Honoring Our Heroes: A Weekend With Crown Royal

A few weeks ago, I got an email from the Crown Royal team asking if I wanted to attend an all-expenses paid trip to Indianapolis for the Jeff Kyle 400 at The Brickyard. “Um, hell yeah!?” Knowing nothing about NASCAR or this specific event at the time, I had no idea what to expect, except the fact I would be indulging in a free trip that included an abundance amount of the liquid gold. I quickly turned to the internet to figure out who Jeff Kyle was, and just why the hell we were honoring him. After scrolling through the internet a while, and discovering more about this race, I quickly realized that this weekend was much more than just an excuse to ditch work and have some fun.

Jeff Kyle, 37, of Lorena, Texas is a U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant who served for eight years from 2000 – 2008 in the infantry and reserves. While serving with the 3^rd Marine Division, Kyle received the Navy Achievement Medal for leading the first Marine detachment to transport a nuclear submarine through hostile waters. During his time in the military, Kyle was deployed to Iraq twice, Africa and several other locations overseas.

The weekend was not only honoring Jeff Kyle, but all the heroes that have given back. Over the course of the next 3 days, I met with some of the greatest and most inspiring people I have ever had the pleasure of speaking with. I chatted with Sergeant Brendan Marrocco, who was hit with an EFP (Explosively Formed Projectile) in 2012 that took both his arms and legs off and killed his gunner. This made Brendan the first ever American Soldier to survive a quadruple amputee. Later that year he was the first bilateral arm transplant recipient at the John Hopkins Hospital.

I met Hector Manley who lost both of his legs in an earthquake when he was just 11 years old. He has since dedicated his life to the Wheel Chair Foundation that single handedly donated 280 wheelchairs to El Salvador and 180 to Honduras to recipients that couldn’t afford insurance, and he has raised over $90,000 for the cause.

I got to meet with Staff Sergeant Benjamin Parker who was an explosive ordinance disposal technician, AKA the military’s Bomb Squad. While driving down the road, the two trucks in front of him got hit with an IED (Improvised Explosive Device). While both trucks were engulfed in flames, Benjamin risked his life and pulled each soldier out of the burning debris. As he tearfully recalls the story, “Everyone was pretty messed up, but we got everyone out.”

It was truly an emotional and inspiring weekend meeting with these heroes and learning more about their individual stories. After the Saturday presentation it was time to indulge in some of the best drinks and food i’ve ever had. Below are some of the cocktail recipes if you want to try them at home along with a few photos from the event Saturday evening.