The Rays Make Warrior Wishes Come True Again!!!
After last night’s incredible First Pitch from Army SGT Austin Burchard, my dad slept in a real bed at a hotel for the first time all week.
Today my dad was back in St Petersburg to host and honor Marine SGT Chris Boreland, Marine SPC Sam Morris and Air Force active duty warrior Brittany Simpson with On Field Batting Practice Passes and some great seats thanks to the Tampa Bay Rays.
My dad started the evening meeting up with the Warriors for a scrumptious dinner at Fergs Sports Bar down the street from the “Trop.” Founded in 1992, Ferg’s Sports Bar & Grill is the official gathering spot for Tampa Bay Rays fans!
After lunch, they walked over to the stadium to go down onto the field to watch batting practice & mingle with a few of the players.
SGT Boreland is a huge Rays fan and texted my dad yesterday saying “Can’t Wait Til Tomorrow.” He was able to meet a number of players & get a some autographs.
Brittany, however, had a more specific goal for the evening – to meet centerfielder, Kevin Kiermaier. We were able to make that happen as well ,and Brittany was ecstatic – he even autographed her hat.
Everyone had an awesome time and we can’t thank the Tampa Bay Rays enough for going above and beyond 2 days in a row to help make Warrior Wishes come true!
Our mission is more than just hosting Warriors at ball games. We want each and every warrior to know that their service & sacrifices are appreciated & never forgotten. We want our mission to inspire others & We do our best to stay in touch with the Warriors through the years. Having hosted more than 1600 Warriors in the past 4 years makes it tough to keep in touch with each and every one, but it’s awesome when we get an opportunity to catch up with old friends. Since my dad had all morning to hang out in the Tampa area, he reached out to a former guest who lived nearby and invited him to catch up over lunch.
On our inaugural “All32in17” mission in 2012, we hosted Marine Mike Delancey as one of our guests to Miami Dolphins Game. He lives in Pinellas Park near Tampa and for the past couple years has been working on the Wounded Warriors Abilities Ranch, scheduled to open in November.
My dad spent the afternoon with Mike and his dad, getting a tour of the facility and having lunch with them at American Legion. The Delancey’s goal in this project is to provide a place for veterans to go boating or fishing, among many other activities. This park will also be open to the general public, as they share our idea that civilians need to see and better understand the sacrifices our nation’s Warriors make for us.
Operation Warrior Wishes would like to say Thank You to New Era Cap for the Rays caps, Mark at Fergs Sports Bar for dinner and the Rays again for their 2nd straight night of incredible hospitality. But of course most importantly THANKS to Marine Sgt Chris Boreland , Marine SPC Sam Morris and Air Force warrior Brittany Simpson for their service & sacrifices to our country!!!
TOGETHER WE MAKE WARRIOR WISHES COME TRUE!!!
My dad will be back on the bus tonight and heading to Atlanta to make Warrior Wishes come true in Atlanta tomorrow night. Stay tuned for more details.
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