MacDill AFB, Tampa, FL
United States Central Command (CENTCOM) hosted their annual family day event October 12th and Riverview Memorial VFW Post 8108, the River Rats, were there to support the Command with a $10,000 grant.
CENTCOM used the $10,000 grant to fund a command family picnic in October. This annual event is the highlight of CENTCOM’s annual support to service members and their families. Over 3,000 people attended the picnic which featured catering by Mission BBQ, the Tampa Bay Lightning cheerleaders, the Special Operations Command parachute team, several local bands, games and interactive challenges.
Post 8108 was the Title Sponsor and has participated for six consecutive years. Post 8108 leadership presented CENTCOM’s Family Activity Association (501c3) with a $10,000 check. Post Commander Cody Palmer, Senior Vice Commander Peter Leet, Quartermaster Patrick Lindsey, Florida District 12 Commander Tony Gardner and other members were thanked by CENTCOM Commander GEN Joseph Votel and Command Sergeant Major William Thetford and other command members.
Sponsoring the event gave the VFW and Post 8108 considerable exposure to the MacDill AFB community and was an excellent venue to show our support to the troops who deploy world-wide year long. It was also an outstanding recruiting opportunity with the Post gaining several new members and transfers. For 2019, Post 8108 plans to expand their outreach to several more tenant commands.
