Warrior’s Weekend

This past Wounded Warriors Weekend was again one of the most touching and rewarding events I have ever experienced. I would like to take this opportunity to thank those whom I  called upon to donate their houses to help accommodate the tremendous amount of soldiers and family members who came to Port O’Connor. I was told that this year we hosted over 700 soldiers, and if we include the many family members who accompanied the soldiers, the number was around 1,000. Many of the soldiers and their family members expressed their thanks to me personally, and asked me also to convey their gratitude to all those who sponsored their stay. Your unselfish acts of patriotism meant a lot to our guests. They were amazed and often times overwhelmed!

I also appreciate the many stories that you shared with me about your own personal experiences. Each group was unique and many bonds were formed that special weekend.

Of course, this could not have happened without the many volunteers who took time out of their own busy schedules to help personally with escorting soldiers to their places of stay, welcoming them, offering transportation to and from events, waiting up for the last arrival at 10:30 pm, getting items ready, making beds, turning on air conditioners, checking-in the arrivals, helping with clerical issues, answering phones, answering questions, giving directions, … Even though it was hectic, I hope you all had fun.

I am, as I know each of you are, extremely proud and excited to be a part of this unique event, and with the help of all the donors and support team,  promise to do even more next year.

On a personal note, I would like to thank Pat Perez for all the time she devoted in helping with this event and a special thank you to Ron and Sherry Kocian and their entire support team for bringing this event to POC in the first place and letting us be the ones to share the experience.

Bill Tigrett

Thank You

I would like to thank everyone for their prayers, thoughts, gifts, and concern while I was recently hospitalized. It was a long and stressful week and a half, but I am at home and am doing fine.

I want to thank my family who stayed by my side in case I needed something. I’m sure they all had things to do also. Again, thank you and God bless you.

Nancy Harborth

Spiritual Healing In Seadrift

So I began by trying to sweep it all underneath the rug to try to begin “my new life”…Easy, right? The past is just that, the past. Why would I ever expose myself to any of it again if I’m trying to move on and forget about it?

Ever thought about the term “Damaged Goods”? What is that? I can put it like this: Ever go into a grocery store and pick up a can of something you like that was dented and you still put it in your basket anyway? If you think about it, the reason you found yourself doing that is because you planned on eating what’s inside, not the can. The inside contents were still good.

We all experience some damage done to ourselves. Some of us have scars and wounds but are still good inside.
When I got to Seadrift, I came to terms with that and realized that I needed to heal the wounds to protect what I still had left inside. So, needless to say, in order to do this I had to expose all the damages and demons from my past to ever begin my true healing process. It’s not as easy as sweeping it all under a rug and forgetting about it. When I came up to this point to my personal one-on-one battle with myself, I had my real encounter with God. Having said that, I’d like to thank a few locals who should be recognized for who they are.

Thank you, Brenda Carter with Russell Cain Real Estate, Jessica Frasier, LFJ Properties, David Pendergrass, Diane Esch, Steve O’Briant, our Chief of Police and our beautiful ladies from the House of Prayer who offer love, support, guidance, honor and grace. Can’t say enough except, “Thank you, Seadrift and Port O’Connor for excepting me with open arms, flaws and all. God Bless You, Seadrift and Port O’Connor.

Respectfully,
Laura Hernandez Biery
“Lauren”

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