in memory of all our brothers and sisters who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in defense of this nation. 

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