When Military Veterans and Roofing Contractors Connect, There’s No Stopping Them!

What do military veterans who have fought in Marshall Islands, Viet Nam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, and Florida roofing contractors have in common.  A passion for sporting clays, the outdoors, and good old-fashioned fellowship.

On the 11^th of January at the 1^st Annual West Coast Roofing Contractors Association (WCRCA) Clay Shoot they brought together their organization to honor and support military veterans through a Florida 501(C)3 all-volunteer nonprofit, the Black Dagger Military Hunt Club Inc. based in Tampa.

The Black Dagger team serves veterans from all eras without limitation to when or where they served.  They are a Community Partner with the James A. Haley VA Hospital’s Adaptive Sports Program in Tampa Florida, the United States Special Operations Command Care Coalition, and active duty military members on MacDill AFB.  In addition, on a case-by-case basis, they work with veterans supported by other agencies to meet a specific need that their team can satisfy.  They serve veterans recovering from and learning to adjust to life with spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, loss of sight, and post-traumatic stress.  They have specialized equipment to accommodate some of the most injured military heroes thus helping our honored veterans find their “new normal”.

The Tampa Bay Sporting Clays and Archery complex provided a superb Florida backdrop for a perfect day.  There was a WWII veteran who fought in the Pacific Theater, a few months shy of 95 years old, who knocked down clays with the best of them.  Many of the veterans joined teams in shooting teams with some of the roofing contractors.  The event was aired on two local Tampa news outlets which highlighted the good done by WCRCA for these men and women who have sacrificed so much for our Nation.  The relationship between the two groups has grown over the past few years.  The funds raised will be used to aid in Black Dagger’s Adaptive Sports programs where they get some of Florida’s most injured veterans outdoors hunting, shooting, and fishing.

Their nonprofit is one that takes no salaries (for seven years, 97% has gone directly to their veteran programs), operates a lean but robust program, and help hundreds of veterans each year.  You can see their programs in action at youtube.com/blackdaggermhc.  Anyone can help by donating or offering shooting, hunting, fishing opportunities for some of the veterans in their programs.

Find out more on their website at www.blackdaggermhc.org or at www.facebook.com/bdmhc

Their main contact is Dave Winters, dave@blackdaggermhc.org.