Tailgaters, 

We had a great time out at the VA CRRC in Houston last Saturday - a big thank you to everyone who came out.  We needed all of you.  The VA had a good crowd both of veterans and of other outreach groups offering services to veterans and those in need.  All of the food was served, and the weather was just fine - a bit overcast but no rain while we were down there.  Some of the highlights: 

1.  I want to again thank Mr. Mark Snively and Food Town for all of their donations both directly from them and by way of their contacts.  Through them we got the chicken, sausage, rub and dessert all donated!  Plus Mark got up at dark thirty to get all of the chicken to Devin so that it could be done in time.  And then he hauled the sausage and cookies out to the CRRC. 

2.  A big shout out to Kountry Boys Sausage for not only donating all of the sausage, but also for buying all of the chicken for us.  That took care of a huge chunk of our expenses. 

3.  Another shout out to Mark's daughter and HEB for donating the cookies for dessert. 

4.  And to Goya Foods for donating ALL of the beans and a lot of seasonings for all of our events this "season".  I consider that our season starts in the fall with the Temple VA Tailgate.  We have learned the hard way that standing over a big grill in the summertime is rough on us retired types so our events are generally October to April. 

5.  A huge thank you to Mr. Devin Biley for smoking all of the chicken for us on his massive smoker/grill.  He did all 100 chicken halves at one time on Saturday morning. 

6.  Thank you Mr. Roger Koehler for donating and hauling the water bottles and ice for this tailgate.  And for hauling all of the smoked chicken from the pit to the CRRC. 

7.  Thank you to Mr. Ben Weibel for donating and making all of the cole slaw and for manning the grill for the sausage. 

8.  Thank you Mr. Mike Hundl for again heating and serving all of the beans. 

Because of all of the donations we received for this tailgate, our expenses were pretty minimal.  The only things we had to buy were charcoal, clamshells, picnic packs, aluminum pans, etc.  Total expenses were $116, so for 200 meals served that is only $0.58 per meal - that is no doubt our record low cost per meal ever thanks to all of the donations listed above. 

When TGWAH started in 2009 I thought we would be a one and done with the tailgate party we took to the DeBakey VA campus.  But we kept getting asked to do other events for veterans and active duty service members and we usually do around five or more events per season.  Our original group of volunteers is starting to dwindle with people moving, some people perhaps aging out of the work, or just getting interested in other things.  I keep thinking when we start a season that this may be the last one, but we seem to keep getting new volunteers and more than adequate donations to keep going.  So as long as we have enough volunteers and funding I would like to keep it going. 

So we are scheduled to kick off another season this Fall at the Temple VA Campus on Saturday October 11, 2025.  The Temple Tailgate has become our biggest event and the VA staff up there does a great job.  So join us if you can - it is a good time. 

So everyone have a great summer and I will be back in touch as the temple Tailgate approaches.  Thank you all for supporting Tailgate with a Hero. 

Ralph Wissel