A fantastic Christmas Dinner Sponsored by AMVETS Post 18 Enfield CT. This is the second year in a row that Mike Gripp and Jerry Thibodeau of Post 18 coordinated this generous donation. Thank You Mike and Jerry for all you do for our veterans. What a great way to close out 2023!!!  We were honored to have over 1,000 Veterans and 576 Volunteers participate in TAVF events this year. Veterans thank you for your Service to this great nation. Volunteers thank you for helping us keep our promise to our Veterans that they will never be forgotten.

This year’s dinner was served with the assistance of the Girl Scouts, Volunteers and TAVF Board members. The food was excellent, plentiful, and served with a smile. The outstanding decorating was a combined effort led by Diania and Lori.

Once again to close out this great dinner Quilts of Valor presented four quilts to well deserving veterans: Phil Hansely, Mike Gripp, Diane Russo, and Vicky Iversen.

Happy Holidays and best wishes in the New Year to all the volunteers and Veterans.

As always, the volunteers from the Quilts of Valor, Branford Congregational Church, Branford Rotary Club, Branford High Scholl (Interact Club), Disabled Veterans Association and the great piano playing by Lori Nicholson made this a truly special day for our Veterans. The food was excellent, plentiful and served with a smile. The quilts present by “Quilts of Valor” really brought smiles out of four of the veterans, Melissa Weaver, SGT CT Army National Guard, Military Police 1996-2004, John Weaver, CW5 US Navy 1981-1992, CT Army National Guard 1992-2022, TAVF Board Member 2017-Present, Jeannette Davis, SPC Army 1988-1991, Brady Brown, SGT, Marine Corps, 1970-1980.  Thank you to all the volunteers and the Veterans that came out to enjoy this special day.

On behalf of everyone at Take a Vet Fishing (TAVF) , we would like to say Happy Veterans Day and thank you for your service. 2023 has been a great year, over a thousand Veterans have fished with us. Looking forward to seeing all the veterans at our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

Once again, the CT weather provided us with a wonderful wet but surprisingly warm day. Thank you to the Guilford Rotary Club for the coffee and bagels, Bank of America, for the outstanding lunch of Burgers, Dogs, the big hit Mac and Cheese, chips and baked beans, and the Jug Head Band for the outstanding music. The fish were few, but the happiness was plentiful!! Fishing has come to an end for 2023, thank you to the 1200 veterans that have participated in this year’s events. The addition of the offshore charters was a great hit and will continue next year, lucky winners will be selected by a random generator and raffles.  

What a wonderful day to rain, Splashes of Hope unveiled a TAVF mural that was hung on the wall in the multipurpose room on the 4^th floor of the Newington VA Hospital on the 16^th of October. Splashes of Hope is a 501 c (3) nonprofit organization dedicated to brightening the world with ART. Splashes of Hope creates artwork for positive change, transforming medical and social service centers into welcoming, positive environments for patients and staff. Since 1996, thousands of art pieces have been created to brighten and comfort millions of viewers across the country and internationally. Splashes of Hope is a nonprofit organization headquartered in New York, with chapters in Florida and Massachusetts. “FROM CLINICAL TO COLORFUL” a special thank you to Heather Buggee (our founders Neice) and James Knapp Splashes of Hope Consigliere for making this happen.

Sea Sprite 3 August 2023

Great day of fishing and swapping Sea Stores with Captain Matt, First Mate Joana, Chris Barker (Active Guard Major) Bonnie Mills (Army Veteran, John Weaver (Retired CW5) and Juan Reyes-Matos (Navy Veteran) . Caught over twenty fish and we all limited out. Can say enough positive things about this boat and crew. Thanks again for supporting the great hero’s of this country.

Take A Vet Fishing, Inc. is a nonprofit outreach program dedicated to showing gratitude to our armed services veterans. Our mission is to provide veterans with a relaxing day of fishing in an environment that supports caring, community and companionship. The TAVF program was started in 2007 and, since its inception, we have brought out over 12,000 veterans to fishing events at no cost to them. Our costs which consist of purchasing bait, tackle, equipment, and food are paid 100% by generous donations from people like you! Since 2013, our annual golf tournament has been our biggest and most successful fundraising event of the year, and we look forward to continuing that success this year.

If you and your teammates are interested in participating or sponsoring, please contact Glenn Durgan gdurgan@tavf.org or Jeff Arnson jarnsontavfe@gmail.com

When: July 15th 2023, 11:00 am Check in, 1:00 pm Shot Gun Start, 7:30 PM Dinner, Awards, and acknowledgements

Where: Quarry Ridge Portland CT.

Registration / Sponsors: https://tavf.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2023-tavf-golf.pdf

A little rain didn’t stop these women from having a great day of fishing. Thank you to all the Women Veterans for your sacrifices and selfless service to this great nation.

Thank you to; Christine Cohen, Ct.State Senator for Branford; Robin Comey, Ct. State Representative for Branford and Susan Trucksess, Retired minister First Congregational Church of Branford for attending.

A Special Thank You to Quilts of Valor for recognizing women Veterans:
Lisa Owen Hicks, Army 1985-1989.
Shannon Esslinger, Coast Guard 2004-2009. Candace La Fleur, Navy 1980-1986.
Ashleigh Foreman, Air Force 1974-1976.
Tara Hoffman, Air Force 1997-2005.

Jersey Mike’s Branford CT location annual Day Of Giving.

$15,000 raised for TAVF this year. THATS NOT A TYPE O

Thank you Marc the owner, the energizer bunny Tony, Jess, employees and the volunteers supporting the Branford CT store.

Thank you to all of the patient customers! It was a crazy day, over 1500 sandwiches in ten hours of business WOW!!

The President of Take a Vet Fishing Jeff Arnson
would like to extend a personal thank you for your outstanding contributions.

Thank you for supporting Take a Vet Fishing. Your generous support will enabled us to continue to take the Hero’s of this nation “veterans” fishing!

TAVF President
Jeff Arnson

Take a Vet Fishing Branford CT is once again the sole Benefactor of Jersey Mike’s Branford CT location annual Day Of Giving.

Hoping to raise a record-breaking amount for TAVF this year. Jersey Mike’s Subs, known for its authentic fresh sliced/fresh grilled subs, asks customers to eat a sub and help CT Take a Vet Fishing continue its mission “To get Veterans out for a relaxing day of fishing. Everything provided equipment, food, beverages, and transportation.”

Day of Giving, on Wednesday, March 29, Branford Jersey Mike’s will donate their resources and every single dollar that comes in to TAVF Branford CT.

Jersey Mike’s Branford location has raised over $21,000 in past events to support Take a Vet Fishing.

The President of Take a Vet Fishing Jeff Arnson
would like to extend a personal invitation to you and your family to visit Branford Jersey Mike’s Subs 845 West Main Street, Branford, CT 06405, phone number 203-481-8050 on 29 March The Day of Giving (DOG), when 100 percent of sales – every penny – goes to help a Take a Vet Fishiing.

Ordering Tips

1. CALL-IN your order on Tuesday to assure timely pickup!
2. Try a Catering Box = Feeds 10!
3. Each box holds 4 Giant Subs
4. Stick with Std. menu items

Thank you for supporting Take a Vet Fishing. Your generous support has enabled us to take over 12,000 veterans fishing!

TAVF President
Jeff Arnson

BYC/Take A Vet Fishing

WTNH8 also 2016 (2 min)

https://youtu.be/3lFDwrkvNoM