In honor of the Kentucky Derby, a local non-profit "Folds of Honor" and it's Junior Board of Members partnered with Riot Hospitality Group to hold a first of its kind event to raise money for military family scholarships.
Former Arizona Cardinals Quarterback John Skelton emceed Saturday's "Heroes and Horseshoes " event and hopes the community can chip in for a great cause.
"The least we can do is raise some money and make sure there are scholarships for those families," Skelton said.
Representatives with the non-profit, like Taylor Jackson, say that Folds of Honor has given out $295,000 in education scholarships.
"Our mission is to honor their sacrifice and educate the legacy, we fell short of our 25 scholarships, so we're hoping today to raise enough for the next calendar year," Jackson said.
With donors dawning derby apparel and plenty of auction items to bid on, organizers were happy with the turnout.
"We're honored that everyone's coming out today, we're honored that everyone's having a good time, scholarships are important and important to military families and we hope we can grow awareness for that," Lissa Druss added.
The junior board for Folds of Honor, Arizona wants to appeal to different age groups in hope of having a bigger ripple effect on future generations
"I saw the impact and how tragedies of the war would be, so for me not being in the military and not having family involved this is a great way for me to personally give back and raise money for a good cause," Skelton said.
For information, text "Derby" to 833-843-1313 or visit the organization website.
To purchase general admission tickets or a table, please visit Riothouse.com, and click "events," or visit the event page.
Sponsors include:
Hensley Beverage Group
Two Twelve Direct
Breakthru Beverage Group
Lockton Companies
Tito's Handmade Vodka
Imperial Financial Group Riot Hospitality Group
Graydon Wyatt Cosmetic Dentistry
BlueCross Blue Shield of Arizona
Genghis Grill
Folds of Honor AZ Junior Board
Denver Collection