On May 15, 2016, the El Segundo, Palos Verdes Peninsula, and South Bay Sunrise Rotary Clubs held their 3rd annual Beer and Wine Festival.
This was the second year that Wounded Heroes of America played a part in the event. Last year it was held at the Botanical Gardens in Rolling Hills Estates, and we were in charge of the parking. The area was paved, the event was well-organized, and it was close to the food, the beer and the wine.
This year’s parking lot was a landfill that looked more like a cow pasture. The lot was bumpy and full of weeds, the terrain was uneven, and there were no markings or lines to guide us. In spite of that, we turned it into an organized operation thanks to the volunteers from Wounded Heroes of America. We’re getting good at parking cars and having fun doing it.
The actual party was across the street at Ernie Howlett Park. Our job was to show the guests where to park and then to shuttle them across the street to where local breweries and restaurants were hawking delicious food, lots of beer and tasty wine. The atmosphere was festive, and we’re confident the event will continue to grow and become one of the South Bay’s popular annual affairs.
We’ve been lucky to have connected with these Rotarians; they’ve been a great resource for helping our vets. They’ve donated cars, paid for scholarships, helped us with our Christmas programs, and they’ve even adopted some of our veterans’ families during the holidays. They’re fun-loving and generous people who truly recognize and appreciate the sacrifices our vets have made. Most importantly, they love our veterans and don’t miss an opportunity to let them know it.
Rotarians are truly service-oriented folks, and they can contribute to any community. It has been by sheer necessity and lack of funding that we have turned to our friends to help us achieve our goals, and for their part, they find a way to help our veterans. So again we say, “The resources we need to help out vets are in our communities”.
We’d like to give a special thanks to the South Bay Sunrise Club for always thinking of us.
On Sunday, May 15, 2016, we turned a landfill into a parking lot. We shuttled our guests across the street for a great afternoon of listening to music, drinking beer and wine, and eating excellent food. The ladies looked great, the guys looked handsome, and the Uber drivers transported a bunch of happy people around. It was a great party, and we were able to do our part. We can’t wait until next year’s event.