Elite Legacy Real Estate Team, along with KW Select have joined forces with several local co-sponsors to provide a free meal to veterans, families, and the community on Saturday, July 1 at Lake Shelter #5 at Lake Ponca from 4 pm to 7 pm.

Charlie Yundt, of Elite Legacy Real Estate, was an Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs (ODVA) veterans representative for almost five years, and wanted to do something this to benefit veterans, and Veteran’s Landing.

“That part of me life is still very near and dear to me. And being a veteran myself, it’s super important my business is geared towards veterans and helping the community anyway I can,” said Yundt.

The goal of the fundraiser is to raise as much as possible for Veteran’s Landing, an organization in Ponca City that serves as a place for veterans to learn about benefits, counseling, employment needs, housing, and meals.

The event will provided 1000 meals consisting of one hotdog, one bag of chips, one cookie and one bottle of water until supplies are gone. The meal is entirely free, but a donations box will be available, as well a fundraiser raffle.

“I’ve seen firsthand all that [Veteran’s Landing] do here, all the people that they’ve helped. They’ve literally helped provide rides to veterans to get to the medical facilities in Wichita, Oklahoma City, anywhere they need to go,” said Yundt. “Housing, food, clothes, you name it, they’ve literally done what they could to to get people where they needed to be. That is super important for our community to have, and I want to make sure they can continue to do their operations.”

Operations of all stripes are experiencing difficulties due to high food costs, thus Yundt and others that have joined him see it as twofold: they are giving to the community, and hope that by seeing what they are doing, the community chooses to give back in turn.

The event also serves as an opportunity for a Fourth of July celebration without fireworks, as fireworks can trigger PTSD or panic for some veterans who may feel as though they are reliving a traumatic event.

“We wanted to provide an environment where we could celebrate the Fourth of July without being in a situation where there are fireworks going off. I know fireworks are a constant problem for veterans like myself where we’ve deployed and we may have been exposed to certain things. IEDs, gunfire, things like that,” said Yundt. “Those memories don’t really create a happy Fourth of July for us, and so I wanted to provide a safe and unique area for us to do a big celebration. That way they can still celebrate the America that they fought for, and that’s a big thing I think a lot of people forget. They went and literally did everything they were required and asked to do, and then when they get home its not the same. It never leaves you. Anything that you go through over there doesn’t really go away.”

The event is also planned to have representatives from Veteran’s Landing with information available for veterans, along with assistance to link veterans with a multitude of other services such as medical, disability benefits, spouses that lost a veteran, and more.

“I’d love to help them get situated or pointed in the right direction at least so that they know they don’t just have one person coming once a week, they have someone local that is willing to assist them,” said Yundt. “Its super important, especially from the veterans service rep point of view. There was a myriad of times where I couldn’t help, from my position, to do what I wanted to do like drive people to their doctor’s appointments and things like that. And that is what the Veteran’s Landing does, that is why it is so important. It is a pivotal piece of our community that needs to continue, and they need a funding source, like this fundraiser. And that is why I put it together, that’s why I spent the time and the hours organizing and getting everything situated so that, long term, it’s a benefit.”

Co-sponsors for this event include Farha Wholesale Co.; Stolhand-Wells Group; Wildwood Wedding Venue; Ryker Removals; C. Johnstone Welding, Fabrication and Repair; Shelter insurance Agent - Michele Baskin; RCB Bank Mortgage Division - Jennifer Henderson; Flat Branch Home Loans - Misty Johnson; Pinstripe Painter Clint Rowe; Titan Title and Closing; and AK Laserworks.

Lake Shelter #5 is across from the swim and park areas at Lake Ponca. All proceeds or donations from this event will be donated directly to Veteran’s Landing.

Yundt shared that it can be difficult for veterans to be involved in the community unless other veterans are collectively there. For this reason, the event was organized with veterans in mind.

“I think that it is a time of year that everyone wants to celebrate, and I think it is important to remember the cost that it took for our independence. So I think it is important to remember the people that are sacrificing everyday for it, all those that sacrificed in the past, and the people who are no longer here who sacrificed the ultimate sacrifice for it,” said Yundt. “We have to remember that, and so we still celebrate our independence every year. We do celebrate Veterans Day, we celebrate Memorial day. But on these key points, just remembering that we still have people that are here, that still need help, is probably the most important. Because we can’t do anything for anyone that isn’t here anymore, but we can start changing the world for people that are here, and that is the most important part.”