Lettermen of the USA will be hosting the 5th Annual “One Yard at a Time Gala” at The Club in Birmingham on February 23. Guests will have the opportunity to meet and celebrate with military heroes, former college and professional football players and coaches to help raise money for veterans in need.
Proceeds from the Gala silent and live auction by Jack Granger, of Granger, Thagard & Associates, Inc. will benefit discharged veterans and wounded veterans in need.
Former University of Alabama football player and native of Etowah County, Darryl Fuhrman, is the founder and president of the Lettermen of the USA.
The roots of the organization began in 2011. After the devastating tornadoes on April 27, 2011, Fuhrman organized a flag football game between Alabama and Auburn players to help support the Governor’s Emergency Relief Fund.
That game raised $150,000, and since then, Lettermen of the USA has been helping those in need, specifically veterans.
“We have taken the many diverse skills of athletes and coaches and built a national platform,” Fuhrman said. “No organization is worth its salt that doesn’t help its own.”
This year’s Athletic Honoree at the One Yard at a Time Gala is Major Ogilvie who is the former University of Alabama Football Standout Running Back. He was an All-SEC First Team performer in 1979 and Second Team All-SEC in 1980. He was an Academic All-American in 1979. He played on two national championship teams in 1978 and 1979. He was selected as the Most Valuable Player in the 1980 Sugar Bowl and was captain of the 1980 team and holds the distinction of being named to the All-Decade Team for both the 1970’s and 1980’s. In 2014 he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.
Military Honoree is retired United States Army SSG Kirk Stafford who served eight years with the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command, 75th Ranger Regiment. Stafford is a Senior Associate on the Harbert Infrastructure team. Before joining HMC in 2019, he served as Lead Financial Analyst at Cigna, where he primarily focused on financial planning and analysis. Prior to Cigna, Stafford held a position as Director of Sales at Interconn Resources, LLC, marketing natural gas across the Southeastern United States. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Samford University and an MBA from Auburn University.
The Gala will feature music, dinner and live auction. The event will be held at The Club, located at 1 Robert Smith Drive in Birmingham, from 6 to 10 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at LotUSA.org. For more information, call 205-394-7521.