Florida: Sarasota Hosts 3rd Annual Female Veteran’s Retreat — September 29th -October 3rd

SARASOTA, Florida – Approximately twenty-five “women warriors” will again converge on Day Spring Episcopal Conference Center in Parrish, FL on September 29th – October 3rd, 2016 to participate in the free 3rd Annual Retreat especially planned for women who have served in our Armed Forces.  During this 4 day/3 night retreat, the women will share their military stories with not only each other, but also with professional people from the community who are volunteering their time to help resolve issues that especially affect WOMEN VETERANS . These women have chosen to attend this annual event not only to seek out the support of their peers, but also to discover any new resources that may be available to them.

This year, Rebecca Ludwick, (Ret’d Army Lt. and Retreat Coordinator) has worked countless hours to plan and to fundraise for this very special event.  “No one seems to realize the work involved in pulling something like this off for us veterans; especially without a full staff”.  But Georgie Alfano-Cronk knows very well what the job entails.  She did it for the first 2 years and has willingly taken a back seat this year to allow Rebecca to “try her wings and fly”.  “It is wonderful to see women veterans coming out of their shells and realizing their dreams” said Ms. Alfano-Cronk. “We were creative and beautiful women before we joined the military, so why shouldn’t we revert back to that image when we leave the military?”

There are now over 214,000 female veterans on active duty serving our country and 118,000+ additional women serving in the Reserves.  Women warriors make up approximately 15% of the United States Armed Forces and the total number of women veterans has reached 1,853,690 and is steadily rising.  And sadly included as part of those statistics are that 1 out of every 5 veterans do suffer from Military Sexual Trauma (MST).  As a community; we have come to realize that “unchecked” Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) can easily lead to substance abuse issues.  And since it is a real concern in dealing with such sensitive female issues, Rebecca and Georgie want to stay on top of it and assist as many Women Warriors as possible prior to them becoming downtrodden or addicted to drugs and alcohol.

If you know of any female veterans who may need assistance, please encourage them to take the time to visit Georgie’s website at:  www.femaleveteransunite.com  Here they will be able to view a video of the 2 prior retreats and to possibly become involved with a veteran’s support group.

*We would also like to recognize and to thank the following people/organizations for their financial and/or in-kind donations:

Sarasota County Veteran’s Commission, Gold Coast Eagle Distributing (John Saputo, Hugh Shields, and Nate), Home Depo, Patty Maybray (also a female veteran) at the Cattleman Rd. store, Applebee’s Restaurant, located on Fruitville Road, and Dr. Margurite Barnett – Owner of the Mandala Med Spa, a local reconstructive surgeon, and a female veteran herself.

The wheels are already turning in preparation for next year’s FREE retreat.  There have been several organizations that have already contacted us and shown an interest in doing anything that they possibly can to assist the women who have served this great nation.  Might you be interested, too?

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