Saving Lives, One Tee At a Time
By Jackson Lee
For the past two years, Flying Tee has been supplying the Jenks community with tons of entertainment. Featuring indoor and outdoor entertainment areas, Flying Tee has something for everyone. The venue also hosts a wide variety of weekly events. One stands out from the rest however; First Responder Mondays. Every two weeks, first responders (including firefighters, police, and EMT) and veterans get to play for free, with discounts on food and beverages.
Flying Tee’s manager, Dionicia McCallum, helped organize the bi-weekly event.
“Our company as a whole has been about involving ourselves in the community,” McCallum explained, “we wanted to give back to those who dedicate their time and energy to putting others first.”
McCallum didn’t do all of the work herself however. She received help from the non-profit organization Eagle Ops. Eagle Ops’ main objective is to bring previously mentioned first responders, veterans, and even active duty members into a community. Johnathon “Shep” Shepherd co-founded the business with a similar goal of helping create connections with those who work tirelessly to save lives and defend freedoms.
“Our focus is connecting veterans with resources, and we do that through events like this. The opportunity for us to interact with veterans, patriots, and first responders is tremendous,” Shepherd described. “The opportunity they’ve provided us with such a great venue is amazing.”
“Even if you don’t like to play golf, you may just want to come out and just have dinner. Or maybe you might come out and have a soda, water, or beer with other veterans or patriots and socialize. We want to be able to make connections with this and offer help beyond just hitting some balls and relieving some stress,” Shepherd expressed.
Mondays may not be for everyone though, and golf isn’t the most friendly to new players. If neither of these things work for you, don’t worry. There are still plenty of other events that happen which support this community, and some aren’t even at Flying Tee.
“Not only does this happen on our Mondays, but it’s also grown into our Tuesday cornhole. The veteran cornhole day is the first Tuesday of every month,” McCallum mentioned. “First responders also get a 20% discount all year long for the bays, food, or anything else. So even if they can’t make it on Mondays, we still want to show our thanks for all the work they do.”
The success of these events has been amazing so far, but both parties want to continue to expand their operations to include more and more people.
“We would love to have a ‘Guns and Hoses’ style event where it's our police officers against our firefighters in a golf tournament. Or maybe host a challenger where we invite each branch of our armed forces to compete, since they all feel like their branch would come out on top.” McCallum stated.
Eagle Ops also hosts many other events, from a semi-annual 5k run, a backyard fire pit session hosted at various houses in and around the Tulsa area, and even firing range competitions.
The events are a big plus, but Shepherd wants Eagle Ops to be more than just a fun filled time for people to hang out and bond. He wants to be a resource to those who need it.
“We are a resource in the community to help them reach other resources. From VA claims assistance, to housing, to job placement, and maybe even a friendly ear who can listen to your problems. That's what we want to be.” Shepherd outlined.
With both companies wanting to reach more people, Flying Tee and Eagle Ops hope to make a change in the community and are welcoming to anyone who is willing to support these projects.
If you have any questions relating to these style of events at Flying Tee, you can call them at (918)-528-7717 or visit the contact page of their website at flyingtee.com. If being more directly involved with the community of veterans sounds more up your alley, Eagle is always open to partners or volunteers to make these goals a reality. You can call them directly at 918-527-4330, get in contact with their office at 918-600-1911, or text “EAGLE” to 51660 for more information about them.
Both Shepherds and McCallum are hopeful to create an environment with a welcoming atmosphere. As these events get bigger and bigger, they want to move their projects more national, to reach more of those who give.
“As we grow across the United States, we truly want to make a difference in each of our first responders lives.” McCallum.
