VETS ENJOY FREE BOAT RIDE DAY
Lenoir City, TN – September 9th, 2017
Local veterans and their families enjoyed a free day cruising, swimming and fishing on Ft. Loudon and Tellico Lakes Saturday, September 9th, thanks to the 4th Annual BoatRides4Vets event sponsored by the Tellico Village VFW Post. Event chairman Jim Jorgensen said, “This year was the best year ever with 65 guest participants including senior citizens, teenagers and younger children.” Some early guests were from Tellico Village, but many others arrived throughout the day from Knoxville, Friendsville, Oak Ridge, Madisonville and other places.
Captains and Riders check-in
Starting at 9AM, a variety of watercraft converged on the marina at the Wind River development just outside Lenoir City. According to Jorgensen, a total of almost 20 volunteer captains and crew made their boats available for veterans and their families to have a fun-filled free day on the water. Pontoon boats were the most common craft, but there were also runabouts, cruisers and two fishing boats. Neither fishing boat returned with any fish because of choppy water conditions, but there were still smiles on the faces of the young fishermen on board. Most of the volunteer boats came from Tellico Village although at least two boats from Friendsville on Ft. Loudon lake participated, too.
Coast Quard Auxillary on hand for safety inspections
Many of the numerous “boots on the ground” volunteers were Tellico Village VFW Post members or their families or friends. Their efforts at processing guests, fitting youngsters with life jackets, helping senior citizens down the long dock to the proper boats and generally making the day go smoothly were invaluable. Also for the fourth consecutive year, assistance was provided by members of the Tellico Village U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, by the Tellico Village Cruising Club and by the Tellico Village Kiwanis Club.
Korean War Vet arrives for a cruise with his family
The 4th Annual BoatRides4Vets ended officially shortly after 4PM when the last boat in…a 35’ cruiser…touched the Wind River dock to disembark its guests, a couple and their three teenage children sunning themselves on the bow. Everyone had a smile on their face.
Ready to go fishing
A