Great Falls: Supper is Served in Support of SEALs

Service

— For the last eight years, Bob Nelson, a realtor with Keller Williams Realty in Great Falls, has been organizing Military Appreciation Monday. The monthly fundraisers benefit military support organizations and groups. This month’s MAM dinner on Monday, Jan. 8, was at the Old Brogue Irish Pub in the Great Falls Village Centre, where World War II Veteran Howard Jester, 90, was in attendance to support this month’s beneficiary organization: The Navy SEAL Foundation. The organization provides immediate and ongoing support and assistance to the Naval Special Warfare community and their families. “Navy SEALs spend up to 270 days away from home each year and execute many of the toughest missions,” Nelson says. “They and their families make many significant personal sacrifices, and sometimes they have paid the ultimate price to preserve our freedom.” Nelson is still tallying the evening’s fundraising total, but the MAM dinners often raise between $5,000 and $7,000. This is done through the restaurant donating a portion of the evening’s sales and through selling raffle tickets for items donated by various businesses in the community. The February MAM dinner will be held in support of Dare to Dream, a therapeutic horseback riding program for injured veterans and their families. The Brogue hosts the dinners the second Monday of every month. Those who wish to dine at the meals are encouraged to make reservations for either the 5:30 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. seating by calling 703-759-3309.