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Buck Off Challenge helps veterans visit memorials

South Florida Sun Sentinel - 3/20/2020

With his red cowboy hat in one hand and his other hand firmly grasping the saddle, Patrick Waldrop tamed the wild mechanical bull during the third annual Buck Off Challenge.

Taking place at the Wellington National Golf Club, the event raised a record $38,000 to benefit Southeast Florida Honor Flight, a Stuart-based nonprofit organization that transports World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War veterans to Washington, D.C. four times a year to visit the memorials built to honor their service and sacrifice.

Celebrity judges were former NFL running back Ladell Betts; Spero Georgedakis, president and CEO of Good Greek Moving & Storage; real estate brokerage owner Ryan Beckett; and crowd favorite, 95-year-old World War II veteran Carmin Yannotta, of West Palm Beach.

While the April and May trips have been delayed until the fall because of the COVID-19 outbreak, each flight costs more than $100,000 to take 80 veterans for free.

Walking away with its third consecutive championship was The Real Bucking Deal with 397 out of a possible 400 points, with 13-year-old Trent Ferrier earning a perfect 100 score to lead and good performances from 8-year-old Avery Mills, her father Donnie, and his father, Andrey.

The Most Entertaining Team prize went to Team Professional Bank dressed as fighter pilots called The Danger Zone.

The main sponsors of the Buck Off Challenge were philanthropists Sanjiv Sharma and Nadine Allen; Southeast Florida Honor Flight Chairman Janet Hoose, president of Fort Lauderdale-based Fuel Facility Management; Professional Bank; and Carolex Stables.

Visit honorflightsefl.org.

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(c)2020 the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

Visit the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) at www.sun-sentinel.com

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