MEDIA NOTE: We welcome your attendance and coverage of both the B.E.S.T. at Richards and the public ceremony immediately preceding it in front of the Greenwich Post Office at 6 PM in observation of David Hackworth Day in the town of Greenwich and the State of Connecticut.
“Support the troops with more than lip service”
NEWS from SFTT Foundation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Maura Kallaway at 203--629-0288
Betty Cordellos at 203-656-0207
Jpgs attached: see end of release for description
GI HELMETS and DESIGNER GEAR SHARE THE B.E.S.T-DRESSED SPOTLIGHT
May 9 Event to Raise Awareness and Support to Protect the Front-Line Soldiers Who Protect Us
(Greenwich, CT – May 6, 2008) Helmets that improve the chances that frontline troops will make it home alive and in one piece. Designer clothes and accessories from the likes of Heidi Weisel, Nicole Miller and Robert Mark. These would seem to be an odd fit. But they share common ground: having the best available gear and clothing for the occasion - be it in Basra, Baghdad, the Afghani mountains, or Greenwich, CT. And on Friday, May 9, they’ll also share the spotlight at SFTT’s B.E.S.T. (Best Equipment in Support of the Troops) cocktail reception and benefit auction at Richards of Greenwich.
The B.E.S.T. benefit is committed to seeing that U.S. soldiers – young men and women – are not sent to the frontlines of Iraq and other hotspots with substandard government-issue basic personal combat gear – from body armor to helmet inner liners made of Astroturf-like material that slips and scratches to jam-prone rifles to mission-inappropriate combat boots - when better equipment that could reduce or prevent serious injury or death is available.
B.E.S.T. will be held Friday May 9, 6:30 PM to 9 PM, at Richards, 359 Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich immediately following the David Hackworth Day salute (6PM) in front of the Greenwich Post Office
Hosted by SFTT Chair, author and film producer Eilhys England Hackworth of Greenwich and Scott Mitchell of Richards, B.E.S.T. (Best Equipment to Support the Troops) pays tribute to the late Col. David “Hack” Hackworth, by raising funds to protect the troops ‘out at the tip of the spear’ that he loved and continues to fight for through his nonpartisan, apolitical, nonprofit legacy foundation SFTT.
Former US Senator) Bob Kerry, Geraldo Rivera, Catherine Crier, Richard Blumenthal, and Jim Lash are honorary co-chairs for the evening. Event Committee Chair is Shelly Tretter Lynch of Greenwich. To RSVP or receive information on SFTT and B.E.S.T., visit www.sftt.org or call 203-629-0288.
Cocktail Reception
Behind the gourmet cocktail fare and pastries, prepared and donated by L’escale Executive Chef Francois Kwaku-Dongo and Pastry Chef Wendy Laurent and auction activity led by Sotheby’s senior auctioneer C. Hugh Hildesley is the basic notion that the brave young men and women serving on the front lines deserve the best available personal combat gear to make it home alive and in one piece.
Silent and Live Auctions for the B.E.S.T. A live auction featuring Sotheby senior auctioneer C. Hugh Hildesley will be a highlight. It will be complemented by a silent auction. Dozens of items will be up for bid: a walk on in “Law Abiding Citizens,” with “The 300” star Gerard Butler; Hamptons, Cape and Berskhire getaways; pampering body treatments; VIP tickets and back stage packages for an Allman Brothers or Yanni concert; antiques, jewelry, art, fashion week tickets; Yankees/Red Sox, Giants football and NY Mets tickets; breakfast with Bob Kerry; and lunch with Geraldo Rivera.
Introducing SFTT’s new Families for the B.E.S.T. campaign, headed by John Grant whose son is on active duty in Iraq. This father for the B.E.S.T. may be familiar to viewers of last May’s 5-part NBC Nightly News and Dateline investigative report on substandard body armor.
SFTT’s 2008 Support the Troops with More than Lip Service Award will be awarded to the founders of all-volunteer Operation Helmet. The organization is engaged in preventing severe brain trauma by providing soldiers on the frontlines with upgraded helmet liner kits to replace the substandard Government Issue pads and under liners.
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ABOUT SFTT Foundation
SFTT’s unique educational and advocacy mission is to see that the Pentagon and our elected leaders in Washington get the right equipment, training and leadership for our US troops by giving a public voice to and providing a candid forum for America’s front-line forces. SFTT was founded by Col. David Hackworth and Eilhys England Hackworth to educate our country's citizens on the need to give a voice to our serving sons and daughters and to demand that they receive: Equipment superior to the best an enemy can employ against them; Training that fully prepares them to succeed in all assigned missions; Leadership dedicated to selfless service and the timeless values of duty, honor, and country. Through news breaking reporting from the foundation’s Defense Watch webzine and its INTEL CENTER, which is regularly monitored and sought out by major media, SFTT has been instrumental in shining the bright light of public scrutiny on injustices from anthrax vaccines to Abu Ghraib to substandard body armor. Defense Watch has been the source, credited and not, for recent front page articles and news segments in the New York Times and the Washington Post, 60 Minutes, NBC Nightly News and Dateline, and other national broadcast news programs. ‘Hack’ was a Greenwich resident until the time of his death in May 2005 from bladder cancer from exposure to Agent Blue in Viet Nam. His widow, Eilhys, continues to guide the foundation from the couple’s Greenwich home. The 501(c)3 organization is supported by donations from concerned individuals. More information can be found on the foundation website: www.SFTT.org.
IMAGES:
1- Heidi Weisel strapless cocktail dress is one of the collectible items that guests and supporters will be bidding on May 9 at Richards of Greenwich.
2-What the B.E.S.T.- dressed front line troops should be wearing: standard issue helmet with upgrade pads and inner liners (not government issue) that have been shown to reduce or prevent brain trauma.
Proceeds from the SFTT B.E.S.T benefit evening will support getting U.S. troops the best available equipment to make it home alive and in one piece. To donate or attend, phone 203-629-0288 or go to the SFTT website at www.sftt.org.
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