Del Mar Country Club Golf Tournament and Dinner-Gala to benefit SOF Support Foundation

The annual Del Mar Country Club Golf Tournament and Dinner-Gala, which last year raised more than $1.6 million for the SOF (Special Operations Forces) Support Foundation, is returning to the famed Del Mar Country Club on Saturday, Oct. 1.

Featuring a star-studded attendee list highlighted by Grammy and Academy of Country Music Award-winning singer and songwriter Darius Rucker, the event will include an 18-hole scramble golf tournament and a dinner-gala headlined by keynote speaker Michéle Flournoy, featured speaker Michael W. MacKay and special guest Retired Navy SEAL Bob Harward.

The dinner-gala will feature a live and silent auction filled with a host of once-in-a-lifetime experiences. They include golf with Super Bowl Champion and former “Good Morning America” host Michael Strahan at Grove XXIII, Michael Jordan’s private golf club in Jupiter, Florida; a VIP weekend in Arizona that includes VIP and suite tickets to the Waste Management Open in Phoenix, one of the most popular stops on the PGA Tour, and two tickets to Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium in Glendale; a Darius Rucker weekend getaway to Las Vegas that includes a two-bedroom suite at the MGM Grand, a round of golf with Rucker at the acclaimed Shadow Creek Golf Club followed by a private dinner; a five-night stay in a private three-bedroom villa at the Chileno Bay Resort in Cabo San Lucas; a private dinner for 24 hosted by acclaimed Chef Jeffrey Strauss, and a pair of VIP tickets for this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Guests will have the opportunity to bid on all these experiences and more.

Keynote speaker Michèle Flournoy is the former United States Under Secretary of Defense. She was the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense in the formulation of national security and defense policy, and oversight of military plans and operations. She also had a seat in National Security Council deliberations. Flournoy will be joined on the dais by MacKay, a retired U.S. Marine Corps, Critical Skills Operator (Marine Raider) who is currently serving as the National Security Advisor to the Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. MacKay also served as the Chief of Staff for the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Combating Terrorism, and as the Appropriations Liaison to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict in the Department of Defense.

And special guest Bob Harward is a Retired Navy SEAL and Vice Admiral, who is a national security expert now working in the private sector. Harward served on the National Security Council for the Bush administration and commissioned the National Counter Terrorism Center.

A 34-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, Harward accrued extensive combat experience as a Navy SEAL in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Yemen and Bosnia.

“The golf tournament and dinner-gala is always such a special event here at the Del Mar Country Club, and it’s a tremendous privilege to honor and welcome everyone to raise very important funds to support the men, women and their families, who’ve sacrificed so much during the last two decades fighting the war against terrorism and countries that have threatened and continue to threaten American sovereignty,” said SOF Support Chair Dominique Plewes.

Registration for the golf tournament on Oct. 1 is from 9-10 a.m. with opening ceremonies set to start at 10:30 a.m., and the golf tournament at 10:45 a.m. Following the golf tournament, guests will reconvene for a cocktail reception and silent auction at 5 p.m. with the dinner-gala and live auction set to get underway at 7 p.m.

All funds raised go to supporting 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 this nation’s service.

SOF Support strives to give those needs visibility, promote a better public understanding of SOF’s role, and to forcefully assist and advocate for SOF personnel and their families.

Among the initiatives funded by SOF Support are mental health services, including individual psychotherapy, family therapy, substance abuse and dependence treatment, and, where appropriate, options for residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation.

Its Transition with Meaning Program paves the way for individuals to continue to serve oppressed people throughout the world. And aided by SOF Support, Navy SEAL families have been able to participate in wellness and resiliency programs.

The Del Mar Country Club Golf Tournament and Dinner-Gala is co-hosted by Madeleine Pickens and Dominique Plewes, owners of the Del Mar Country Club.

For more information about the golf tournament and dinner-gala, or to become an event sponsor, visit sofdinner.com, or contact the guest relations team at sofeventdelmar@gmail.com or (833) 877-3257.