Honor Our Troops Classic set for September

Photo: Honor Our Troops Classic president Bob Buntyn at the site of the annual event, Olive Branch Country Club. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)

Veterans in the Mid-South area will again be remembered, honored, and supported through a game of golf and related activities next month.  

What’s become an annual event returns to the Olive Branch Country Club on Sept. 22 when the Honor Our Troops Golf Classic takes place.  

Since 2015, the Honor Our Troops event has helped raise funds for local veterans organizations. 

Bob Buntyn of Olive Branch, president of the group organizing the event, said plans are going well for the eighth annual classic.  

“We will start with a motorcycle escort coming out of Southern Thunder Harley Davidson at 11 a.m. Friday morning, escorted by the Olive Branch Police Department, Southaven Police Department, and DeSoto County Sheriff’s Department motorcycles along with the Combat Vets Motorcycle Association and American Legion Rider,” Buntyn said. “They will escort the Patriot Truck out of Coldwater. The entrance will be lined with flags by the Patriot Guard Riders. The escort will come in, the Olive Branch JROTC of the Olive Branch High School will have the flag raising ceremony at 12 noon. Then we’ll have a 1 p.m. shot gun start for the golf tournament.”

Along with the golf will be a putting contest and a long drive contest for the golfers.  Following the golf will be a social time which is being called, “Beer, BBQ, and Band.”

Among the organizations that will benefit from the classic will be the Military Order of the Purple Heart, among others.   

“We support local veterans organizations, the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Patriot Guard Riders, the Military Order of the Purple Heart,” Buntyn said. “This year, the lion’s share of the funds will go to the new Fisher House at the Memphis VA Hospital.”

Groundbreaking for the Memphis Fisher House was held in late July with plans to have it completed sometime next year.  The state-of-the-art facility will impact the lives of veterans and their families for years to come.

The home will consist of 16 suites, equipped with a private, handicapped- accessible bathroom. Common areas will include a spacious kitchen, large communal living, dining and family rooms, laundry room, and patio.

Buntyn expects much of the funds raised this year will go to the Fisher House.  

I think the Fisher House is one of the most important veterans projects ever taken in the Memphis area, to be able to have families come in and stay in a nice place while their relatives are in the hospital,” he said. “We have a veteran on our board who was in the VA Hospital in Memphis, a Vietnam veteran, shot and wounded, and his relatives had to sleep in their car while he was in the hospital to come visit him. They had no money and no place to stay and they had to sleep in their car in downtown Memphis to visit him.  We don’t ever want that to happen again.”

It is expected that between $21,000-$25,000 will be raised from the classic. Buntyn points out that the classic funds support a segment who has sacrificed and served the community and country.  

“There are over 100,000 veterans in the Tri-County/Memphis area,” Buntyn said. “We have one of the largest VA Hospitals in the area that we also support. So, we keep this going for veterans.”

The golf portion of the event will be limited to 35 four-player teams playing in a scramble format. 

You can learn more about the classic, register your four-player team, and donate to the classic at the Honor Our Troops Classic website.