7th Annual All American Picnic (Operation Yellow Ribbon)

Seventh Annual Picnic to Honor Military Families by Operation Yellow Ribbon – Sept. 22

It’s hard to believe that this is our seventh annual picnic coming up in just a few weeks, and we’re more excited than ever. We had about 100 people in attendance last year, our biggest group ever. And we plan to exceed that number this year. There have been some really cool changes to the upcoming program, too.

We are honored to present the Cadet Color Guard from Selfridge Air National Guard Base before lunch and the Young Marines will be there to serve as well. Of course, we’ll have the ever-popular face painter, plus line dancing at the end of the day after giving away all of the great door prizes from local merchants and restaurants. 50/50 raffles are available, too.

And, a big surprise! A photo booth! Lots of fun for kids and adults alike with memories to take home afterwards. There is something for everyone. Not to mention a great picnic lunch.

The event serves two purposes: to honor our military families with a little fun, and our main fundraiser for the year. Tickets are purchased for the family members by local businesses and individuals – we couldn’t do it without them. We will also have support tables for our service members - resources and connections they can rely on now and in the future.

This past year we partnered with Faith Works to expand our resources for local military families. They had a new hot water heater installed for one of our local military families in 2 days!

Peggy Ann Kralik, founder, said: “It is a privilege to serve the needs of our military families. We are an all-volunteer organization, and sometimes spend not only our time, but our own out-of-pocket money to do what we can to make their lives a little easier – like pay an electric bill that is ready to be shut off. No red tape – immediate response in emergencies. Most of the families are referred to us through connections with Selfridge Air National Guard base and/or other organizations.

Edward Kralik, tanker/Army; Toni Deaton, Army; Dave Buck (and Jackie), Navy; and Mike Noble, Army, round out the Advisory Board and Board of Directors. And, this year, we are joining with other non-profit all-volunteer organizations to form a collaboration that will eventually be a “one-stop” resource for our deserving military families. Stay tuned.

As in previous years, the DAV #129 hall will host our picnic. Festivities will start at 11:00 am, and end about 3:00 pm, Saturday, September 22, 2018. The hall is located on Dequindre Road, just north of Auburn Road in Shelby Township. As previously said, local businesses purchase the tickets to be used by military family members – the event is free to our military families with 100% of the proceeds going to Operation Yellow Ribbon. All we need is a phone call to reserve their seat.

Contact Peggy Ann Kralik for additional information or for reservations. 248.425.2722. Also, please let any military family you know about this event, and extend the invitation for us.