On Saturday 4 November 2017 we celebrated the 242nd birthday of the United States Marine Corps.

The room was sold out to 275 guests as we held the party at the Best Western Gateway Grand in Gainesville.

After a traditional ceremony led by Sandra Torres-Pintos, we had dinner followed by a tribute to World War I veterans and a dedication of the ball to Marine Bill Cummings, who wanted to attend but passed on October 19, 2017.

Our Guest of Honor was Colonel William F. "Lin" Williams III (USMC, Ret) from Lake City.  His talk was about Marine leadership and living up to the Marine Corps legacy.

Linda Yakubsin was presented with the Jim Yakubsin Vision Award and Marine Bob Wright was awarded the 2017 Marine of the Year.

Our Master of Ceremonies for the evening was TV 20's Dave Snyder. We appreciate his continuing support for our group and veteran groups in the community.  

Perhaps the biggest difference this year was the entertainment. Those Guys is a band out of Orlando that play a variety of music.  They were exciting, engaging, energetic and had the dance floor crowded.  

It was a grand evening.  We look forward to hitting this high standard next year on November 10th.