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.

MAD troops, volunteers, and followers:

The Charleston Chapter’s 3^rd event is now upon us with only one more day to go! Here is a quick update on numbers and key times for the event.

Captains Meeting: Friday, November 9, 2017, 6:00 PM, at Rivers Edge Marina

Event Day: Troop check in and boat departures beginning at 6:00 AM. Cornhole and games beginning when the first boat returns.

Event Day Cookout: 6:00 PM at Rivers Edge Marina. Drawings and giveaways concurrent with the dinner. Live band starting around 7:00 PM.

Number of registered troops: 135

Number of registered boats: 40

Charleston Chapter President Gene Morrison visited with Fox News 24 Charleston for in interview on Wednesday of this week, which aired on the local Fox 24 Charleston evening news Wednesday night. A recording of the interview can be watched here:

http://foxcharleston.com/news-now/a-special-event-will-bring-our-veterans-together-for-a-fun-filled-day-honoring-their-legacy/

We’re excited for Charleston’s 3^rd year and looking forward to seeing everybody at the event!

Hello MAD Southport participants!

While Hurricane IRMA caused a little hiccup in our plans, the good news is that we’ve been able to schedule this great event on 10/21.
We know there will be some troops and boat captains that will not be able to make the new date. We will have some boats without troops and troops without boats. But we will adjust accordingly and shuffle as needed until we have as many troops fishing as possible.

To all the troops that signed up to be our honored guests; as USN retired, I know duty calls but I hope you’re still able to participate. It’s difficult to say how many boats we’ll have the next time around but be assured that, as someone who registered for the 9/10 event, you will have priority for the 10/21 event. You should be receiving an email from the boat coordinator asking you to verify whether you will still be able to participate.

To all the captains that volunteered their boats for the event, you too will be receiving either an email or a phone call to verify whether or not you will be able to make the Oct 21 date.

Note that boat registration has been re-opened.

More info will follow soon on how we’ll handle registration and signup but I just wanted to get this on your calendar.

We look forward to meeting you in October and enjoying a great day on the water.

Thanks
Hank Pomeranz
President MAD Southport Chapter

It is with great pleasure that we announce that Danny Mckeel (Alikat) of Wilson, NC has accepted a position on the MAD Board Of Directors! Danny first became involved with MAD in 2011 in the donor capacity, and now for the past several years as a volunteer boat captain too. Danny truly has a passion for MAD and will be a great asset to the organization. Please join me in welcoming Danny in his increased role with MAD and support him as we all continue our mission to give.

ONE, SIMPLE, THANKS.
Stuart Ussery
Board Of Directors Military Appreciation Day Inc.

We are having to postpone the MAD Southport event until mid October – perhaps the 14th or the 21st (TBD).

As you are aware, Category 5 Hurricane Irma, one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic, is moving towards Florida. At that point the storm is expected to turn northward. Two things drove our decision. First, weather conditions for the weekend are forecast to be marginal to poor for fishing with strong winds and high seas offshore and strong winds inshore. What should be an enjoyable day on the water was shaping up not to be so. More important, there is a lot of uncertainty on when the Hurricane will make the turn to the north. Whenever that is; you, our skippers and volunteers all need to concentrate on the safety of our families and security of our homes. It makes no sense to have you come down here with a major storm headed to us from the south.

So, we will postpone the event and will let you know very soon when it is rescheduled.

To the troops that have already signed up; you will have priority in October. You will hear from us again soon on the exact date.
Thank you for your understanding and patience. There are 75 skippers and 90 volunteers looking forward to fishing with and meeting you in October.

Hank Pomeranz
President, MAD Southport Chapter

We are excited to announce that Paula Holland, of Beaufort, NC has accepted the Event President position with the organization! Paula will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the event, normally held one weekend before the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament.

Paula has already been a rock star for the organization, leading several activities, helping secure a ton of donations, and securing the use of facilities like Olde Towne Yacht Club docks and crew for our Carrot Island family tour. She has even raised funds to pay for two pontoon boats used for that activity.

She is stepping up to help as we hope others will, if you see Paula thank her, and lets support her as much as possible during this time! She is already at work on the 2018 event!

Scott Krieger

Chairman of the Board of Directors – Military Appreciation Day Inc.