Five Former SGM's attended Change of Command
In February 2020 the Change of Command Ceremony was held for B. Company 2nd Battalion 19th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces. In attendance were five former company Sergeants Major. Ohio has a very strong and proud Special Forces tradition and support for B Company. A large number of Special Forces Association Chapter 45 members served in B. Company or were apart of its historical legacy.
Ohio Green Beret Scholarship
Deadline Apr 1 2020 05:00 PM (EDT)
The application process is now open!!!
The Ohio Green Beret Support Group for 2020 is awarding three annual $1000 grants of tuition assistance for chapter members and their immediate family. These scholarships are being managed by the Columbus Foundation.
Ohio Green Beret Support Group, LLC
SUPPORTING OHIO'S GREEN BERETS
The Ohio Green Beret Support Group, LLC is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that solely supports active duty and retired Special Forces soldiers and their families. It is a subsidiary to The Buckeye Chapter 45 of the Special Forces Association. Ohio has one Special Forces unit that deploys frequently.
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Ohio Green Beret Support Group 501(c)(3) Approved by IRS
Special Forces Association Chapter 45 (Buckeye Chapter) has successfully established a 501(c)(3) Charitable subsidiary organization – the Ohio Green Beret Support Group, LLC. This was a long process with the IRS, and it enables generous Americans to make tax deductible donations to support our multiple initiatives.
Among those initiatives, The Buckeye Chapter is excited to launch its endowed scholarship program. In January 2020, we created a program managed by The Columbus Foundation – central Ohio’s leading and most prestigious charitable organization. Members and their immediate families are eligible for one of three $1,000 grants of tuition assistance. A description of the Ohio Green Beret Support Group and the scholarship program are in our www.SFA45.org home page; we included a link that connects to the Columbus Foundation’s application process website.
The Scholarship Program’s base is a $75,000 endowment. This amount was sourced from four years of fundraising by the Buckeye Chapter, and the fundraising vigorously continues. We wish to grow the endowment as well as fund various other supporting initiatives to help Green Berets and their families.
Many generous chapter members have contributed, and our anchor contributor each year remains former 18C, Ed Petkovich of the Walsingham Group. We will conduct our Four Annual 3-Gun Shoot fundraiser and our Fifth Annual Motorcycle Freedom Run fundraiser in 2020. The Chapter is brainstorming a new, larger fundraising event; details are in the early phases of ideation.
In the end, much of our fundraising is centered on the brave men of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group and their families. It also supports the members and families of the Buckeye Chapter, and from time to time, other Green Berets who call Ohio their home.
B Company 2019 Christmas Party
Chapter XLV hosted its annual Christmas party for the soldiers and their families of B/2/19th SFG(A). Before lunch was served, kids were running around and playing games and making Christmas crafts. After lunch, gifts were passed out one by one. The unit leadership and Chapter 45 manage the gifts unique for each child.
A few weeks before the party, each unit member asks their children what they want for Christmas. The member provides his chain of command and ultimately three unit leaders and their wives with the name of one gift per child with a limit of $50 per gift. This small team then purchases these gifts and wraps them. Each child is then provided their wrapped present and always finds something they truly want. Donations to support this and other charitable initiatives by Chapter 45 are now managed within the Ohio Green Beret Support Group, LLC.
SFA 45 - 4th Annual 3 Gun Shoot
The Buckeye Chapter held its largest fundraising event on 12 October, our annual Three Gun Shoot. This successful event was hosted by the great Americans of Richwood Gun and Game Club in Richwood, Ohio. The Three Gun Shoot netted over $20,000 for the chapter. Over 60 shooters participated and over ten SFA 45 members supported the event with set up and logistics management as well as range tear down.
The Buckeye Chapter was also supported by multiple generous sponsors who provided cash donations, door prizes, ammo, and guns for use by sponsor-shooters. Chapter member and former 18C, Ed Petkovich, of The Walsingham Group, was our anchor sponsor once again. Ed was presented a bronze special operations soldier statue for his long time and continual financial support for SFA Chapter 45. Several other chapter members were also among our sponsors. Former commo NCO, Eric Stansifer, donated a Glock 9mm pistol with silencer as our top door prize. Chapter members including NCOs from B/2/19th SFG(A) also donated their time as shooting coaches for our sponsored shooters. These novice shooters included four Army ROTC cadets each from Ohio University and Ohio State University.
The Shoot consisted of four lanes with multiple targets. Civilian competitors who shoot regularly complimented the Richwood staff for crafting a challenging and sophisticated set of shooting evolutions. Every competitor won one or more shooting-related door prizes.
4th Annual Freedom Ride
The Chapter held its second largest fundraiser event on 7 September, our annual Freedom Ride. Over 100 civilian riders participated in the fundraiser; this has grown during the past three years, and we expect this growth to continue – especially since Rolling Thunder has moved to Columbus, Ohio beginning 2020. CEO Bob Althoff of AD Farrow, Ohio’s largest Harley Davidson dealership, hosted our event with a free lunch and live bands at both the starting point and the finish point, The Buckeye Lake Winery.
Riders and SFA 45 members enjoyed the hospitality of Tracy and Laura Higgenbotham, owners of The Buckeye Lake Winery, for an afternoon and evening of great wine and food as well as their donations of several cases of wine that were auctioned at the Winery with all proceeds generously donated to the Chapter. SFC Randy Bring, a member of B/2/19th SFG(A), supported the event with a SF static display of gear and two Polaris Razors.
2019 SFA International Convention
This year’s SFA International Convention was held in Charleston, WV and hosted by Chapter LXVIII. The theme for this year’s convention was “A Tribute To Gold Star Families.” Chapter XLV donated over $5,000 to accommodate the entire Crabtree Gold Star Family while attending the convention. SFC Daniel Crabtree was killed in action on June 8th, 2006 in Iraq while serving with B/2/19th SFG(A).
Save the Montagnard People
In July, Chapter XLV members Jim Butler, John McCort and Jeff Gallaher spent the weekend in Asheboro, NC with the Save The Montagnard People. During their visit, they presented the chapter’s donation of $3,500 to the Montagnard Council. The chapter had been planning this for some time and due to successful fundraising and several donations was able to accomplish this goal. Member Jeff Gallaher worked with Montagnards in Vietnam, and they presented him a friendship bracelet similar to one given to him by Montagnards 50 years ago in the Highlands.
