PGA TOUR wives, Valero pitch in for wounded soldiers
By Chris Reimer, PGA TOUR Staff
Amy Wilson was following her husband, Mark, at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial when she saw a woman handing out "Support Our Troops" stickers and talking about an agency called Operation Homefront. Her name was Jennifer Cernoch.
Amy is President of the PGA TOUR Wives Association. While she could only spend roughly 18 seconds talking to Cernoch because she was trying to keep up with her husband on the course, they exchanged business cards, and Amy vowed that the PGA TOUR Wives Association wanted to help Operation Homefront.
On Wednesday, nearly five months after Wilson and Cernoch met, Army wife Connie Henline stood in front of a group of women consisting of wives of military men and wives of PGA TOUR players and admitted that public speaking was not one of her strengths. By the time she had finished talking, many of the women sitting at the tables of Silo's Elevated Cuisine were clapping and crying simultaneously.
Henline spoke about the 32 surgeries her husband, Bobby, has had since April 2007 due to burns and wounds to his head, face, neck and arms. While serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq, his Humvee exploded, killing three others on board. The wounds left Bobby severely burned and bandaged for the last 18 months. It was only recently that doctors were able to take skin from his stomach to cover a hole in his head.
While Henline has been assisting with her husband's care, she has also been forced to deal with the challenges of taking care of their three small children as well as picking up household duties that her husband can no longer perform. These types of burdens that come hand-in-hand with being the wife of a wounded military member can sometimes be overwhelming.
That is why Operation Homefront -- an agency that provides emergency assistance and morale to United States troops, to the families they leave behind and to wounded warriors when they return home -- and the PGA TOUR Wives Association have stepped in.
"When Operation Homefront learned I was moving, they canceled my moving truck, found 50 volunteers who not only got us moved in one day, but stayed and helped our family unpack," Henline said. "They later built a screen porch so that my husband, who can't be outside because of his burns, could watch our kids play and watch me attempt to mow the lawn. They help bring normalcy back to my life."
In town for the Valero Texas Open, members of the PGA TOUR Wives Association hosted 20 wives and two mothers of United States military members whose husbands are either deployed overseas or have returned from overseas wounded and are being treated at Brooks Medical Center in San Antonio.
"The minute I saw Jennifer standing, handing out stickers, and I heard the story of Operation Homefront and these wives, I wanted to help," said Amy Wilson. "I told Jennifer, 'Tell us what we can do.' "
Cernoch responded with a wish list of items they need to help the women who are suddenly serving as the foundation on all fronts of their households. The PGA TOUR Wives Association took the wish list and ran with it.
They treated the nearly two dozen women to a day of relaxation and entertainment as well as financial planning assistance from Charles Schwab and other types of support.
"The women get so focused on their responsibilities with their children, their husbands, their households, that they lose themselves and who they are," Cernoch said. "Today was to pamper them a little and to remind them of who they are."
After lunch, a group of PGA TOUR wives that included Julie Petrovic, Monica Bertsch, Diane Lickliter, Anita Uresti, Stephanie Sterling, Kristy McLachlin and Cortney Axley joined Wilson and Sara Moores, Executive Director of the PGA TOUR Wives Association, to make some special presentations to the women in attendance.
First came checks of $3,300 from the Valero Texas Open, $5,000 from Valero Corporation and $15,000 from the PGA TOUR Wives Association to Operation Homefront. These funds can be used for emergency financial assistance for families in need.
"The military provides financial assistance to these families, but it's not always consistent or completely reliable," Cernoch said. "We step in when they can't make their car payment, or need some additional money for groceries."
Then, to the surprise of those in attendance, gifts and gift cards totaling more than $50,000 were unveiled. The products included food, supplies and donations that could be sent to military members overseas, as well as gift cards, toys, books and other items that Operation Homefront can use for military wives whose husbands are wounded.
"It's hard to explain what this means to us," Cernoch said. "I really can't put it into words. The heartfelt donations of these PGA TOUR wives and the Valero Texas Open means we can help these wonderful women. It also shows that someone cares about what they are going through. To me, that means as much as anything."
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