Saturday, April 12 – Indianapolis, Indiana – The Second Annual 2014 Heroes Gala played to a full house at the Indiana Grand Racing & Casino. The sold out event featured a wholesome night with food, fun, silent & live auctions, and music from The Willis Clan, Carson Diersing, Haley Jonay and Brenna Shannon.
The media, 12 radio stations, 3 newspapers, 2 TV stations, helped spread the message of Helping Hands for Freedom and how important it is to support military children of the fallen, wounded and deployed.
The special night of laughs, tears, stories, music and tributes recognized some of our national and local heroes, including HHFF's Chairman of the board, David Roth, who received a humanitarian award for his commitment to military families and the community. The Jake Laird local public safety hero's award was presented to Jerry Baker, along with The Glenn Bill National Wounded Warrior of the Year being presented to Specialist Olivia Telles.
Co-founder, SSG Patrick Shannon (ret.) took the lead on hosting over 200 warriors from 5 states who were on hand to celebrate this year's theme of recognizing Vietnam veterans and the Marines. One was guest of honor, Jim Hurt, whom carried 31 fellow soldiers off the battlefield until the bodies could be shipped home to their families. Also recognized was Darrell Holder, a Silver Star and Purple Heart recipient, for his service during the Vietnam War.
Our special host for the evening, Jim Brown, from Indiana Grand Racing & Casino was recognized for his support and received an autographed guitar from all of the stars performing. Also recognized were Jim Mackie, Cassie Zink and Dan Willis for their support of Helping Hands for Freedom. All proceeds from the evening go to Helping Hands for Freedom, a 501c3 non-profit organization, to support their Life Enrichment and Life Needs programs for Indiana military children.