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"WHY I SHOULD BE IN DA ARROWHEAD"

Sunday, 13 November 2011 20:10 Last Updated on Monday, 14 November 2011 07:43 Written by Dave Pramann

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Dear Arrowhead: Perhaps the compelling reason to allow me to participate in this year's Arrowhead 135 has to do with my rather ascetic beginnings.....I am the love child product of a passionate romantic tryst, somewhere on the steep slopes of an alp located within the Karakoram Range, betwixt two of the greatest explorers of the Golden Age--namely Amelia Earhardt and Ernest Shackleton.

My mother never told Shackleton for fear the news would cause him indigestion.  She also knew she could never raise me properly as she was allergic to children.  She courageously sold me to a tribe of Sherpa mountain folk.  This loving clan of simple people could not provide for me as they had collective distaste for all things which were smallish, cried, and occasionally stinky.  Thus my second parents with great regret traded me to an English mountaineering troupe for a few liters of "flavored" Chai.

Luckily for me, their leader, the Great Mallory, had a predilection for infants, feeling they brought good luck, so he agreed to the trade with the stipulation that no one would object to him carrying me along in his rucksack as he made his historic summit attempt on the flanks of Mount Everest.  Given that his demise is well-recorded within the annuls of mountaineering lore, suffice to say that I was tossed off the mountain in a futile effort to save weight as the air thinned and Mallory became obsessed with gaining a foothold upon the top of the world.

Picked up by a pride of Yetis, I was raised to manhood by these uncomplicated and exceedingly shy beasts.  In a tear-wrenching encounter with the great alpinist Reinhold Messner, my adoptive parents reluctantly gave me up to the Italian Superstar in trade for a broken, yet shiny Rubik's Cube.

Messner regaled me with stories of great adventure during our brief time together, but alas he too found it too difficult to offer me sanctuary as he complained I smelled of old musky socks and displayed poor table manners.

Messner traded me to the Mayo brothers, who were traveling near the base of Annapurna, in exchange for a few doses of Diamox and that is how I found my way to Rochester, Minnesota as a young man.

Dear Mr. _ _ _ _ _ _: We are sorry but the roster is full.  Plus, just having a robust, adventurous childhood does not, in itself, qualify you for this "God-Forsaken" race.  Signed, AH 135

ARROWHEAD MAXED!

Tuesday, 25 October 2011 14:33 Last Updated on Sunday, 06 November 2011 11:33 Written by Dave Pramann

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ARROWHEAD ROSTER FULL.  IF YER NOT LISTED ON ROSTER AND NOT POSTMARKED BY 24 OCT, OR YOU HAVEN'T SPOKEN TO ME ABOUT YOUR APPROVED ENTRY, WE ARE NOT REVIEWING/ACCEPTING ANYMORE.  SORRY, WAIT TIL 2013 RACE, CAUSE WE ARE MAXED OUT and SO IS THE SHORT WAITING LIST MAXED OUT.   SURELY CAN USE MORE VOLUNTEERS THIS YEAR IF YA WANT TO BE PART OF THE RACE.... THANKS EVERYBODY!

New Sponsor O2

Friday, 21 October 2011 14:39 Last Updated on Friday, 21 October 2011 15:19 Written by Dave Pramann

Minnesota-based gear company O2 is Arrowheads latest supporter/sponsor for 2012!  Breathable, lightweight, relatively inexpensive spell their cycling and standard raingear.  The list of companies claiming waterproof and breathable is long but O2's really is!  We got a bunch for the "World Famous Arrowhead Pre-Race Drawing"  Click on the logo to checkout their website, great ideas for XMAS and the cold rains comin!  THANKS O2!!

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   waaaaavvvv    NNN

2012 Arrowhead 135

Thursday, 18 August 2011 07:17 Last Updated on Saturday, 24 September 2011 07:57 Written by Dave Pramann

2012 Arrowhead shaping up strong!  Afton Trail Run, Almanzo Royal, Tour Divide (UPer Danny Hill), Soggy Bottom, Leadville, Fall Superior, Heck O North.....judging off-season activities of Arrowhead participants, 2012 looks to bring pretty tough competition.  

Race logistics constant, just weather and trail ya never know.  Registration open for previous accepted Arrowhead racers and any 2011 Volunteers seeking race entry, Oct. 15th new folks.  2012 race limiting to 135 racers listed in above rules/registration/roster tab.

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Arrowheads Matt Maxwell and Joy Parker at Superior

ITI 2011

Saturday, 05 March 2011 19:19 Last Updated on Wednesday, 23 March 2011 14:22 Written by Dave Pramann

Great race going on up north.  Check it out at http://www.alaskaultrasport.com/alaska_ultra_home_page.html 

Congrats to all the ITI Racers!  Quite an experience for Lance Andre... http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/iowa-tough-guy-ends-hospital-after-iditarod-invitational?page=0,0 

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Spec Ops Warrior Foundation Charity Info

Wednesday, 15 September 2010 18:05 Last Updated on Sunday, 19 January 2014 17:01 Written by Dave Pramann

Here's info on our Race Charity.  You can link it thru the logo on front page.  Arrowhead 135 Inc.  has no idea how we'll come out financially but any $$$ positive balance will be forwarded to the Spec Ops Warrior Foundation.  Several of our fine Naval Academy participants have been involved with this great Charity.

Special Operations Warrior Foundation

PURPOSE: For nearly 34 years, the Special Operations Warrior Foundation has provided surviving children of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps Special Operations Forces (SOF) with the college education their fallen parent would have wanted for them. It also provides financial assistance and support to special operations personnel who are severely wounded.

MISSION: The Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF) was founded in 1980 to serve the military’s special operations forces and their families. A tax-exempt 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization, the SOWF is dedicated to ensuring no-cost college scholarship grants and educational counseling to the children surviving special operations personnel who are killed in a training accident or operational mission. Additionally, the SOWF provides funds to the families of severely wounded and hospitalized special operations personnel to meet their immediate financial needs.

ORGANIZATION: The SOWF is governed by a Board of Directors (up to 25 members), which consults with a Board of Advisors. The Board of Directors has four standing committees: Executive, Development, Audit & Finance, and Governance. The SOWF office is located four miles from MacDill AFB, the home of the United States Special Operations Command. The Foundation has 14 full-time salaried employees.

EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT: The Special Operations Warrior Foundation is committed to providing educational counseling and college scholarship grants that include tuition, books, fees, room and board for more than 1,010 children of fallen special operations personnel. In 2011, the SOWF provided $3.7 million in scholarship grants, educational programs, beneficiary support, counseling and secured funds for future obligations.

WOUNDED SOF WARRIOR SUPPORT: The Special Operations Warrior Foundation provides much- needed immediate financial assistance to severely wounded and hospitalized special operations personnel. In 2012, the SOWF provided $290,000 to the families of wounded Special Operations Forces. Since this program began in 2005, about $1.8 million has been given to SOF families.

CHALLENGES: The Warrior Foundation strives to relieve Special Operations personnel of concern for their families, which might distract them when they need to be—and when America needs them to be—at their very best. Since 1980, over 905 Special Operations personnel have lost their lives on operational missions or during intense training programs. Today, more than 615 children survive these oft-unsung heroes. With over 140 children eligible for college each year, the Foundation’s actuary valuation financial need is approximately $116 million.

FUND RAISING: The Special Operations Warrior Foundation obtains its funding from corporations, private citizens, fundraising events and from participation in the Combined Federal Campaign and State Campaigns in Florida, North Carolina, Washington, Texas, California, Maryland, and Virginia. The Special Operations Warrior Foundation has received its seventh consecutive four-star rating (out of four stars) for its financial efficiency and transparency from Charity Navigator, the nation’s leading nonprofit watchdog group.

“There are no words to explain what the SOWF provided me. My father was killed when I was 15 years old. The SOWF was something I could 100% rely on and not be in fear of rejection. The SOWF never gave up on me, and it’s why I have a future.”

– Eric Thompson, son of Army Col. Jerald Thompson, 5th Special Forces Group, who lost his life in Iraq in 1994.

History

The Special Operations Warrior Foundation began in 1980 as the Col. Arthur D. "Bull" Simons Scholarship Fund. The Bull Simons Fund was created after the Iranian hostage rescue attempt to provide college educations for the 17 children surviving the nine special operations men killed or incapacitated at Desert One. It was named in honor of the legendary Army Green Beret who repeatedly risked his life on rescue missions.

Following creation of the United States Special Operations Command, and as casualties mounted from actions such as Operations "Urgent Fury" (Grenada), "Just Cause" (Panama), "Desert Storm" (Kuwait and Iraq), and "Restore Hope" (Somalia), the Bull Simons Fund gradually expanded its outreach program to encompass all Special Operations Forces. Thus, in 1995, the Family Liaison Action Group (established to support the families of the 53 Iranian hostages) and the Spectre (Air Force gunship) Association Scholarship Fund merged to form the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. In 1998, the Warrior Foundation extended the scholarship and financial aid counseling to also include training fatalities incurred since the inception of the Foundation in 1980. This action immediately made 205 additional children eligible for college funding.

The Warrior Foundation’s mission is to ensure a college education for every child who has lost a parent while serving in the U. S. Special Operations Command and its units, during an operational or training mission. Special Operations Forces covered by the Special Operations Warrior Foundation include, but are not limited to, Army Rangers and Special Forces personnel, Navy SEALs, Marine Corps and Air Force special operations personnel, stationed in units in the U.S. and overseas.

The Warrior Foundation also provides immediate financial stipends of $3,000 to special operations personnel who are severely wounded in operations to help with unexpected expenses incurred by the family (i.e., travel, pet boarding, child care, etc). Since 2005, the foundation has provided more than $1.8 million to the families of wounded special operations personnel.

Today, the Warrior Foundation is currently committed to ensuring scholarship grants, not loans, to more than 1,010 children. These children survive over 905 Special Operations personnel who gave their lives in service to their country, including those who died fighting our nation’s war against terrorism as part of “Operation Enduring Freedom” in Afghanistan and the Philippines as well as “Operation Iraqi Freedom.”

Children from all military services have received or been offered Special Operations Warrior Foundation scholarships. To date, 234 children of fallen SOF personnel have graduated college with the assistance of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. Currently enrolled in colleges and universities across the country are 129 sons and daughters of fallen special operations warriors.

John T. Carney Jr., President/ CEO Steven L. McLeary, Executive Director
P. O. Box 13483 - Tampa, FL 33681 4409 W. El Prado Blvd. Tampa, FL 33629
State Employee Campaigns in California, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington

First blog entry

Tuesday, 31 August 2010 10:51 Written by Dave Pramann

This is our new ongoing blog.  You can view old entries by selecting the Archive menu item from the Blog menu.

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