thedrifter
12-16-06, 07:38 AM
Group's raffle to honor fallen Marine
By NICOLE MARSHALL World Staff Writer
12/16/2006
The rugby organization wants to erect a memorial bench for member and Tulsa Police Officer Jared Shoemaker, who was killed in Iraq.
A Tulsa rugby club is holding a raffle to raise money for a memorial bench to honor a member who was killed Sept. 4 while serving in Iraq.
Marine Cpl. Jared Shoemaker also was a Tulsa police officer and had been a member the Tulsa Rugby Football Club since 2000, member William Taylor said.
Shoemaker, 29, and Lance Cpl. Cody Hill, 23, of Ada were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 25th Marines, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force when their armored vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb in Iraq's Anbar province.
Hill sustained shrapnel injuries and burns over 50 percent of his body. He remains hospitalized at the Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
Many of those who knew Shoemaker were trying to find ways to honor him, Taylor said.
Some of the rugby players dedicated themselves to their physical performance, a good tribute for the man they knew as "Super Jock," Taylor said.
This season, team members would yell Shoemaker's nickname before every game as their war cry, he said.
In a season dedicated to Shoemaker, the Division 2 team lost only one game, and that was to a Division 1 team.
When the members decided to raise funds for a permanent reminder of Shoemaker's ser vice, specifically a bench to be placed in River Parks, "people were lining up" to donate, Taylor said.
A basic bench would cost about $1,100, but Taylor said that based on the popularity of the raffle so far, the team should be able to add a lot of extras to the memorial.
All the money raised will go toward purchasing the memorial bench, which likely will be placed near the rugby fields at River Parks.
Each raffle ticket costs $5, and buyers need not be present to win.
People who are interested in buying a ticket can do so online at www.shoemakermemorial.org .
Starting about 6:30 p.m. Tues day, tickets also will be sold before the 8 p.m. drawing at James E. McNellie's Public House, 409 E. First St.
Prizes include a two-night stay at the Doubletree Hotel Downtown; an 18-year-old bottle of Glen Morganie Scotch from Old Village Wine and Spirits; an iPod Shuffle; two weeks' free training at Triton Close Combat Training; dinner for two at Charleston's restaurant; a one-hour massage from Loren Kai Powell; two 15-minute chair massages from Loren Kai Powell; and two $10 gift certificates from Shades of Brown Coffee.
Nicole Marshall 581-8459
nicole.marshall@tulsaworld.com
Ellie
By NICOLE MARSHALL World Staff Writer
12/16/2006
The rugby organization wants to erect a memorial bench for member and Tulsa Police Officer Jared Shoemaker, who was killed in Iraq.
A Tulsa rugby club is holding a raffle to raise money for a memorial bench to honor a member who was killed Sept. 4 while serving in Iraq.
Marine Cpl. Jared Shoemaker also was a Tulsa police officer and had been a member the Tulsa Rugby Football Club since 2000, member William Taylor said.
Shoemaker, 29, and Lance Cpl. Cody Hill, 23, of Ada were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 25th Marines, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force when their armored vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb in Iraq's Anbar province.
Hill sustained shrapnel injuries and burns over 50 percent of his body. He remains hospitalized at the Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
Many of those who knew Shoemaker were trying to find ways to honor him, Taylor said.
Some of the rugby players dedicated themselves to their physical performance, a good tribute for the man they knew as "Super Jock," Taylor said.
This season, team members would yell Shoemaker's nickname before every game as their war cry, he said.
In a season dedicated to Shoemaker, the Division 2 team lost only one game, and that was to a Division 1 team.
When the members decided to raise funds for a permanent reminder of Shoemaker's ser vice, specifically a bench to be placed in River Parks, "people were lining up" to donate, Taylor said.
A basic bench would cost about $1,100, but Taylor said that based on the popularity of the raffle so far, the team should be able to add a lot of extras to the memorial.
All the money raised will go toward purchasing the memorial bench, which likely will be placed near the rugby fields at River Parks.
Each raffle ticket costs $5, and buyers need not be present to win.
People who are interested in buying a ticket can do so online at www.shoemakermemorial.org .
Starting about 6:30 p.m. Tues day, tickets also will be sold before the 8 p.m. drawing at James E. McNellie's Public House, 409 E. First St.
Prizes include a two-night stay at the Doubletree Hotel Downtown; an 18-year-old bottle of Glen Morganie Scotch from Old Village Wine and Spirits; an iPod Shuffle; two weeks' free training at Triton Close Combat Training; dinner for two at Charleston's restaurant; a one-hour massage from Loren Kai Powell; two 15-minute chair massages from Loren Kai Powell; and two $10 gift certificates from Shades of Brown Coffee.
Nicole Marshall 581-8459
nicole.marshall@tulsaworld.com
Ellie