Archive for May 2020

MAD Charleston Events 2019/2020

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

MAD2020 Southport Announcements

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