A STEP FORWARD: OVERCOMING OBSTACLES FUNDRAISER

Fox & Friends Weekend News Anchor, Army National Guard Veteran, and former CEO of Concerned Veterans for America, Pete Hegseth, will present his inspirational story during a luncheon to support the Parkinson’s Association of Southwest Florida (PASWFL). Mr. Hegseth’s talk will take place at the PASWFL’s signature fundraising event — “A Step Forward: Overcoming Obstacles”—on Friday, March 31, 2023, at the Ritz-Carlton Naples, 11:30am-2:00pm.

The PASWFL presents the event to raise funds for the programs and services they offer to the nearly 7,000 people in Collier and Southern Lee County with Parkinson’s Disease, and their care partners. Registration is $300 and includes a luncheon and presentation. VIP registration is $500 and includes a luncheon, presentation, and an invitation to a private pre-lunch VIP reception with Pete Hegseth. Collier County President of FineMark National Bank and Trust, Adria Starkey, is the Honorary
Chair of the PASWFL’s signature fundraiser.

“We welcome Pete Hegseth to Naples to speak in support of our organization which has been serving the local Parkinson’s community for twenty-five years,” said Bill Morgan, PASWFL Board Chair. “As an advocate for expanding services and medical support for underserved Veterans, Mr. Hegseth can speak to our theme of overcoming obstacles, which includes the need to expand services for those in our community with Parkinson’s Disease— a disease for which there is no cure. Funds from this—our signature fundraising event—help those in our community with PD to live well.”

Pete Hegseth is the former CEO of Concerned Veterans for America (2012-2015), where he built the largest conservative Veterans advocacy organization in America and led the charge for real reform at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Before that, Pete was Executive Director of Vets for Freedom (2007-2010), leading the “ground truth” charge for success on the battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In 2012, Captain Hegseth was deployed to Afghanistan with the Minnesota Army National Guard where he was the senior counterinsurgency instructor at the Counterinsurgency Training Center in Kabul. Before that, First Lieutenant Hegseth deployed to Iraq with the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division for their 2005-2006 tour, serving as an Infantry Platoon Leader in Baghdad in 2005, and as a Civil-Military Operations officer in Samarra in 2006. A year before that, Second Lieutenant Hegseth served in Guantanamo Bay (JTFGTMO) with his New Jersey Army National Guard unit from 2004-2005. Pete was recently promoted to the rank of Major and is in the Individual Ready Reserve.

Mr. Hegseth is currently a co-anchor of FOX & Friends Weekends. He joined the FOX network as a contributor in 2014 and continues to provide analysis and commentary across the network’s daytime and primetime programming.

For over twenty-five years, PASWFL has provided front-line evidence-based, effective programs and services that improve the quality of life, educate, enrich, and

Adria Starkey Honorary Chair

empower our community members affected by PD and related neurological diseases. Each week the PAWSFL offers more than 20 programs and support groups for members with PD and their Care Partners in addition to the greater Southwest  Florida community. Becoming a member is free; the application can be found online at www.parkinsonassociationswfl.org.

The event is sponsored by BrightStar Care, FineMark National Bank & Trust, The Wellington Group at Morgan Stanley, The George and Helen Fox Family Foundation, and Life In Naples Magazine. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available.

For more information, visit ParkinsonAssociationSWFL.org or call 239-417-3465.

AT A GLANCE

WHAT: A Step Forward, Overcoming Obstacles – Lunch with Speaker Pete Hegseth (Fundraising Event)

WHERE: The Ritz-Carlton Naples, 280 Vanderbilt Beach Rd, Naples, FL 34108

WHEN: Friday, March 31, 2023, 11:30am

WHO: Presented by and benefitting the Parkinson’s Association of Southwest Florida

COST: Individual Registration: $300 (includes lunch and presentation by Pete Hegseth.) VIP Registration: $500 (includes lunch, presentation, and an invitation to a
private pre-lunch VIP reception with Pete Hegseth)