Chenega MIOS hosts the Chenega Invitational every year to benefit the always deserving men and women who have served our country. Throughout the past 16 years, we have honored this tradition with the same end goal: to give back to those who have already given so much. We could not have asked for better results. Between the excitement leading up, the turnout, and the amount raised, we are incredibly thankful for the support we received on May 12, 2022.
Over the past 15 years, Chenega MIOS is proud to have had a great deal of loyalty and support for the tournament, and as a result of our fundraising efforts, we have been able to donate over $800,000 to assist some of our Nations’ strongest warriors when they needed us most. Raising that amount of money over 15 years has been no small feat. This year, we challenged ourselves to raise more money in one tournament than ever before, which meant raising over $102,000!
For the 16th Annual Chenega Invitational, Chenega MIOS was excited for the opportunity to support once again Vigilant Torch Association (VTA). VTA is a volunteer organization that provides vital financial support to the Special Operations Community in their greatest time of need. They do this through emergency relief funds, especially for those wounded or killed in action, family maintenance/resilience support, and scholarships for family members.
For those who may not know, the Special Operations Forces (SOF) are highly skilled individuals trained to carry out special and specific types of missions. With this expertise comes extreme responsibilities as well as intense combat in many situations. On top of this, deployments may be longer, and Special Operations soldiers, in turn, are more likely to experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Being in a career that teaches “toughness” and to “keep going no matter the conditions,” there tends to be many barriers to seeking help when experiencing PTSD. When this disease goes untreated, mental health, unfortunately, suffers immensely. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, female veterans are 1.8 times more likely to commit suicide than non-military females. Male veterans are 1.4 times more likely to commit suicide than non-military males. As if those numbers weren’t scary and sad enough, according to the New York Times, between 2007 and 2015, there were 117 suicides among the SOF, a rate of 39.3 per 100,000 servicemen/women compared with 22.9 per 100,000 for the armed forces as a whole.
These statistics are why VTA takes such pride in its mission to serve the Special Operations Community. These service members go through enough in their careers serving our country, so even the slightest bit of assistance can take an extreme load off their shoulders and give their families much-needed peace of mind.
It is with great pride and gratitude that we tell you that for the 16th Annual Chenega Invitational, we were able to raise $103,000 for VTA! Our sincere gratitude goes out to each and every person and company that came out to support such a worthy cause, including but not limited to the new faces we had the honor of seeing this year.
Our sponsors this year included:
- GCC Tech – Diamond Sponsor
- Marathon TS – Platinum Sponsor
- Capitol Securities – Platinum Sponsor
- SUNAYU, LLC – Gold Sponsor
- CBRE – Gold Sponsor
- Janjer – Gold Sponsor
- US Bank – Silver Sponsor
- Simple Multimedia – Silver Sponsor
- Thomson Reuters Special Services – Cart Sponsor
- RSM US – Shirt Sponsor
- NGP Group – Hole-in-One Sponsor
- 106.7 The Fan – D.C. Sports – Speaker Sponsor
- Enterprise National – Beverage Cart Sponsor
- Keenan Coaching and Consulting – Putting Contest Sponsor
- expFederal – Program Sponsor
- Thank you for your service SGM Luis A Montero – Mimosa/Bloody Mary Bar Sponsor
- Iron Bow Technologies – Superticket Sponsor
- iHeart Media – Golf Ball Sponsor
- Powers Group Real Estate – Giveaway Bag Sponsor
- Bank of America – Driving Range
- Focus Investment Banking – Ice Cream Sponsor
- TAD PGS – Raffle Sponsor
- Martin Law Firm & Walker Reausaw – Lunch Sponsor
- Cassini Solutions Inc. LLC – Technology Sponsor