Celebrate this Veterans Day with some elite vets at Joe’s Great American Smoke Out at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 11, at the Marine Corps League Detachment 708, 8405 Sunshine Grove Rd., Brooksville. This event is open to the public and has free admission.
“We’ll have special discounts for veterans, including 25-cent draft beer for veteran members,” explained Marine Corps League 708 Commandant Jim Bravico. Plenty of good eats will be available at Joe’s Great American Smoke Out, with barbecued brats or country ribs available for $10, with coleslaw, potato salad, pork and beans served up as sides.
“This is our day to celebrate, and all proceeds, as always, will go to help the veterans. We never turn away a veteran who needs help,” said Bravico.
Veterans will be the guest of honor at Joe’s Great American Smoke Out. “We’ll be honoring a special older veteran in this community,” said Bravico. “We’ll be featuring our Honor Guard and playing patriotic music. We’ll also have a 50/50 drawing.”
At MCL 708, it’s all about the vets.”Last week alone, we got two veterans off the streets and into housing,” said Bravico.
MCL 708 also recently found suitable housing for a teacher and single mom in danger of eviction and coordinated massive giving efforts at local schools.
The celebration continues on Nov. 12, when the Marine Corps 708 Auto Show will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Register Chevrolet, 14181 Cortez Blvd., Brooksville. “We will have more than 420 show cars on display,” said Bravico. “Prizes will be awarded.”
Many years, makes and models of cars will be on display, with more than 50 prizes awarded for entries in numerous categories–including Street Rod, Vintage, Antique, Muscle, Classic, Modern, Foreign, etc. A $25 car entry fee is charged for each auto-registered. Admission to the show is free, with food for sale, music, cash raffles and vendors set to be featured at the event.
“We’ll have a live remote from 102.9 and among the vendors will be military vendors,” said Bravico. A raffle for a 2024 Chevy Trax will cap off the day.
Beyond its special events, Marine Corps 708 also aims to provide holiday meals for those in need. “In our ongoing commitment to supply food and clothes for those in need, we will be providing some families with Thanksgiving meals this year,” he said. “We are in need of turkeys, so anyone who would like to donate a turkey can bring it to MCL 708.”
At a time when we celebrate veterans, the vets of MCL 708 continue to give back.
