Participants in the Cincinnati area will get a chance this week to shoot alongside Navy SEALs, as a biennial fundraiser returns to the region with a sporting clays competition followed by a dinner featuring a former NASA astronaut. The event, known as Navy SEALs Take on Cincinnati, raises money for the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum and its network of programs supporting current and former SEALs and their families.
According to WLWT, the event brings together the sporting clays community and Navy SEALs, giving participants an opportunity to shoot alongside the elite operators while supporting the museum's charitable mission. David Todd, owner and founder of Sycamore Sporting Clays, and Rebecca Todd, the facility's manager, discussed the event with the station ahead of this year's gathering. The two-day fundraiser is structured with a sporting clays shooting competition set for Friday at Sycamore Sporting Clays, followed by a dinner and live auction on Saturday at the American Sign Museum, according to the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum.
A Shooting Range With Deep Cincinnati Roots
Sycamore Sporting Clays, situated along Lewis Road in Miamiville, has operated as a shooting course and event venue in the Cincinnati area since 1951, per the museum's account of the event.
Individual participant pricing for Friday's clay shoot was set at $400, or $1,500 for a foursome, while station sponsorships were available.
Former Astronaut Headlines Saturday's Dinner
Saturday's dinner and live auction moves to the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, a venue that houses nearly a century of historic neon and pre-electric signage. Retired Navy SEAL Captain Chris Cassidy, who also served as a NASA astronaut, was named the keynote speaker for the dinner.
The pairing of a decorated SEAL-turned-astronaut with a museum dedicated to Naval Special Warfare history underscores the scale of the guests the biennial event has attracted to the tri-state area.
Where the Money Goes
The National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum directs 90 cents of every dollar contributed toward its mission and charitable programs supporting current and former SEALs and their families, the museum reports. Among the museum's programs is Trident House, which offers complimentary respite at waterfront residences along Florida's Indian River.
The museum's charity network also includes a dedicated K9 Project that donates working dogs to Special Operations veterans and supports their transition to civilian life, alongside academic scholarship funds. The museum itself sits in St. Lucie County, just outside Fort Pierce, Florida, on the historic World War II training grounds of the original Navy Frogmen; it opened on Veterans Day in 1985 and was officially designated a National Museum by an act of Congress in 2008, per Wikipedia.
For Cincinnati-area shooters and dinner guests, the weekend offers a direct link between local sportsmanship and a national military charity headquartered hundreds of miles away in Florida. The shoot's location at Sycamore Sporting Clays gives the fundraiser a hometown anchor even as its proceeds flow toward programs serving SEALs and their families nationwide.
