USO picnic a success
BY BETTY ARCHER ALLEN Gulf Breeze News betty@gulfbreezenews.com

Blair

The USO picnic was a great success! The City of Gulf Breeze provided this special outing for the families of deployed service men and women on Sept. 29 at Shoreline Park South from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There were 70 to 75 military family members who attended the picnic; not a bad number for the city's first USO event. The planners came up with some fun activities for kids: volleyball, horseshoes, basketball, face painting, a water bounce house, fishing from the pier, net throwing and others. Volunteers from city hall, churches, Gulf Breeze Rotary, the police departments of both Gulf Breeze and Pensacola and life guards turned out to help with the picnic and to assist families with their children. There were volunteers to monitor the children's park and skate park.

The food was provided by J. B. Coxwell, who along with his wife, was there to enjoy the picnic himself.

USO Center Director, Heidi Blair, was there to participate in the activities to interact with the families whom she had been instrumental in contacting about the picnic.

Meg Peltier, President/CEO of Gulf Breeze Area Chamber of Commerce, was also in attendance. Gulf Breeze Area Chamber of Commerce provided 100 of the "While You Were Away" books for the children of the deployed families at the USO picnic. The chamber has already distributed 100 copies of this book to the Navy's Fleet and Family Services.

Betty Archer Allen/Gulf Breeze News Patricia and Jennifer Finlay brought 3-year-old Grace and 6- month-old Alec to the USO picnic Sept. 29 First Lt. Alec Lee Finlay, the children's father, is deployed in Iraq.

It was wonderful experience to meet some of these families and to get some understanding of the sacrifices that they are making for their country. April Gicker, whose husband, Sgt. Jacob Gicker, is stationed in Korea, was there with her sons, 13-yearold Patrick and 2-yearold William, and her 16- month-old daughter, Emily. William was having too much fun in the water bounce and could hardly take time to have his picture made. Patrick has been a great help to his mother and family in the absence of his father.

April McCray was there with sons, Dean and Dewie McCray. Husband and father FC2 Stew McCray is stationed in Ft. Bliss in El Paso, Texas. State Representative Clay Ford was seen assisting April with her two small sons. Later, Dean and Dewie planted flags near the walk to the pavilion.

Dede Devallon came with her daughters Brittany and Jana and her son Abner III. Abner Jr. is stationed in Afghanistan. The Devallon kids were really enjoying the fishing from the end of the pier. They could hardly stand still to have their pictures made.

First Lt. Alec Lee Finlay is in Iraq now but his wife Jennifer Finlay, accompanied by his mother Patricia Finlay, came with their small children Grace, 3, and Alec, 6 months. Jennifer is a local girl who's back home visiting her parents and motherin law while Alec is away. She can't wait until he is home with the family but she shows great pride in what Alec is doing.

E6 Richard Hornsby, who will be deployed to Iraq soon, was there with his wife Joy and their three daughters, 16-yearold Amanda, 8-year-old Katelyn and 1-year-old Ava. They are enjoying the time together before he has to go away.

Nancy Millay, Finance Director of the city of Gulf Breeze, said, "I received a phone call from a young mother who was at the picnic with her children. She called city hall to thank us for the picnic. She said it really meant a lot to her. She said she just didn't know how she was going to manage her little children without her husband, but she felt that meeting other mothers in the same situation is going to help her and her family a lot."

Millay shared other poignant stories of dependents at the picnic: A young mother with a little 3-year-old and a 17-day-old baby whose husband hasn't yet held his daughter and won't be home until July. The affect of the absence of a parent is inescapable for both mothers and children.

Meeting the military family members at the picnic made the sacrifices that these men, women and children have made for the country a touching reality.