To show its appreciation for the Marines at Camp Pendleton's School of Infantry, West, the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce proudly hosted its 4th Annual Patriotic Rally, Barbecue and Car Show Sept. 14 at the base.
SOI is a training division at Camp Pendleton where young men in the Marine Corps learn advance infantry skills. Its intense, nine-week training schedule does not afford these Marines the liberty to leave the base.
A large percent of these servicemen will be deployed into hostile environments, like Iraq, when they graduate from SOI. The chamber's Armed Services Committee created this event nearly four years ago as a way to say thank you to these Marines for their service.
“This is our effort to salute these young heroes, who volunteer to protect our nation in war,” said Ted Owen, president and CEO of the chamber. “We are happy to do anything we can to ensure they have some fun before they deploy.”
Approximately 2,500 Marines from SOI attended the celebration, which included a classic car show, civilian food, entertainment and lots of prize give-a-ways.
Led by Dave Krohn of Chef DK Catering, a determined group of 20 chamber volunteers cooked more than 4,000 hamburgers donated by the SOI mess hall and 3,000 hot dogs donated by Albertson's La Costa. The servicemen also enjoyed McDonald's French fries, Who's Your Daddy Energy Drinks and ice-cold water.
Another group of volunteers, led by Richard and Linda Angleton of Carlsbad Self Storage and Andy Davis of Davis Associates/Realty Executives, welcomed the Marines and handed them the hamburgers. Hooters Girls helped distribute gifts by asking the troops trivia questions and then throwing them prizes.
The Marines also performed a variety of athletic feats to win backpacks, sporting items donated by K2 Inc., DigitQ MP3 players, personal care items donated by Kevin and Tracy Sharrar of Prudential Realty, Powerade products and much more. Each also received a 100-minute calling card courtesy of AT&T.
The event wouldn't have been as big of a success without the almost 90 classic car owners, who each donated $25 to Operation Clear Vision, a local charity that gives free prescription eyewear to dependents of those with a rank of staff sergeant or below. The cars were on display for the Marines to enjoy and also to vote for their five favorite vehicles.
The winners received patriotic trophies courtesy of Mike Miller of Morgan Development, who owns a 1956 Chevy Bel Air that came in third place. The winning car was a 1969 Chevy Camaro owned by Patricia Neuman.
This year's event also featured a drum circle organized by Tiffany Wyndham of Resounding Joy. The Marines thoroughly enjoyed the drum circle, which took place every 20 minutes throughout the event.
The Patriotic Rally would not be possible if it wasn't for the generous support of AT&T, McDonald's, Sodexo, K2, Northrop Grumman, TriWest Healthcare Alliance, Who's Your Daddy Energy Drinks, Morrow Development, Poseidon Resources, Resounding Joy, Westfield, Chef DK Catering, Fallbrook Smiles Project, Homewood Suites, Hampton Inn, Morgan Development, Albertson's La Costa, All About Promotions, AlphaGraphics, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, DigitQ, Hooters, MGP Callipers and 1-800-PACK-RAT.
The 5th annual event has been slated for September 2009. If you are interested in participating as a sponsor or volunteer, contact Michael Babowal at (760) 931-8400, ext. 208 or [email protected].

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