BRACE Volunteers Support 2024 Junior ROTC Gator Games

On Saturday, September 28, 2024, from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., VISTA Leader Carolyn Gray led a team of 16 volunteers, including adult CERT members, teen CERT members, and community volunteers, in hosting a medical tent and hydration station at the 2024 Junior ROTC Gator Games held at Escambia High School.

The Gator Games is a series of field-event competitions where cadets from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida NJROTC units compete against each other to celebrate the beginning of their drill season in a friendly competition.

At the Gator Games held at Escambia High School, approximately 220 JROTC cadets from 10 schools, including Mobile, AL, Escambia County, Milton, FL, and Navarre, FL, competed in games that highlighted various skills. During the 8-hour day, the volunteer team assisted by distributing 82 bottles of water to competing teens and supervising adults. The team also facilitated emergency care for a severely dehydrated teen, dealt with a nosebleed, a bee sting, overheated adults, and competitors with injured legs and knees.

The BRACE team, recognized for their leadership throughout the event and announced over the P.A. system, was appreciated by the Gator Games organizers.