THIS IS MY OUTER BANKS & THIS IS MY AMERICA! (Grab your Kleenex)
(Repoted from Brook Spark’s FB Page)
#WWIA
Brook Sparks is the Rental Manager at Beach Realty’s Kitty Hawk Office. This was her post at the end of the WWIA Hunting Trip. At the end of the article there is a link about the event written by The Outer Banks Voice.
The dust has settled…thanks to hours of cold rain on Sunday. We did it again! We showed a group of Heroes our sincere appreciation for their sacrifices. If you made cookies, had your class write letters, donated snacks, made banners or gave your time – it was impactful. No matter how small the donation, with an event like this – it is felt.
A lot of people don’t know this but I have very few conversations with the Heroes. I am fortunate to call a few of the Senior members, who lead this event each year, friends. But aside from the five minutes while dropping food each day, I rarely have an opportunity to chat. This event is created in alignment with the Foundation’s mission statement. The goal is to have them bond over a common love of the outdoors – and I don’t want to interrupt that. After work each day, I go to the house but it is usually prior to them returning from hunting. I check the trash, consolidate anything I can in the fridge and see if they are lacking anything. I am almost always gone before they return to the home. Saturday, when I dropped by after work, Paul – the Vietnam Veteran was at the home. He heard me in the kitchen and spoke. I was lucky enough to spend a few short minutes talking with him. He is an incredible person. He talked mostly about the hunting and he was completely intrigued by the hospitality of our area. I asked him if he would be participating in the escort the following day. He didn’t know anything about it (he drove and was not going to the airport). I explained what we try to do each year and he was clearly interested. About that time, members of the Currituck County Sheriff’s Office showed up. I went back to the kitchen while they started talking about hunting and different approaches to killing a duck.
I couldn’t help but think of all the horrible things he endured when he came home all those years ago. There were no flags, no smiling faces and no waving. I knew the weather was forecasted to be horrible but I kept thinking maybe we could show this man the appreciation that he deserved. I was asked several times if we should just scrap the event due to the weather. I couldn’t do it. I wanted them all to see the best of our area.
He was in the white Expedition directly behind the black vehicle carrying the Heroes to the airport. He saw what I saw. The heroes in the vehicle saw it too. Despite all the political division we see on TV everyday, our community came together and gave a display that was pretty amazing. The Heroes I was riding with were in complete awe of the folks on the side of the road in the rain and cold. They tried their best to take photos – the ones on Facebook are so much better (and I sent those to them).
I am always proud of where I come from but never more than the day of the WWIA escort each year. I am reminded of how special the people are that live in our community. Freezing rain and wind didn’t stop OUR community from showing an amazing display of appreciation. Thank you to everyone that stood in the horrible elements on Sunday but, I promise they saw you and they were moved by it all. It was quite the sight.
I could never begin to thank everyone but I will just say, Thank you! I hope we can continue this amazing event for years to come.
See the article posted by the Outer Banks Voice Here!
(Brook Sparks has been spearheading this event for years….If you see here tell her “job well done”! She deserves it!)