Gary Sinise and Collective Soul Help Salute Our Nation’s Heroes
On Monday, November 13, for the 17th consecutive year Golden Corral will once again thank more than 300,000 active duty and retired United States military personnel for their service with a free dinner buffet and beverage, while also raising donations for DAV (Disabled American Veterans). A tradition started in 2001 to celebrate our nation’s heroes, Golden Corral’s Military Appreciation Night has served more than five million complimentary meals to military personnel and generated more than $12.9 million dollars in guest contributions to support community-based service initiatives for veterans.
“For the past 16 years, every Golden Corral restaurant and our guests have expressed our sincere gratitude for the brave men and women who have served this country. It is important we recognize the sacrifices they have made and continue to show our appreciation,” said Lance Trenary, President and Chief Executive Officer of Golden Corral. “We look forward to thanking our nation’s heroes once again this Military Appreciation Night with a complimentary meal and raising more funds for the programs and services provided by DAV.”
Golden Corral has enlisted Gary Sinise, celebrated actor/humanitarian, and Collective Soul, the platinum award-winning band, to record public service announcements for Military Appreciation Night. Sinise and Collective Soul are all actively involved in supporting active duty and retired military personnel through a variety of organizations and initiatives including tours to military installations overseas.
“This is the 13th year I’ve had the pleasure to partner with Golden Corral in supporting our troops, past and present, through Military Appreciation Night,” said Sinise. “The number of meals given away and amount of money donated in the past 16 years really distinguishes Golden Corral’s commitment to the military. I’m proud and happy to help raise awareness for Golden Corral Military Appreciation Night.”
Golden Corral will serve free dinner buffets with beverage from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on November 13 to any person who is or has served in a United States Military branch, including the National Guard and Reserves. State and local DAV representatives will be on-site at all Golden Corral locations coordinating the collection of donations from customers. While only current and former military qualify for the free meal, everyone is encouraged to come out and show support for our veterans. For more information on Military Appreciation Night, please visit http://www.goldencorral.com/military/.
Founded in 1973, privately held Golden Corral Corp. is headquartered in Raleigh, N.C. Lance Trenary serves as its president and chief executive officer. Golden Corral has 485 restaurants in 42 states as of January 1, 2017. The company’s vision is to be the leader in the family restaurant segment by making pleasurable dining affordable for every guest, at every restaurant, every day. Golden Corral restaurants nationwide have long been strong supporters of the U.S. Military and Disabled American Veterans (DAV). Golden Corral helped raise more than $1.4 million dollars for DAV in 2016 as part of its annual “Military Appreciation” initiative. Golden Corral is the founding sponsor of Camp Corral, a free “week of a lifetime” summer camp for children of wounded, disabled or fallen military families (www.campcorral.org). For more information on Golden Corral, visit www.goldencorral.com.
DAV empowers veterans to lead high-quality lives with respect and dignity. It is dedicated to a single purpose: fulfilling our promises to the men and women who served. DAV does this by ensuring that veterans and their families can access the full range of benefits available to them; fighting for the interests of America’s injured heroes on Capitol Hill; providing employment resources to veterans and their families; and educating the public about the great sacrifices and needs of veterans transitioning back to civilian life. DAV, a nonprofit organization with 1.3 million members, was founded in 1920 and chartered by the U. S. Congress in 1932. Learn more at www.dav.org.
