MIDDLETOWN – Tee Off With Our Patriots Golf Classic has changed its location and date to 9:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 13, at the Navesink Country Club, 50 Luffburrow Lane.
The benefit will honor the U.S. military and help the Mental Health Association of Monmouth County (MHA) raise awareness of the challenges faced by the military and their families in the transition from active duty to stateside. There is a pressing need to encourage them to seek early intervention and treatment for any symptoms that may be related but not limited to depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and substance abuse to assure that our returning soldiers are helped. The MHA currently provides a number of programs that can be utilized by veterans’ family members.
The MHA will sponsor a patriot to play in a foursome; cost is $1,180. Individual tickets are $295. The 50/50 tickets are $10. Additional information, including sponsorships, is available by visiting MHAinfo.org or calling 732-542-6422, Ext. 108.
Supporting this event as members of the committee are Paul G. Gaffney II, Donald Frederick Campbell, Peter M. Dawkins and Lt. Col Peter J. Mahoney.
Gaffney, a retired U.S. Navy vice admiral and academic leader, recently retired after serving since July 2003 as the seventh president of Monmouth University. He was president of the National Defense University from 2000-2003. Prior to assuming those duties, he was the chief of naval research with responsibility for science and technology investment, a substantial part of which supported basic research in American universities. He was appointed to the statutory U.S. Ocean Policy Commission in July 2001, and served during its full tenure from 2001 to 2004.
His distinguished naval career spanned more than three decades including duty at sea, overseas, and ashore in executive and command positions. He served in Japan, Vietnam, Spain, and Indonesia. While a military officer, his career focused on oceanography, research administration and education.
A 1968 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Gaffney completed a year as a student and advanced research fellow at the Naval War College, graduating with highest distinction and has been recognized with a number of military decorations.
Campbell, a retired U.S. Air Force major general, is a retired N.J. Superior Court judge. The military schools he attended are the infantry officer basic course, civil affairs officer basic and advanced courses, military intelligence officer basic and advanced courses, United States Army Command and General Staff College, judge advocate general officer basic course, and transportation officer basic course and United States Army War College. He has a B.A. and J.D. law degree from Seton Hall University. He was promoted in the Air Force 10 times from June 1965 through November 1993.
His decorations and badges include the Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal and Army Staff Identification Badge.
Dawkins, a retired U.S. Army brigadier general and founder and senior partner of Flintlock Capital Asset Management, is a 1959 graduate of West Point and served 24 years in the U.S. Army. During his military career, he commanded a company in the 82nd Airborne Division, led a battalion in Korea, taught at West Point, was a White House Fellow and served as military assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense. After serving in Korea, he commanded the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, and was promoted to brigadier general in 1981.
Dawkins holds numerous military awards and decorations, including the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star for Valor with Oak Leaf Cluster, and three Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses.
At West Point, he was first captain of the Corps of Cadets, president of the Class of 1959, captain of Army’s undefeated football team and an All-American halfback. He won the Heisman Trophy as the nation’s outstanding college football player.
Dawkins remains active in a variety of national, community and philanthropic roles. His listing of board service includes the Intrepid Museum; the Wharton Business School’s Center for Leadership and Change Management; the Secretary of Defense Policy Board; the boards of trustees of the United States Military Academy, Hampton-Sydney College, Emory University Business School, and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.
Mahoney is serving as the inspector-instructor of the 6th Motor Transport Battalion, Red Bank. He graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 1995, receiving his commission as a second lieutenant through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps. He also has received master’s degrees from the Naval Postgraduate School and The Pennsylvania State University.
Mahoney has held numerous command and staff positions within the Marine Corps and on multinational forces during his 17 years of active duty service. He has deployed multiple times in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. His personal decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (with gold stars in lieu of fourth award), and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.
The Mental Health Association has been providing advocacy and services to families in Monmouth County for more than 62 years. “Our agency has a history of identifying gaps in the mental health system of care and finding ways to close those gaps often through collaborations and partnerships with other organizations as well as government entities. What is clear, both to our organization as well as our national affiliate Mental Health America, is the current pressing and ongoing need to fill the gaps for mental health service of our military and their family members,” said Wendy DePedro, executive director of the Mental Health Association of Monmouth County.
