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USO Sponsors North Carolina Exploration For Marines
(August 10, 2010) |
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| | MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER (MCN - 8/5/2010) — Up and
about at the crack of dawn, several New River Marines
climbed onto a charter bus at the beginning of a long
fun-filled day of exploring North Carolina Saturday, July
24.
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Roughly 100 Marines took advantage of a great
opportunity presented by the USO of North Carolina.
Among many invitations to events throughout the
year, the USO of North Carolina gave Marines the
opportunity to get out of the Jacksonville area and
experience a different part of North Carolina that
many have never seen before.
The USO of North Carolina is a non-profit charitable
organization that serves and supports America's
military and their families. They are constantly
coming up with new ideas to help or entertain
service members for little or no cost.
The all-day event included Marines from New River
Air Station, Camp Lejeune, and Camp Johnson and it
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Marines from the
Jacksonville area pose in front of a racecar
promoting United States service members during a
tour of NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip's museum,
Raceworld USA, July 24, 2010. |
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did not cost them a dime. It consisted of a tour of
NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip's Race Shop, a two
hour cruise around Lake Norman, sand volleyball and
billiards. |
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"We try to do whatever we can for the troops and hope they
just have a good time," said Barbara Hutchens, USO Charlotte
Center Assistant Director. "We are constantly giving away
free concert tickets and sports tickets to our service
members and organizing events and activities for them to get
out and have fun."
First stop, Cornelius, N.C., home of the Michael Waltrip
Racing Museum, Raceworld USA.
For those who don't know, Michael Waltrip is a professional
race car driver and co-owner of Michael Waltrip Racing.
Waltrip is a two-time winner of the Daytona 500 and drives
the number 51 NAPA Toyota Camry in the Sprint Cup Series on
a part-time basis.
The museum, highlighting other drivers as well, was quite
unique. It was a closed-down movie theater before it was
renovated. In May of 2007, the theatre opened up with a
whole new face and name, Raceworld USA. It is the race shop
and center of operations for Michael Waltrip Racing. It is a
functioning NASCAR race shop that allows fans to tour the
facility and experience what it takes to build and run a
championship racing team.
Upon arrival, the Marines were introduced to the tour guide
team and escorted into a small theatre room, restored from
the original theatre, and watched a short film about the
museum, Michael Waltrip himself, and all the hard work
involved leading up to the green flag.
After the film, the large group of Marines were broken up
into smaller groups and spread out across the facility. Each
room which was once a theatre, is dedicated to a particular
step in the building process to get the car to its tip-top
condition and ready to race on the track. From gears and
transmission to shocks and all the way down to the paint and
labels, it is all on show for the visitors.
"The tour of Michael Waltrip's garage was awesome, I am
pretty big into NASCAR," said Cpl. Cayla N. Bowman,
administrative clerk with Marine Heavy Helicopter Training
Squadron 302. "Michael Waltrip is my mom's favorite driver,
so it was really cool for me to get to experience it all at
the museum and see how everything works."
The next stop was Lake Norman for a two-hour cruise provided
by Championship Yacht Charters owner Cliff Champion and the
USO of North Carolina. Once aboard the ship, the Marines
were introduced to the captain as he expressed his gratitude
to the Marines and sent them off to feast on hamburgers and
hotdogs.
After eating, the Marines enjoyed the relaxing boat ride and
listened to live music. On board was country music artist
Megan McGovern, who performed for the Marines and allowed
time after her performance to sign autographs and express
her appreciation to the armed forces.
"When I heard I was going to be on a cruise ship with a
bunch of Marines, I didn't know what to expect," said
McGovern. "But I definitely had a great time with all of
them, it was great."
McGovern felt that she needed to do an outstanding job
performing for the troops knowing that they do an
outstanding job protecting our country.
"This day wasn't anything about me, it was all about you
guys," said McGovern, addressing the Marines on board. "I'm
only here to show my appreciation to you; I love everyone on
this boat for what they do."
After a short time, everyone loaded back on the bus and
prepared for the trip back to Jacksonville. On the ride
home, it seemed everyone was more alive and full of
excitement and energy. They talked about their favorite
parts of the trip and how they plan on going back sometime.
Several Marines connected with others, sang songs, joked
around and formed friendships.
"I am the Single Marine Program representative for my
squadron and if anything like this catches my eye again I am
definitely going to start taking advantage of it," said
Bowman. "It was nice to get out of Jacksonville and just
relax on the boat and cruise, and it was all free!"
Trips such as this come up often and there are usually
plenty of slots for Marines of all ranks, single or married.
So, keep an eye open for the upcoming events in the near
future. For those not originally from North Carolina, the
trips are a great way to see the state and learn about local
culture. | |
Article and photo by LCpl. Brittany J. Kohler
Marine Corps Air Station New River
Copyright 2010
Reprinted from
Marine Corps News
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