Home Base Golf Tournament helps SWFL Veterans

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Veterans hit the green at the Copperleaf Golf Course on Saturday. This was part of the Home Base golf tournament.

The community has hosted the golf and lunch event for a few years and it’s all to show veterans they are appreciated in the community.

Copper Leaf Golf Club is hosting Home Base Florida, a national non-profit dedicated to veterans. 

The event began with a golf tournament late Saturday morning. 

After finishing the course, everyone got a big lunch. 

The event brings the community together but also it shines a light on veterans who have sacrificed so much for us and in the name of our country. 

Which is important around this time of year. September 11 is only four days away.

For many servicemembers, it’s a time that heightens negative or somber emotions.

Lauren Rodriguez is a Coast Guard veteran and said that the tournament and Home Base meant a lot to her.

“The purpose I found with Home Base is being with others and comradery,” said Rodriguez. “After we leave the military, it’s kind of like a blank slate again. We’re used to waking up and being with each other and doing everything with each other. Having that establishment with the veteran community is kind of the same feeling.”

Rodriguez said she had a few words that came to mind when the word veteran came to her mind.

“Distraught, disabled, wounded, compassionate, resilient, and empathetic,” said Rodriguez.

This event is designed to show veterans that the community cares about them and to help put a smile on their faces.

Wink News spoke with Bill Starr, the president of the Copperleaf Charitable Foundation. 

He told WINK about the event and how many veterans were coming out on Saturday morning.

“Tried to do it around 9/11, because that date is important to the veterans,” said Starr. “And what happens is we have 72 members of Copperleaf, about five or six of them are actually flying down just for this event, that join 36 people from Homebase.

It’s worth noting that the golf club and community enjoy the event so much that the pro shop decided to offer home-base veterans free golf lessons in the summer.

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