Patriot Sporting Challenge returns

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Wood County is once again one of the host locations of the Patriot Sporting Challenge (PSC), a one-day affair in which hundreds of thousands of dollars is raised to benefit veterans and their families.

While PSC is the 501(c)3 and 501(c)4 charity that promotes and oversees the day’s activities, PSC’s main event is the Lake Fork Challenge, which will take place in Wood County and two other counties.

The Lake Fork Challenge will be held at multiple locations on the morning of April 9 and include competition among 50 4-person teams. Each team will be split into two-person partnerships. Each partnership will compete in one of three categories: golfing and fishing, shooting and fishing or shooting and golfing. Once scores in each category are tabulated, the participants, along with their spouses or significant others, will gather for the “Celebration of Patriotism.”

Starting shortly after 2 p.m., the PSC will stage a 3-hour casino-and-gaming event at the Civic Center in Sulphur Springs. Following this is the Call to Duty announcement and dinner.

“Local Wood County vendors make up several of those restaurants catering the dinner,” said Christophe Trahan, executive director of the Wood County Economic Development Commission. “It really speaks to their commitment to this worthy cause.”

Finishing the celebration are speeches from two speakers, including a Green Beret/retired Army Ranger/Special Forces veteran (among other accomplishments) and an author/international speaker/Gold Star scholarship recipient whose husband died in the line of duty. The event will end with a concert by country and western singer Cooper Wade.

Trahan implored residents who may not be able to participate in the day’s event to consider making a donation at the following link - https://patriotsportingchallenge.org/sponserships/.

“The Patriot Sporting Challenge boosts tourism in our beautiful county by attracting new people each year to Lake Fork,” said Trahan. “There, the visitors are also able to experience the Links at Land’s End, a fantastic golf course on the shores of Lake Fork, as well as the amazing neighborhoods around the course.”

The PSC started in 2017 with a powerful mission: support Gold Star families or the families of veterans who have been severely disabled or fallen in battle.

The PSC has “accepted the mission to honor the sacrifices of our military veterans by helping to educate their legacies. These heroes have given their all and their families have suffered an incredible loss. We are building for the future of our nation, paying it forward so that the dreams of our fallen or severely wounded heroes can become a reality.”