Gary has been announced as one of the guests expected at the Celebrity Invitational Golf Classic.  This tournament and banquet, which benefits The Salvation Army in Southern California, will be held Thursday, May 31 at Trump National Golf Club in Ranchos Palos Verdes, California.

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Also, just a note about commenting here.  As you may know, blogs are the frequent targets of spammers, and since we changed over to this format last year, we’ve had over 8,000 pieces of spam hurled at us — several hundred a day.  Although nearly all have been filtered by Aksimet’s fantastic software and our registration requirement, it still burdens our server (even though you don’t see them, the comments are still stored).  To help prevent the spam comments in the first place, we’ve added image authentication.  Next to the comment box, you’ll see a 5 digit number you need to enter before submitting your comment.  We’re sorry for the extra step, but it’s necessary as part of our arsenal of spam-prevention tools.

The GI Film Festival announced that Gary will host a screening of Forrest Gump as part of the festival events this coming Memorial Day weekend in Washington, D.C. Following the screening, Gary will be guest of honor at a VIP Reception to benefit the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial.

According to their website, the GIFF is the first film festival to celebrate and honor the heroic stories of the American Armed Forces in film. They will present films from both established and new filmmakers; some will be fan favorites while others will be screened for the first time.

The festival takes place May 26th-28th at the Ronald Regan International Trade Center, Washington, D.C.

Tickets go on sale April 10th. Please visit the GI Film Festival website for additional information.

There’s a nice column today in the Orange County (California) Register about Gary’s USO work and his unswerving support for serving troops and their families.

American Forces Press Service is reporting that Gary will be honored with the Military Officers Association of America Distinguished Service Award for 2007. The MOAA is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program highlighting the ways Americans and the corporate sector are supporting the nation’s service members. Dupont Corporation will also be honored.

The key elements for an individual to receive the MOAA Distinguished Service Award is selfless service, achievement of results and reflections of credit on the military community.

The awards will be presented in a ceremony on Capitol Hill on April 17.

Read more here.

Military newspaper Stars & Stripes has a few details about the LDB’s summer USO tour.  They’ll be playing five shows in Germany: Spangdahlem (May 8th), Hohenfels (May 9), Ansbach (May 10), Stuttgart (May 11) and Ramstein (May 14).  They also have one performance scheduled for Belgium, on May 12 in Mons.

Coverage of the LDB’s performance in Hawaii, including several pictures, can be found at the Honolulu Advertiser and KGMB-9.

(Thanks to those who’ve left a Guestbook entry thus far — see the prior post — as an experiment, it’s going really well!)

• The Fort Leavenworth Lamp has an article about Gary’s recent visit and his work with Operation Iraqi Children.
• The USO reports that Gary will be in Hawaii this weekend with the LDB.
• Our co-obsessives friends over at the livejournal community sinise_daily have scans of the recent interview Gary did for Guideposts magazine.  (If you have a livejournal, this is a terrific community to watch or join!)

The Lt. Dan Band currently has the following dates scheduled:

• Saturday, March 10: 4th Annual Steppenwolf Celebrity Golf Classic (Indian Wells, CA)
• Friday & Saturday, March 30-31: Fallsview Casino Resort (Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada)
• Saturday, April 28: House of Blues (Cleveland, OH)
• Thursday, May 3: Joe’s Bar (Chicago, IL) - Benefit for United States Vietnam Arts Program
• Saturday, May 5: Steppenwolf Theatre Gala (Chicago, IL)
• Saturday, July 21: Cantigny Park (Wheaton, IL) - details TBA

They are also planning a European USO tour for this summer.

Get out and see the LDB — you won’t be disappointed!

CBN News reporter Melissa Charbonneau recently sat down with Gary to talk about a variety of important issues. This is one of the lengthier pieces with Gary in quiet some time. The are 7 videos clips of the interview on line, so sit back and click around a bit: Gary’s CBN News Interview.

CBN News also did a nice feature about Gary and his work for disabled veterans. Here is a link to the article and video (different from the interview above): Star Power Behind Honoring Disabled Vets.

Gary talked with Andrea Roane of WUSA Channel 9 earlier today about Fisher House and the Lt. Dan Band concert Saturday at the Washington Auto Show to raise funds for that organization. He also talked briefly about OIC. Video of that interview is on-line here.

Photo from www.wusa9.com

Note: Not sure how long the video will be available so check it out soon.

From C-Span.org: Actor Gary Sinise discusses the building of the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial. The actor, who played a disabled soldier in “Forrest Gump,” is the National Spokesman for the project. During his National Press Club appearance, Mr. Sinise describes the campaign to raise $65 million for the memorial. Click here to view C-Span coverage of Gary’s National Press Club appearance.

Also, read today’s America Supports You article with comments from Gary as spokesperson for the Disabled Veterans Life Memorial Foundation here.

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Sorry for the very late notice — it wasn’t listed when I checked yesterday — but C-SPAN’s listings now show Gary’s appearance at the National Press Club at 1:00 pm eastern today. Yes, that’s about 10 minutes from now. Again, sorry! It really wasn’t there yesterday. (These listings have not been pushed to Tribune and other guide services, as far as I can tell — TiVo listings showing “US Senate” for that time.)

The good news is that CSPAN seems to have an extensive video library on their site, so hopefully this will turn up there, or on the Press Club’s site. We’ll let you know if we find it. Again, sorry for the late notice.

Gary’s upcoming National Press Club luncheon will apparently be used for announcing a $65 million initiative for a disabled veterans’ memorial. More here at the Marine Corps Times.

Also, there’s a quick mention here about Gary’s appearance at a special prom for teens suffering/recovering from kidney disease.

Gary is scheduled to appear on CNN’s Larry King Live tomorrow night (Saturday, January 13) to talk about the Fisher House charity.  Fisher House provides cost-effective housing near military and VA medical centers, allowing family members to be near wounded or ill military personnel or veterans while they are hospitalized.

The Lt. Dan Band is scheduled to perform a benefit for Fisher House on January 27 at the Washington Convention Center.  Details here.

Larry King airs at 9 pm EST/6pm PST, and is repeated several times Saturday night and early Sunday morning.   Check here or in your local listings for times.

(Thanks to Bob for the tip!)

Greetings and happy 2007! We hope you all had a great holiday season. Now that the last carol has been sung, the final champagne cork popped, etc., we’ve got some news to catch you up on.

• A New Year’s message from Gary, as well as new concert dates, have been posted on the Lt. Dan Band web site.
  
• You might remember that Gary and the LDB performed for Operation Support Our Troops Illinois back in July. A chunk of the funds raised at that event have gone to help provide internet access to wounded veterans at the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital in Maywood, Ill. (If any of you are visiting — a very special hello!)
  
• Kim Basinger and Gary are officially the new ambassadors for Swiss watchmaker Baume & Mercier. They participated in a photo session with celebrity photographers Jeff Lipsky and Black Little. The proceeds from the rights to the images have been donated to charitable organizations - environmental protection and the education of underprivileged children, two causes supported by Baume & Mercier’s charitable campaign. You can see one of the photos of Gary here.
  
• Open Season will be released on DVD on January 30.
  
• Gary was mentioned in an article about celebrity philanthropy in the Ottawa Sun.
  
• In an article about the CSI franchise from the Independent (UK) (via tvgrapevine.com) Gary’s character is referred to as “the most modern and complex and the least archetypal of the trio, his greyness suiting the post-September 11 Manhattan location.” And the National Post (Canada) has a Q&A with CSI creator Anthony Zuiker.
  
• Finally, OMG, are people really still asking this question? (At least they are asking someone who isn’t me.) Did this guy miss the first hour of Forrest Gump? Really, I want to know.