OP_070518

opprairie.com News
the orland park prairie | July 5, 2018 | 3
Area support for vets in full swing
Orland Park country
club plays host to
Disabled Patriot
Fund outing
T.J. Kremer III
Contributing Editor
A salute to those who have
served the stars and stripes
came a few days early this
year to Silver Lake Country
Club in Orland Park.
On June 27, the country
club was host to the annual
Disabled Patriot Fund Golf
Outing, featuring special
guest, former Major League
Baseball player and manager
Ozzie Guillen.
The Disabled Patriot Fund
is a nonprofit volunteer organization
dedicated to providing
“financial relief for Illinois
U.S. military families
who have been adversely affected
by the War on Terror,”
according to its website.
Nearly 200 people, including
144 golfers, participated
in the outing, with opportunities
to bid on rare items
in a silent auction and compete
for prizes on individual
holes throughout the course.
Former Major League
Baseball player and current
Disabled Patriot Fund board
member Adam Russell said
all the proceeds from the
event would go toward providing
financial assistance to
wounded veterans who have
served since 9/11.
“It’s localized recipients,
so anyone the VA can’t help
and they need some other
form of financial assistance,
they come to us,” Russell
said. “They go through a
vetting process of what their
need is, what the situation is,
what the plan [is] after we’re
able to help them. And then
we help them out.”
Russell said he was encouraged
to join the organization
because of its strong
financial commitment to veterans.
“Being a former athlete,
some organizations have
asked me to champion for
their cause, and one thing
I had a hard time swallowing
was how much money
actually made it back to the
Former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was a special
guest June 27 at the Disabled Patriot Fund golf event at
Silver Lake Country Club in Orland Park.
Jeff Vorva/22nd Century Media
cause, whether it was administration
or salaries,” Russell
said. “The one thing that really
struck a chord with me
at this organization was over
90 cents on the dollar — we
have about a 94 cents on the
dollar average, where most
other organizations are about
40 cents on the dollar. So, I
absolutely love that most of
the money is going back to
these troops and people are
knowing exactly where their
money is going and who
they are helping.”
Guillen, who lives in Chicago
and said he plans to remain
there for the rest of his
life, noted he was motivated
“If you’re not from this country,
then you got to stand up first
because you’re in the greatest
country in the world. We live here,
and I think that’s the least thing
that you can do for them.”
Ozzie Guillen — Former White Sox manager, on
why he had his players in front of the dugout for the
national anthem
to give back to the city and
the country, which has given
him “a lot of good things.”
“I think [it’s important]
to give back to people, especially
people who help
this country to be where
we are,” Guillen said. “We
don’t always pay too much
attention to [veterans]. It’s
kind of nice when people do
stuff for them to remember
them. I think they remember
every day, but I think [more
so] on the Fourth of July
and special days. But I think
they should be remembered
more often, especially when
you’re not born here.”
As a manager, Guillen
was adamant about having
his players be in the front of
the dugout for the national
anthem.
“If you’re not from this
country, then you got to
stand up first because you’re
in the greatest country in the
world,” he said. “We live
here, and I think that’s the
least thing that you can do
for them.”
Grassland Volunteers lend a helping hand, share quarterly updates
Bob Rakow, Freelance Reporter
The Orland Grassland
Volunteers stay pretty busy
restoring the open prairie at
167th Street and LaGrange
Road, but they still have
time to help fellow environmentalists
in neighboring
Indiana.
Volunteers in July will
travel to the Hammond Bird
Sanctuary, a 9-acre site along
Lake Michigan, nestled between
the Commonwealth
Edison power plant and the
Hammond Marina.
“It’s the only natural area
for miles,” said Marnie Baker,
who led the Orland Grassland’s
quarterly meeting
June 26 at the Orland Park
Civic Center. “It attracts so
many species of birds. It’s
mind-boggling. This will be
our first time there.”
Approximately 20 volunteers
covered a variety of
topics at the quarterly meeting,
including viewing PowerPoint
presentations on the
birds, butterflies, frogs and
native species spotted in the
Orland Grasslands over the
“We’re a very busy, busy
group, and that’s important in
restoration.”
Marnie Baker — Orland Grassland Volunteers, on
the group’s activities
past few months.
“We’re a very busy, busy
group, and that’s important
in restoration,” Baker said.
The group held eight bird
walks during April and May,
as well as the Wes Serafin
Bird and Wildflower Walks.
Serafin, a member of the Illinois
Ornithological Society
and an Orland Grassland
Volunteer, died in 2017.
Volunteers also spent part
of the meeting talking about
ongoing efforts to control
invasive species in the
Orland Grasslands, such as
callery pear and bird’s-foot
trefoil.
Meanwhile, several native
plants are thriving in the Orland
Grasslands.
“Common milkweed, it’s
everywhere,” Baker said.
Other native flowers spotted
in the prairie include blue
flag iris, common elderberry,
butterfly milkweed and foxglove
beardtongue, she said.
In the meantime, a variety
of frogs — including the
western chorus frog, green
frog, northern leopard frog
and American bullfrog —
can be found in the grasslands,
she said.
“We did have a number of
bullfrogs this year,” Baker
said. “It’s nice to know we
have the frogs back, we have
the snakes back.”
Members of the Shrub
Club and the Old Plank
Road Prairie League also
discussed their restoration
activities at the meeting.