Republican women seek our Our Founder

EASTON — The Mid-Shore League of Republican Women, on March 11, will welcome two veterans to talk about the needs of returning service men and women.

John “Giddyup” Bunch, a former Marine captain, fishing charter captain and founder of Operation Open Arms, will talk about the Operation Open Arms program he has implemented in Florida. His program began in 2005 with a chance meeting with a young soldier who was between deployments to Iraq and wanted to go fishing. Bunch took him fishing at no charge as a way of saying thank you for his service.

While he continued his fishing charter business, he also took on the needs of returning vets in his area, finally establishing a 501(C)(3) organization in 2008 after having funded Operation Open Arms on his own for three years. The organization has provided for veterans weddings, vacations and a team of professionals to offer psychological counseling, among other services.

Retired U.S. Navy Capt. William Dial, an Oxford resident and a veteran of the Vietnam Conflict, will talk about the current situations returning veterans face and the services needed to support them.

The Mid-Shore League of Republican Women will meet at 6:30 p.m. March 11 at the Comfort Inn in Easton. The meeting is open to the public.