Del Mar Country Club benefit event raises more than $1.6 million for SOF Support

1/19

Alex Cho, pictured with his instructor from Skydiving Innovations, enjoyed his tandem jump (Robert_McKenzie)

2/19

Meghan and Andrew Van Arsdale (Robert_McKenzie)

3/19

Newly engaged Fenner Milton and Susan Fracasso (Robert_McKenzie)

4/19

Greta Stack, Travis Whitten, Illya Trincher, Michael Sall, Craig Stack (Robert_McKenzie)

5/19

Special Operations Forces (SOF) Support Foundation Chair Dominique Plewes, Former Green Beret Chris Miller (one of the first Americans to set foot in Afghanistan following 9/11 and whose unit was portrayed in the film 12 Strong) (Robert_McKenzie)

6/19

Guests at the reception and silent auction (Robert_McKenzie)

7/19

Eric Brandt bids on an auction item (Robert_McKenzie)

8/19

The LA Scots Pipe Band performed (Robert_McKenzie)

9/19

Phil and Erin McConkey, Chance and Mary Mims, Spencer and Amber Wilcox (Robert_McKenzie)

10/19

Special Operations Forces (SOF) Support Foundation Chair Dominique Plewes, Freedom Research Foundation Executive Director Brandon Wheeler (Robert_McKenzie)

11/19

Guests were treated to a skydiving exhibition (Robert_McKenzie)

12/19

Gabriella and Thomas O’Malley, David Beamer (whose son, Todd, was among the courageous passengers who stormed the cockpit of United Airlines Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001, after the words “Let’s Roll” were heard), Brittany Wright (Robert_McKenzie)

13/19

Livio and Carmela Forte, Leticia Orosco, Daniel MacDonald (Robert_McKenzie)

14/19

Dorothy Garcia (widow of Andrew Garcia, whose gold wedding band was found amid the wreckage of UA Flight 93 after it crashed in a Pennsylvania field on Sept. 11, 2001), David Beamer (whose son, Todd, was among the courageous passengers who stormed the cockpit of United Airlines Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001, after the words Lets Roll were heard) (Robert_McKenzie)

15/19

Guests were treated to a skydiving exhibition (Robert_McKenzie)

16/19

Mayo and Jeffrey Strauss (Robert_McKenzie)

17/19

Guests at the reception and silent auction (Robert_McKenzie)

18/19

Guests at the reception and silent auction (Robert_McKenzie)

19/19

Bryan and Julie Min, Shawn and Trevor Rodger (Robert_McKenzie)

Sept. 21, 2021 11:28 AM PT

The Del Mar Country Club Golf Tournament and Dinner-Gala held Sept. 18 raised more than $1.6 million to support the SOF (Special Operations Forces) Support Foundation, including a $100,000 donation from world champion boxer Canelo Alvarez, who was in attendance with his family.

The dinner-gala featured Former Defense Secretary and Green Beret Chris Miller, who recounted what it was like to be one of the first U.S. servicemen to set foot in Afghanistan 20 years ago at the start of the war. Miller also shared his candid thoughts on the recent American withdrawal. A master of “irregular warfare,” Miller was a key cog in the 5th Special Forces Group, which worked closely with local Afghan leaders to put together a stunning string of American victories at the outset of the war.

The beneficiary of Saturday’s golf tournament and dinner was the SOF Support Foundation, whose mission is to help ensure American special operations forces and their families receive the support they need to effectively carry out their operations, keep their families intact, and lead healthy and productive lives after they have left our nation’s service.

The event featured a live and silent auction. Among the top items up for bid were autographed jerseys from Super Bowl champion quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady, along with a pair of signed gloves and tickets to see Alvarez’s next fight. The tickets, which included a meet-and-greet with Alvarez, raised an addition $240,000 for SOF Support. And a sports enthusiast’s dream trip to New York with two-time World Series Champion pitcher Jesse Orosco that included a New York Mets baseball game in a luxury suite, a day at the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament and a round of golf at majestic Ferry Point netted an additional $120,000.

Photos by Robert McKenzie

Del Mar Country Club benefit event raises more than $1.6 million for SOF Support

Become a press patron

More on the Subject