MAD Morehead City is Back and other event schedules …

We are thrilled to announce that, after a 2-year hiatus, our Morehead City event is back on track. We are optimistic that, by following proper COVID-19 protocols and downsizing our event a bit, we can keep our troops and volunteers safe.

Volunteers are needed. Click here for more info.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Chapters are starting their early planning for 2021 with the Tidewater date (still to be determined), Southport scheduled for 9/10 September and Charleston on tap for 8/9 October. Check out the Chapter pages.”

The Charleston Chapter of Military Appreciation Day, Inc. would like to thank the captains who put Active Duty Troops on the water on a beautiful October 12th morning, and made our event a huge success. Adventure Harbor Tours used their largest pontoon boat to transport Surf captains and Troops to fish the beach on Morris Island.

We were at a new location this year, and we would like to thank Freehouse Brewery for hosting our land-based event site. Friday evening at the Captains Meeting, each Captain was given our “MAD Charleston Chapter Commemorative Coin”. At the end of the Captain’s Meeting, 10 American flags that flown in a local C17 delivering supplies to a US base overseas, were given away as “thank you’s” from the MAD Charleston Team. Southern Que-N-Stew provided the captains with a tasty meal again.

After a beautiful Saturday fishing, we gathered back at Freehouse Brewery, and the evening’s fabulous dinner was again provided by the Pioneer Smokers. Once the bellies were satisfied, the troops and captains were asked to stand, and the captains presented their troops with a “MAD Commemorative Coin”. Music afterwards was provided by our MAD Chas house band Fat Alice, who has played at each of our events.

Door prizes for the Troops were the usual sets of cornhole boards (the bottom of each board was signed by the captains and crew Friday night) and rod & reel combos.

MAD 2020 Charleston will be on October 16-17, 2020. Currently, we are planning to hold our event just as the past. However, due to the uncertainty of Troop availability, our event may be postponed or cancelled. If we can’t get troops, we can’t thank them that particular Saturday, but we still can thank them when we see them at the grocery store or gas station.

Team MAD Charleston

Hi MAD family, we have about 4 months to go before the scheduled MAD Southport event (9/11-9/12 2020). Following is an update on our thinking…

First, I hope this note finds you and your families all well as we cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Southport Chapter of MAD is hopeful that we will be able to plan and hold this year’s Military Appreciation Day of Fishing event at Southport Marina.

NC is now in Phase I of the recovery / reopening efforts. IF all goes well and we progress from here to Phases 2 and 3 over the next couple of months, we hope to be able to solidify our plans.

In the meantime, we are dealing with several variables that are out of our control. Some are:

• The Governor’s Phase 3 plans do not yet specify the allowed size for large gatherings.
• The City of Southport has cancelled all public events until Labor Day – including the state 4th of July parade and celebration. Hopefully, the ban will be lifted by 9/12.
• Risk to our military guests, volunteers and others based on the state of the virus at the time.
• Will the military allow troops to attend?

We can’t control any of that, but flexibility is the key. We don’t view this as a simple yes or no decision at this time. We can adjust. For example, our event has grown considerably over time and we can scale it down as necessary. We can look at moving it later if it looks more promising, etc.

So, skippers and volunteers, let’s be optimistic and mark our calendars for Sep 11-12 and let’s plan on another great Southport MAD.

Hank

Morehead City
It is with great disappointment that we announce that MAD Morehead City 2020 is cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The pandemic presents an event such as ours with a new and unprecedented challenge. By its very nature, MAD is a social event – requiring shore volunteers, skippers, vendors and our troops to be in close proximity. So, in a pandemic, where “social distancing” is seen as the most significant way of limiting the spread of the virus, events such as ours are clearly a no-go.

What the future holds for MHC: We were very excited about holding the 2020 event and are very disappointed. But as our Chapter President says “…we plan to pack 2 years of pent up energy into an incredible 2021 event…”, and we plan on focusing our energies on the future.

So, please put June 4th and 5th, 2021 on your calendars and plan on joining us as volunteers, skippers, donors and supporting businesses to help make MHC 2021 a memorable event for those who sacrifice so much on our behalf.

Hank Pomeranz

Tidewater VA
Our Board met this week to discuss the current state of affairs in our Country and around the globe. Our organization relies on the goodness and strength of the community to make this event happen year after year. We know that many businesses are suffering, individuals have considerable changes coming their way and restrictions which cause us all to take a step back. At this time, asking a single business owner or individual to assist us in making our event happen is not something we are comfortable with. But we are cheering all of you on! We know that we will all recover from this current situation, and we are gearing up for the 2021 event!

WE ALL want each and every sponsor, volunteer, boat captain/owner and military service member to know how much we appreciate every effort to help us succeed! Without you, we are nothing! WE ARE SO LUCKY TO HAVE FRIENDS LIKE YOU!

The 8th annual fishing event will be cancelled as we postpone until 2021 – 2021 WILL BE BETTER THAN EVER! We will continue to hold our onshore event at Cobb’s Marina in 2021, and will ensure that we communicate with our sponsors and volunteers via email regarding this postponement.

Next year’s event will likely be moved to June or July, we feel that fishing might just be a bit better during these months!

Our previous website host is shutting down. After 12 years of hosting MAD for free, Capt Dave Tilley announced his retirement from the business.

We have now procured hosting at a new location and are in the process of recreating the website.

Forum content was not retained, including posts and user accounts. If you had a login on the forum you will need to re-register to continue posting.

More information will be posted as necessary.

After four years serving on the MAD Board of Directors, Donna McDowell has announced her retirement and is stepping down from the board. Donna will remain an active volunteer and supporter of MAD.

It is with great pleasure that we announce that Jeff Schmucker of Newport, NC has accepted a second term on the MAD Board Of Directors! Jeff will also continue his role as Head of Fund Raising.

Rich Anderson retired as COO of MAD Inc. After over a decade of service to MAD he’s due a vacation. Fortunately, Hank Pomeranz (current president of the MAD Southport NC Chapter) has accepted the responsibility of keeping the financials of MAD in order as the new COO.

Please join me in welcoming Jeff and Hank in their increased roles with MAD while we thank Donna and Rich for their immeasurable contributions.

ONE. SIMPLE. THANKS.
Danny McKeel
Board Of Directors Military Appreciation Day Inc.

The dates for the MAD 2019 Charleston, SC date have been set! Mark your calendars for Saturday, October 12, 2019, with the Captain’s Meeting taking place on Friday, October 11, 2019.

MAD 2018 Charleston, SC Event Summary

The Charleston Chapter of Military Appreciation Day, Inc. would like to thank the 39 captains who put 118 Active Duty Troops on the water on a beautiful October 13th morning, and made our event a huge success.  Boat captains left from different ramps around Charleston County, and Pier captains hosted Troops at the Folly Beach Pier.  Adventure Harbor Tours used their largest pontoon boat to transport 6 Surf captains and 17 Troops to fish the beach on Morris Island.

Friday evening at the Captains Meeting, each Captain received a “MAD Charleston Chapter Commemorative Coin” and a chance to win 8 American flags flown in a local C-17 delivering supplies to a US base in Afghanistan.   We had awesome dinner provided by Southern Que-N-Stew.

Saturday evening after dinner, the troops were asked to stand, and their captains presented them with a MAD Commemorative Coin.  This was followed by a delicious BBQ dinner provided by the Pioneer Smokers, and music afterward by local band “Fat Alice”.

We had door prizes for the Troops: eight sets of cornhole boards (they were all signed by the captains and crew Friday night), twenty rod and reel combos, and a new Traxxas Slash RC truck.

We would like to thank Carolina Composites for their continued support, and Rivers Edge Marina for hosting our event again.  Thanks to Mark Hood and Lawson Construction for building the cornhole boards, and Hadrell’s Point who made the rod and reel give-away possible.  Thank you also to Adventure Harbor Tours, SIAC, SOAS Capital, Cranston Engineering Group, and all of our other donors for your continued support.

MAD Morehead City 2019 is being postponed. At this time we do not have enough volunteers to plan an amazing day for our military families and rather than host an event that is not up to our standards, we have elected to postpone the annual event in Morehead City.

Our plan is to spend the next year actively recruiting new volunteers to lead the chapter and to come back in 2020 better than ever. More info here.

Thank you for volunteering or donating over the past 14 years and for making amazing memories for our military families.

MAD events in Southport, Tidewater and Charleston will be held as planned.