I received this email from Andy Powers who began Operation Take A vet Fishing, truly sad times
Dear friends and supporters of Operation Take a Vet Fishing, I can't believe that almost two years have passed since the first steps were taken to launch the Operation Take a Vet Fishing national initiative, after I decided to offer to take a few soldiers and veterans fishing in Long Island Sound as my way of just saying "thank you" to those who risked the ultimate sacrifice to preserve our nation's freedom. Thanks to people such as you, the initiative was a major success and by spreading the word, people from across the country were contacting me asking how they could make the same offer to take our military men and women fishing on their boats. Many of the contributors to this cause were commercial charter boats who depended on their boats to support their families, yet they not only gave up the revenues from the trip, they footed the boll for gas, bait, food and refreshments. Doing all this website work, posting photos and maintaining the OPTAV forum during my busy Tax Season (yes I am a tax professional) was extremely demanding on my time and I spent many long evenings here doing "double duty", not to mention the 750 hours I volunteer with the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary each year since I have become a proud member in support of saving lives on the water by promoting recreational boating safety through public appearances, news releases, marine surface patrols and doing vessel safety checks. But OPTAV, as I called it, was a major success and still today, people are going out of their way to initiate their own private programs in a common cause. Needless to say, 2006 was a very demanding year. Yet I was extremely proud of what WE accomplished, as Operation Take a Vet Fishing could not have been as successful as it was on a national basis without your help. So thank you once again, and as we say in the CG, Bravo Zulu! Unfortunately, economic adversities have cause Powers & Company (parent company to LeisureTyme.net,LLC) to lose a substantial portion of its revenues due to a combination of replacing our contract work with computer systems and economic cutbacks and financial hardships by many of our clients, and I will possibly have to sell the Anticipation and no longer be able to participate in the OPTAV initiative for which I worked so hard. Now today, in these extremely uncertain economic and political times the American people need not only the military support provided by our regular armed services, state national guard and our reservists, Americans need information that may help them survive these crucial times. We need INFORMATION. That is why I have updated the Tax Power website (
www.tax-power.com) to include updated information regarding already enacted and pending tax legislation as well as economic news that can help us better plan our future and stay informed of our world in which we live. So what I am going to ask is that you spread the word of our new Tax Power web site and assist us to enlighten Americans of the changes which are being faced today by our nation, and will affect our future. They say Knowledge is Power, but knowledge in itself is powerless unless it is shared and used. Thank you again for all your support. Warmest holiday wishes, Andy Powers Powers & CompanyPO Box 882Mahopac, NY 10541Office:845-621-9538Fax: 845-621-9520www.tax-power.com