Gala to raise money for families of fallen military members

  • Published
  • By Ryan Stark
  • Nucleus writer
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  As a good wingman, retired Air Force pilot Col. Jim Quick of Placitas knew he could help a fellow pilot who had started a nonprofit.

Quick was a fighter pilot from the mid-1960s to the early 1990s and flew two tours in Vietnam. He said he was inspired by the work being done by Oklahoma Air National Guard F-16 pilot Maj. Dan Rooney, who runs a nonprofit, the Folds of Honor Foundation. The foundation provides scholarships for the families of military members who are killed or disabled while on active duty.

"When I heard about this organization run by a young pilot, I knew we had empathy," Quick said.

Rooney got the idea when he was on a commercial flight and saw a flag-draped casket carrying the remains of a solider killed in combat being unloaded.

Quick and his wife Pat are organizing a fundraising gala through a local volunteer organization, Rio Grand Patriots, to benefit the Folds of Honor.

Quick and the Rio Grande Patriots normally stage golf tournaments and raise around $10,000 a year. This year they want to do more, he said.

"The demands for scholarships have exceeded what we were able to raise," he said. "We're going to do something different this year and be very patriotic."

The gala will be hosted by KOB- TV weatherman Steve Stucker. It will feature cocktails, dinner, scholarship presentations, a live auction and raffle, a Civil Air Patrol color guard and more.

The scholarship presentations are the focus of the event, Quick said.

"Everyone who is getting a scholarship is suffering a loss," he said.

Some scholarship recipients aren't yet emotionally ready to accept their awards in person at the gala, he said.

Diane Keays of Kirtland's Airman and Family Readiness Center and Dave Seely, president of Kirtland Federal Credit Union, will receive awards from the Rio Grand Patriots in recognition of their service to the military community. The awards are decorative gourds by southwestern artist Robert Rivera.

Part of the gala will be a reading of the names of the 84 New Mexicans who lost their lives while serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Around 87 percent of the money raised goes to scholarships, Quick said.

A seat at the gala is $100 per ticket, and Quick is also seeking sponsors.

The gala is July 16 starting at 6 p.m. at Sandia Resort and Casino. Go to www.riograndepatriots.com for more information about the Rio Grande Patriots and the gala, or to purchase tickets.