Local military veteran named a PGA HOPE Ambassador
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News from Alex Haley, PGA HOPE Progam
RONAN — Local military veteran, Chuck Lewis of Ronan, was named a PGA HOPE Ambassador following the completion of a specialized training program during the PGA HOPE National Golf and Wellness Week at the famed Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) is a rehabilitative golf program that positively impacts more than 12,000 Veterans each year living with physical and cognitive challenges such as PTSD, TBI and amputees. As a PGA HOPE Ambassador, Chuck Lewis, will help champion the program – that is changing and saving lives - throughout the Pacific Northwest PGA Section.
Chuck Lewis, aka the “Montana Honor Guard,” is a United States Marine Corps (’70 - ‘74) and United States Navy Reserve (’80 - ‘88) Veteran. As an Avionics Technician, he worked on a variety of aircraft including the CH-53 (+Air Crew), A-4, OV-10 and FA-18 while serving at Marine Corps Air Stations in Tustin, California; Futenma, Okinawa; USS Okinawa/Tripoli; Republic of Vietnam; El Toro, California; and the Naval Air Warfare Center at China Lake, California.
Chuck has been given many awards: USMC ~ National Defense, Good Conduct, Vietnam Service, Vietnam Campaign, Aircrew Wings and Rifle/Pistol Expert. USNR ~ Naval Reserve and Rifle/Pistol Expert.
Through the Veteran Service Network of Missoula, Chuck heard of an opportunity for military veterans to learn how to play golf through the PGA HOPE program. He signed up for the August 2022 class that was held at the Missoula Country Club and took on the challenge. Golf is therapy for the mind and fitness for the body and sharing this PGA HOPE experience with other veterans falls in line with other veterans’ self-help projects that he believes in. Chuck started a program called “Plan Bee,” which uses beekeeping as therapy to help military veterans living in Northwestern Montana who may be disabled, wounded, or suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
