Hunts for Healing golf tourney scheduled

The second annual Hunts for Healing benefit golf tournament will take place on June 26 at Rock Creek Golf Course in Nicholson starting at 12 p.m.

There will be 18 teams participating in the event. Guests include members of many local VFW and American Legion organizations, administrators of the Hunt for Healing program, former congressman Chris Carney and many young veterans who had been wounded in the Iraq and Afghan wars.

The Hunt for Healing program was established to bring wounded veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan to Northeastern Pennsylvania and give them an opportunity to hunt, fish and enjoy some of the things that they may have enjoyed prior to their catastrophic war injuries.

The program is meant to help transition these young men back to a normal lifestyle. The physical damage to these veterans is obvious but the emotional turmoil that they go through dealing with their injuries and all the setbacks that they encounter along the way is often times just as devastating to them and their families.

Bringing wounded veterans to participate in Hunts for Healing from Walter Reed Hospital takes about $750 per person. The tournament hopes to make a difference in the lives of a few young men that have made the sacrifice for citizens to continue living free in truly the greatest country in the world.

Tournament director Jim Olecki said, “I was so touched by the journey in organizing this tournament that I have committed to making it an annual event.”

He noted that the tournament could not happen without the support of all area veterans’ organizations for the donations they made to the event.