Each unique style in the Imperial Veterans Give Back Hat Collection was hand-selected by a United States combat veteran connected to Tee It Up for the Troops and embroidered with their name, nickname, or call sign.
The Imperial Veterans Give Back Hat Collection. Each style represents a combat veteran’s story.
Explore the Give Back Hat Collection and say “thank you” to a veteran while sporting a hero’s hat. A portion of the proceeds from all sales will benefit Tee It Up for the Troops. There were 12 Tee It Up for the Troops combat veterans selected for this project who designed an Imperial golf hat in honor of their service. You can browse the collection, read these hero stories, and see their hat styles here:
The Moondog & Mommadore sun protection hat is named for U.S. veterans Kathryn and Derek Donovan. We will bring you all of these amazing warrior stories and the hats they created in the upcoming months. Today, we start with the dynamic husband and wife team of Navy Captain Kathryn Donovan and Retired United States Marine Corps COL, Derek Donovan who designed a unique sun protection hat jointly. Kathryn and Derek named their hat the “Moondog & Mommadore,” meaningful nicknames for both of them.
The Moondog & Mommadore sun protection hat.
Retired United States Navy Captain Kathryn Donovan is a 1987 graduate of the US Naval Academy with a distinguished 30-year career as an officer in the Civil Engineer Corps. Her extensive combat operational experience includes battalion command in Iraq and regimental command in Afghanistan. She also served as a White House Fellow at the Department of Health & Human Services as well as the Chief of Staff for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command.
Retired United States Marine Corps COL, Derek Donovan, served 27 years and was a UH-1N (Huey) helicopter pilot by training with more than 3500 flight hours and a considerable deployment schedule. He commanded the Marine Corps Air Facility at Quantico and was the Aide de Camp to the Secretary of the Navy. His last assignment was with the President’s Commission for the Care of America’s Returning Wounded Warriors. After the Corps, he spent eight years as Vice President at Fisher House Foundation.
Retired United States Marine Corps COL, Derek Donovan and Retired United States Navy Captain, Kathryn Donovan.
Derek and Kathryn are married and reside in Virginia. Together they have a daughter who is a 1st Class Petty Officer in the Navy serving as a Seabee builder and a son who works for the railroad and is a Navy and Army Veteran. The Donovan’s immediate family (parents, siblings, and children) have over 115 years of combined service in uniform.
Browse the Imperial Veterans Give Back Hat Collection to see all the styles and read about all of the amazing warriors featured! A portion of the proceeds from all sales will benefit Tee It Up for the Troops!
Thank you Imperial for partnering with Tee It Up for the Troops and supporting our veterans!
The excitement of the pursuit of golf’s holy grail is the HOLE-IN-ONE. The VERY RARE hole-in-one – statistics say that the odds of two golfers playing the same course on the same day and both making holes-in-one is 17 million to 1.
Recently, our charity golf organization, which has been “teeing it up for veterans” for almost 20 years, defied those odds. For the first time ever, two holes-in-one were achieved on the same day at the Springhaven Club in Pennsylvania. This incredible feat was repeated a few weeks later at the Mt. Hawley Club in Illinois with two more golfers making holes-in-one!
But wait, this story gets better! Two of the players who aced the hole were military veterans and one of them WON A CAR!!
Mt. Hawley Club Event
Vietnam Veteran Joe Parmenter, 76, was participating in the Tee It Up for the Troops Peoria, Illinois event that benefits local veterans. Joe stepped up to the gold tees on hole number 9, his last hole for the day, and used a five wood and shot a hole-in-one at 168 yards.
“I have been playing golf since I was eleven years old and this was my first hole-in-one,” exclaimed Joe. “I knew that I had hit a good shot but did not realize it went into the hole. The lady who was monitoring the tee box and my playing partners started yelling, ‘It went in the hole. You got a hole-in-one!’,” Joe said. Joe’s ace won him $25,000 towards the purchase of a new car. “We have purchased our new car and are waiting for it to arrive,” added Joe.
Vietnam Veteran Joe Parmenter’s hole-in-one at the Mt. Hawley Club Event in Illinois won him a car!
Joe still gets on the course about one to two times a week, however, because of health issues this was only his sixth time playing this year.
With 21 years of service in the United States Marine Corps, Joe achieved the rank of Senior Master Sergeant and retired in 2001. “I think the Tee It Up for the Troops event is a wonderful way for veterans to get together, meet other veterans, share stories, and have fun. It’s a very well-organized and run organization,” Joe said.
Participant Britt Bothast also made a hole-in-one at the Peoria charity event on hole number 17, 175 yards, using his 7 iron. This was the second year Britt had participated in the event and his second ace.
Springhaven Club Event
790 miles to the east at the inaugural Tee It Up for the Troops Springhaven Club event in Pennsylvania, Johnny Carpineta, 82, who served in the US Army from 1964-1968, was playing. Jonnie’s ace came on No. 16 using a 9-iron with a distance of 120 yards. This was Johnnie’s fourth hole-in-one.
Retired Army nurse Donna Woody, one of Johnny’s playing partners that day, had just stepped up to the tee and hit a really good shot. She said to Johnny, “See if you can beat that!”
“I stepped up to the tee, really wasn’t thinking of too much other than what a great day this was, and swung away,” Johnny said. “After we figured out my shot ended up in the cup, I thought… well every squirrel gets a nut sometimes.”
Johnny Carpineta, US Army veteran, displaying his hole-in-one flag with Springhaven Club Event leaders.
At age 64 Johnny obtained his PGA card and he plays in many military charity events.
“We had 14 members of the PGA Hope Program at the Tee It Up for the Troops event,” said Johnny. PGA HOPE introduces golf to active-duty military and military veterans to enhance their physical, social, mental, and emotional well-being. “They were raving about the event. There were great gifts including a beautiful golf hat. It was just a fantastic day where these service men and women could forget all their pain, forget about who they lost and just have a good time,” Johnny said.
Springhaven Club member, Tom Carroll, was the second golfer who made a hole-in-one at this charity event. Tom made his crowning achievement on the 13th hole at 170 yards.
Holes-in-one at the Springhaven Event! Pictured left to right are: Tim Wegscheid, President & Executive Director, Tee It Up for the Troops, Ben Debski, Head Golf Professional, Tom Carroll, Johnny Carpineta, and TJ Diagne, General Manager, Springhaven Club.
Congratulations to All
A hole-in-one is a miraculous feat. Congratulations to all these patriotic golfers for their great accomplishments! Raising funds to help wounded warriors heal and have hope is an incredible feat and achievement too! Thank you to all those involved in the Springhaven Club event and the Mt. Hawley Club event for your dedication and support of veterans!
Tee It Up for the Troops charity golf events across the USA passionately embrace a patriotic tribute to American heroes. They are truly a red, white, and blue one-of-a-kind experience that honors those who have defended our nation’s freedom. During July, when we celebrate Independence Day, we wanted to share an impactful video from our Desert Mountain event in Arizona held in May.
Please take 2 minutes to watch this inspirational video. It was produced by our Desert Mountain event organizers and will give you a great feeling as you celebrate and honor the heroes to whom we owe our freedom, peace, and happiness. You will also see key moments that are reflected in all of our patriotic charity events.
The Opening Ceremony is a tradition at Tee It Up for the Troops events that are a patriotic tribute to American heroes who have, and continue to, put their lives at risk on the frontline. This opening ceremony sets a patriotic tone for the day, honors our veterans, and reminds everyone why they are a Tee It Up for the Troops event. It is an opportunity for sponsors, participants, and attendees to celebrate patriotic pride.
Our military is built on traditions, customs, and manners, and so too are our military charity events. With the 657+ events that have been held in over 40 states, each Tee It Up for the Troops opening ceremony is uniquely planned by each local community planning committee. While no two opening ceremonies are ever the same, below are the elements and their meaning that you might find at a typical opening ceremony.
Bagpiper.
• Bagpiper: Many of our ceremonies start with a bagpiper in a traditional Scottish kilt playing and walking up the first fairway toward the attendees. Bagpipes have become associated with U.S. Military memorial services, retirements, or changes of command on account of their connection with Scottish martial history. As early as the 14th century, Scottish warriors used musical instruments—mostly horns—to intimidate their English adversaries.
• Invocation by Military Chaplain: An invocation prayer or request for the spiritual presence and blessing of God in the event.
• Soloists Ssing the National Anthem and God Bless America: We all know the great tale of our national anthem being written in the wake of the battle with the British in 1814, but did you know God Bless America was written by a Russian immigrant serving in the US Army during the first world war? None other than Irving Berlin—one of the most successful and beloved American songwriters of the 20th century—penned this tune to celebrate the nation he loved dearly.
Presentation of Colors.
• Presentation of Colors by Honor Guard / Color Guard: While we no longer carry colors into battle—during which they served a crucial communication function—the presentation of colors ceremony still plays an important role in keeping national and unit traditions alive.
• Moment of Silence: The moment of silence is a time-honored tradition to create a space for reflection and respect—and there’s plenty of that to go around during a Tee It Up for the Troops opening ceremony, a patriotic tribute to American heroes.
Rifle volley.
• Rifle Volley: Typically done in three volleys by an odd number of members, rifle and other gun salutes are common across the world for honoring service members, royalty, and foreign dignitaries.
Gold-Star Family recognition.
• Gold-Star Family Recognition: Gold Star Families are relatives of US military members who have died in battle. A wreath is laid at the ceremony and attending parents, spouses, children, or other family members can carry a rose to lay on the wreath.
Honoring Veterans in attendance.
• Honoring Veterans in Attendance: All attending veterans are recognized and honored for their service during the ceremony.
• Taps: Often played at military funerals and other events like wreath-laying ceremonies, this bugle call (it’s not a song) has its origins in the Civil War.
• Retire the Colors: Retiring the colors marks the end of the ceremony, during which the color guard retrieves the colors and removes them respectfully.
Some of our events have additional symbols and demonstrations of patriotism that pay tribute to American heroes who continue to put their lives at risk on the frontline.
• Static Displays: military vehicles, fire engines with U.S. flags at the entrance or on a hole.
• Helicopter or parachute landing to mark the start of the ceremony.
• Video Link / Teleconference of deployed units.
• Patriotic Motorcycle Association Riders: Some riders participate in the ceremony by holding US Flags around the staging area.
White dove release.
• White Dove Release: White doves are a widely recognized symbol of peace and hope. A white dove release incorporates this powerful symbol into the ceremony honoring our veterans and what they’ve fought for.
Bald eagle on display.
• Bald Eagle on Display: The Bald Eagle became the national emblem of the United States of America in 1782. The fierce beauty and proud independence of this great bird aptly symbolize the strength and freedom of America, that same strength and freedom that is found in the United States Armed Forces.
Military flyover.
• Flyover: The first military flyover took place during the 1918 World Series. Today’s military flyovers serve to promote and honor our armed services. The missing man formation is an aerial “salute” performed during a flyover and is typically in memory of a fallen pilot, a well-known military service member, or a veteran.
Opening ceremonies at Tee It Up for the Troops events are one-of-a-kind experiences. Without pretension, with utmost respect and dignity, they’re a chance for your community to honor veterans in your own unique way. Communities across the United States have gathered to support our troops. Get together with your community today to start planning your own event!
Start an Event: We’ll help you set up your own community event to raise funds for our veterans.
Find an Event: Tee It Up for the Troops events happen in almost every state! Find one near you today and participate!
Donate:Donate to support our innovative REUNION program, which pays for combat veterans to reunite with their old comrades to help them overcome the hidden wounds of war.
Thank you to all our golf club partners and event organizers that pay tribute to American heroes by hosting a Tee It Up for the Troops event!
“It’s great teaming up with E-Z-GO and the Fisher House Foundation and working together to make our heroes’ lives better,” said Tim Wegscheid, President & Executive Director for Tee It Up for the Troops. “I truly believe our veterans and their families are entitled to be taken care of, and donating these vehicles is just one way we do that.”
For the last eleven years, Tee It Up for the Troops and E-Z-GO, in partnership with E-Z-GO distributor Versatile Vehicles of Prior Lake, Minn., has delivered several vehicles a year to Fisher Houses across the nation. The first was delivered to the Augusta VA Medical Center in Georgia in 2012, with others reaching the East Coast’s Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland, the West Coast’s Camp Pendleton in California, and midwestern Fisher Houses in Milwaukee, Wisc. and Minneapolis, Minnesota. This month, Tee It Up for the Troops Donates the 25th Golf Cart to the Fisher House Foundation with the destination of Fisher House of Columbia, South Carolina.
Fisher Houses are beautiful homes built and donated by the Fisher House Foundation to the military and the Department of Veterans Affairs. These homes enable family members to stay free of charge and be close to a loved one during hospitalization for an injury, illness, or disease.
The customized and street-ready golf carts will allow patients and their family members to travel from the veteran’s hospital where they are receiving treatment to their local Fisher House or other therapeutic areas without getting in and out of a vehicle or navigating large parking areas.
Tee It Up for the Troops partners with Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc., the manufacturer of E-Z-GO vehicles, to donate these customized vehicles to each new Fisher House.
“Tee It Up for the Troops has been there for us and has provided a vehicle to every one of our houses on a VA property that has needed one,” said Brian Gawne, Vice President of Community Relations for Fisher House Foundation. “Parking and getting around on a VA campus is always a challenge, and some families are not mobile. Thanks to Tee It Up for the Troops and E-Z-GO, these cars are a godsend when families are facing a tough medical crisis.”
Electric shuttles can take a family or injured warrior from a Fisher House to a VA hospital or medical appointment.
“Electric shuttles that are quiet and efficient can take a whole family or injured warfighter from a Fisher House around the campus to receive therapy or see a doctor,” said Brandon Haddock, Director, Communications at Textron Specialized Vehicles. “The vehicles can traverse facility paths, parking lots, and even into the entry of a VA hospital. It’s great to see how excited people are about the shuttles and to give the veterans something they really need.”
“These stretch electric shuttles, which can comfortably accommodate six passengers, are customized with many added features for the comfort and safety of veterans,” said Gaby Accad, owner of Versatile Vehicles, whose distributorship customizes many of the Fisher House vehicles. Additions include safety lights, turn signals, a rear seat that can convert to a flatbed to carry a wheelchair or other equipment, and a retractable windshield to block wind and rain.
Accad works with local companies to donate custom features, including red, white, and blue premium seats embroidered with the Tee It Up for the Troops logo, decals that are applied to the custom-painted cars, and shipping of the cars at donated or reduced rates to their destination.
