01 Feb North Carolina Golf Tournament Set for April 29
The Point
February 2017
North Carolina Golf Tournament Set for April 19
Sometimes support for Laughs for the Troops can come from unexpected sources.
Laughs for the Troops president and CEO Thomas Brown has been a cruise ship comedian for more than 25 years, and at the end of his shows, he donates any money made from the sale of his CDs to the organization.
In addition to generating income for the charity, it gives him a platform to talk about the Laughs for the Troops’ mission, and how it can help soldiers with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Debbie James was in one of his audiences last year with her family, and heard his request to help Laughs for the Troops.
“I had never heard of this organization until last year when my family and I were on Carnival Cruise,” she said. “I love what it stands for.”
Debbie has a personal interest in supporting the military because her son, Master Sergeant Christopher Jacobs, is the senior logistics NCO for the 30th Armored Combat Brigade Team. He is on active duty in the National Guard and currently stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Once she returned from the cruise, it didn’t take long for Debbie, who is the logistics manager for Bluescope Buildings in North Carolina, to present plant manager David Volk with the idea of doing a golf tournament to honor Laugh for the Troops.
“Debbie gave us the information, and we decided to do it,” said David. “We usually do an event for a charity in late summer or early fall.”
BlueScope Buildings, through its global brands, is the largest manufacturer of engineered building solutions in the world. Through its industry leading brands, Butler® building systems, Varco Pruden® Buildings, EcoBuild™, Probuild™ and BlueScope Construction, it supports the global facility expansion plans of corporations and multinational companies around the world. With 18 manufacturing facilities worldwide, it serves international clients in completing challenging projects across the globe. It is headquartered in Australia.
The golf event will be held on April 29 at the 18-hole Cypress Creek Golf Links facility in Laurinburg, North Carolina. It features 6,570 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 72, and was designed by Tom Jackson.
The fee is $200 per team and interested parties should contact Debbie at BlueScope at debbie.james@bluescopebuildingsna.com to reserve their spot. The deadline to enter is April 19, and spots will fill up quickly.
New Support Team Members Selected
There have been a few additions to the Laughs for the Troops support team recently. Capital Communications and Consulting LLC, an Orlando marketing and communications company, will be working with Laughs for the Troops to expand social media outreach and assist with messaging on the web and with print media.
The company was founded by Mary Trier, president and CEO, who started the company after a successful government career of over 23 years. She holds a master’s degree in business administration and a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
To learn more about Capital Communications, please watch this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDmXw9QMXf8
Tom Denham has been named new The Point newsletter editor. Tom is a former director of communications for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice and was press secretary for the Speaker of the House of the State of Florida. A former reporter for the Tampa Tribune, he is a U.S. Navy veteran and a graduate of the Defense Information School (DINFOS), which trains military personnel for public affairs. He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of South Florida.
We’re here to help
If you know of any veteran or military family dealing with PTSD or TBI who could benefit from Laughs for the Troops’ efforts, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’ll be more than happy to help.
Stories of Military History
To kick off our series, since February is Black History Month, we have chosen a story about the first black Marines who were awarded a high honor from Congress. This story was originally printed in USA Today:
Pioneering Black Marines Get Their Badge of Courage
Congress voted recently to grant the first black fighters of the last military branch to accept them the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
The 422-0 vote honors about 20,000 Montford Point Marines, who trained in a separate facility called Montford Point that operated at Camp Lejeune, N.C., from 1942 to 1949 when all military branches were segregated.
“This has been a real long time coming,” said Johnny C. Washington, 82. “It seems like everything we did for a long time was hidden. It’s been real frustrating when you see others get recognition and not us.”
While the African-American Army Buffalo Soldiers and the Air Force Tuskegee Airmen have had some measure of renown, the first black Marines have grown old mostly in obscurity.
The Army and Navy had been recruiting blacks since the Civil War. But even when they did join….
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2011-10-25/black-marines-medal/50914336/1
The Military Today
Minorities make up more than a third of active-duty forces, with blacks constituting more than 17%. Black representation in the enlisted forces — about 13% — is parallel to the number of blacks represented in the recruiting-age civilian population overall, according to Defense Department statistics from 2008, the most recent available.
However, at the officer level, minorities have lower representation. A report by the Military Leadership Diversity Commission, chartered by Congress, reported in March that:
• Non-Hispanic whites make up 66% of the U.S. population but 77% of active-duty officers.
• Blacks account for 12% of the U.S. population but 8% of active-duty officers.
• Hispanics make up 15% of the U.S. population and 5% of the officer corps.
• Among the Marines, less than 5% of officers among the higher ranks are black.
PTSD/TBI Update
Links to Recent Stories in the Media regarding PTSD/TBI:
Study Underway on Marijuana Treatment for PTSD:
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Study-Underway-on-Marijuana-Treatment-for-PTSD-in-Veterans-413914213.html
Veterans Use Art Therapy To Deal With PTSD:
http://www.inforum.com/news/4218880-vets-use-art-therapy-deal-ptsd
PTSD Victims Created in Neighborhood Gun Battles:
https://www.propublica.org/article/the-ptsd-crisis-thats-being-ignored-americans-wounded-in-their-own-neighbor
Investigating Link Between PTSD Physical and Psychological Effects:
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/magazine/what-if-ptsd-is-more-physical-than-psychological.html?_r=0
Studies uncover long-term effects of traumatic brain injury:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170210165956.htm
Medical research has proven that laughter has a positive and immediate impact on the invisible wounds of soldiers living with PTSD and TBI.
Those living with PTSD experience many of their symptoms due to hypervigilance in the right side of the brain, which causes them to be in a constant lookout for signs of danger within day-to-day interactions and surroundings. This hypervigilance overrides logical thought processes that might put these signs of danger into perspective. Laughter can calm this hypervigilance, and is part of the first step towards resolving PTSD. The majority of veterans with TBI will also experience PTSD or similar symptoms.
Join the effort
There are a number of ways you can support Laughs for the Troops’ mission in helping U.S. veterans dealing with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injuries.
Laughs for the Troops, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, is starting to partner with companies that will help you, as well as the group, make a positive difference in many lives of our brave veterans. Meet some of our partners:
AmazonSmile:
Click on this link to get into Amazon.com’s Smiles program and log into your Amazon.com account. The giant online retailer will recognize Laughs for the Troops as the charity of your choice. After that, buy as many items as you need to complete your shopping list. Amazon.com’s Smiles program will donate 0.5% of your purchase price to Laughs for the Troops.
Benevity: People working for companies that have Benevity manage their giving programs can select Laughs for the Troops as a beneficiary for donations, matching donations (if applicable) and other fund-raising events.
Upcoming events
On the Web: A new look for Laughs for the Troops’ website remains in the works. Once it goes live, visitors can learn more about the organization, its work on behalf of veterans coping with PTSD and TBI, and, of course how to help.
The Funniest Night in America shows: May 20, 2017, at the Wadsworth Theatre in Los Angeles and June 2017 at the Straz Center in Tampa. Others shows, with dates to be announced, are being planned for Fort Hood, Texas, and Washington, D.C.
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