8 years ago we started this event with two goals in mind. First, to provide a family friendly, fun and competitive event that both spectators and competitors will enjoy. Secondly, we wanted to use this event as an avenue to help raise money for veteran charities such as Wounded Warriors Project, Gary Sinise Foundation as well as local charities such as Inspire a Generation Foundation and Naperville Autism Foundation.
Both of my sons and myself are veterans. I being a USAF veteran and both of them Marine veterans. We proudly served our country and were blessed to come home when our time was done. Unfortunately many of our brothers and sisters in arms were not that lucky. This is why we wanted to do something to help them and their families who have sacrificed much for this nation.
Each year we select a charity that we feel will have the most impact on the veteran community. The main criteria that we use for selecting a charity is how much of the money donated actually go into the programs the charity creates. Other criteria we look are the programs they have. We know there are many different charities to choose from and are always opened to hear from organizations who would like to work with us to help them help our veterans.
We look forward to growing this event into a national event someday. With the support of great competitors as well as businesses who wish to be sponsors, we know we can make this happen.
With all of that said, I will be writing articles for this blog that I hope will help individuals, be it for their martial arts training, or life in general. If you have an idea for an article, please feel free to contact me with the idea and I will be happy to look into it. For now, thank you for taking the time to read.