In 2021, Welcome Home Military Heroes Founder Robert Tolan worked with Band of Brothers Founder Jeff Stone to start a golf tournament in the span of five weeks.
“We had quite a bit of mistakes last year; none of us had ever played in a golf tournament. None of us had even really played golf,” Tolan recalled. “There was never a golf tournament [for veterans] on the Central Coast, and we just decided to go for it.”
After overselling last year’s event and learning from their mistakes, the two organizations hosted another sold-out Tee it Up for Veterans golf tournament at the Santa Maria Country Club followed by a dinner and live auction on Veterans Day, Nov. 11. The tournament had raised more than $90,000 as of Nov. 14, according to Tolan.
During the pandemic, Band of Brothers and Welcome Home were two of the only organizations offering vets services, and funds were running thin, Tolan said. They decided to hold a golf tournament because it could raise a lot of funds to continue operating.
“The other reason is we knew a golf tournament would bring in a completely different crowd: people who didn’t know about Welcome Home or Band of Brothers. It was a mission to expand out to individuals who never heard of us, and let them know what’s going on in the veteran community,” he said.
Band of Brothers is a Santa Maria-based organization that offers a house for homeless veterans and sports clubs where veterans can travel and play against other sports teams, Tolan said. Welcome Home primarily operates in SLO County and offers welcome home packages for all military members returning from deployment, military member care packages, and veteran funeral services.
Tolan and Stone met while playing in a veterans softball league and Stone asked if he wanted to collaborate with Band of Brothers, Tolan said.
“Welcome Home and Band of Brothers have worked together in the past. [We] put up flag poles for free, and replaced about 500 flags in the last two years,” he added.
The 2022 tournament beat 2021 in fundraising. During last year’s tournament, Tolan said they raised $25,000 for each organization—the largest donation received in Band of Brothers’ history.
“Anything over $25,000 is amazing for both organizations,” Tolan said.
Although the tournament is over, Tolan added that sharing the organizations on social media is a helpful way to get their messages out to the public and promote future events—which can be found on their respective websites and Facebook pages.
“It’s great for all our members, especially our veterans on Veterans Day, [to be] with a bunch of people having fun. It’s an absolutely gorgeous and overall fun event,” Tolan said. “The planning is hard and it’s been long, but the day of the event is absolutely a blast.”
Fast fact
• The San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services‘ Operation Santa is underway with the goal of making wishes come true for kids and seniors struggling financially. Wish tree lists will be up until Dec. 5 at businesses across the county, including at Target in SLO, Walmart in Paso Robles and Arroyo Grande, Headstrong Fit in SLO, Sea Breeze Cupcakes & Sweet Treats in SLO, and Orangetheory Fitness in SLO. Donations will help social workers fulfill those holiday wishes. To help, you can drop off a new unwrapped toy, gift, or gift card at any Cal Fire facility; grab a wish list off a tree; or check the most needed items list at gifthero.com/gift-hero-420153289, buy a gift online, and ship it to the county’s “North Pole”—Dept. of Social Services, attention Marge Castle, P.O. Box 8119, SLO, CA 93403. Δ
Staff writer Taylor O’Connor, from New Times’ sister paper, wrote this week’s Strokes. You can reach her at toconnor@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Holiday Guide 2022.
