8TH ANNUAL WHEELCHAIR REGATTA
September 25, 2004

Members of District 14’s San Leandro Post 819 and Castro Valley Post 9601 and their Auxiliaries participated in the Pacific Inter-Club Yacht Association (PICYA) 8th Annual Wheelchair Regatta at the Encinal Yacht Club in Alameda. Disabled veterans from veterans facilities in Yountville, Livermore, Palo Alto, Menlo Park and San Francisco are treated to a fun-filled day of yacht rides on San Francisco Bay followed by a bar-b-que, live entertainment and comradeship.

VFW members provided the cooking and escorted the veterans throughout the event. Volunteers and donations from the yacht clubs, businesses and community organizations combined to give the disabled veterans an experience that for many is the high point of their year. District 14 public relations officer John Duarte said that for many, this is the only time of the year that they leave their facilities. The respect and generosity of the yacht club members towards the disabled veterans impressed us all.

New members Mary and Bill Wilson and Ernie Padilla participated in their first Wheelchair Regatta. It helps our organization when new members get involved.