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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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.