PORT ANGELES — Two old friends of an effort to create the first-in-the-nation refuge for families of fallen military will speak at the third annual Captain Joseph House dinner and auction at C’est Si Bon from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday.
Tickets are $85 for general admission and $75 for veterans for the gala at the restaurant at 23 Cedar Park Drive in Port Angeles.
All proceeds will go to the Captain Joseph House Foundation, which is renovating founder Betsy Reed Schultz’s former bed-and-breakfast, The Tudor Inn, into a Port Angeles getaway for grieving family members who died in combat.
Tickets are still available for the gala, which will feature speakers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma: Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl, deputy commanding general of I Corps, and Lt. Col. Celia FlorCruz, the soldier readiness officer for the 7th Infantry Division and the head of the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response Prevention Program.
Dinner will be prepared by C’est Si Bon chef Michele Juhasz. Diners will have the choice of one of three entrees: filet mignon, seafood in parchment or roasted vegetables with wild rice for vegetarians.
Cello and violin music will be performed.
Live, silent auctions
Along with dinner will be silent and live auctions and seven raffles.
Among the 37 items in the silent raffle will be a Craftsman tool set, a play castle and castle figurines, and a spa package.
Live auction items will include two one-week trips to Cabo San Lucas; four overnight trips, each for two people, to Victoria, two on the Victoria Clipper out of Seattle and two on the MV Coho ferry out of Port Angeles; two quilts; and tickets to the musical “Annie” in Seattle.
There will be raffles for $5, $10 and $20. Prizes include a Seahawks basket, a case of international wines and one night at the Quinault Beach Resort and Casino for two.
Dahl is a heavily decorated veteran of four tours of duty overseas, most recently in Kabul to help oversee the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.
In addition to two combat deployments of her own, FlorCruz also spent two years in command at a warrior transition battalion and has a master’s degree in counseling.
The two, who are married, have helped Schultz as she has led the effort to create the Captain Joseph House, named for her son, Army Capt. Joseph Schultz, who was killed in combat May 29, 2011, in Afghanistan.
Once completed, the house at 1108 S. Oak St. will serve as a retreat to provide an all-expenses-paid weeklong respite for Gold Star families — named for the gold star flag granted to identify the families of fallen service members.
Dahl and FlorCruz met Schultz when they contacted her about staying at The Tudor Inn during a visit to Port Angeles to hike Hurricane Ridge, said Chris Seaton with the I Corps public affairs office at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in an email.
After Schultz explained that the inn no longer existed and the structure was under renovation as a retreat for Gold Star families, the two came to see what was being done, Seaton said.
“They met with Betsy and became fast friends,” he said. “Since then, they have committed to helping however they can.”
Dahl will discuss the importance of reaching out to families who have lost loved ones to help them heal, Seaton said.
“He says that too often, people who have something terrible happen remain victims because they don’t take the time to properly step back and deal with their grief,” Seaton said.
FlorCruz will offer her perspective on those who have suffered traumatic events, he said.
Memorial service
Work continues on the house. A grand opening that had been tentatively set in May has been postponed, but a May 24 memorial service is planned.
Visitors will be able to tour the house then and see the improvements that have been made so far, Schultz said.
For tickets and information about Saturday’s gala, phone Schultz at 360-460-7848 or Sam Coyle at 360-460-4079, visit www.CaptainJosephHouseFoundation.org or www.facebook.com/CaptainJosephHouse, or email CPTJosephHouse@cjhf.org.
