A Real Life Happy Ending from QL+

By Amanda Dunn

Sometimes in life, all the stars seem to align just right and something amazing, something wonderful, something unforgettable happens.

Exactly that happened at our annual Veterans Day BBQ this year and I’ve been trying to decide whether to share the story or not ever since. Here at QL+, we are always mindful of honoring and protecting those who have served our country with courage.

Then I heard today’s headlines – including the latest fatalities and injuries in Afghanistan – and I thought that it’s definitely time for a feel-good story this Thanksgiving week. So here is a true real-life story with its very own happy ending.

Enjoy – and a happy Thanksgiving to all our supporters!

Chapter I: Various event sponsors unable to attend the QL+ Veterans Day BBQ 2011 generously offer their admission tickets to injured Veterans.

Chapter II: Chairman and Founder of QL+, Jon Monett, gives two of these tickets to injured Veteran, Jack, & his new wife, Jane*.(*While I’ve changed some of the names to protect privacy, the story remains no less remarkable and no less real.)

Chapter III: Meanwhile, Blanche Powell of HNL Getaways hears about QL+ from a mutual acquaintance. With a husband who’s retired AF and a son who served 4 years in the Marines, including 3 tours of Iraq, Blanche decides to support QL+ and to help make a difference in the lives of those injured in service to our country. Blanche offers QL+ an item for auction at our BBQ on Sunday November 6: one week’s accommodation at a luxury resort in the Dominican Republic.

Chapter IV: QL+ supporters show up in force on a beautiful fall afternoon to meet, mingle & make merry at the QL+ Veterans Day BBQ – a fun-filled family event that inspires innovation and honors our nation’s heroes.

Chapter V: One of these supporters, Mary*, finds herself talking with Jack & Jane. During the chat, Mary discovers that, although recently married, the young couple has not yet had a honeymoon.

Hopefully you can see where this is going …

Chapter VI: Deeply touched by Jack’s love for his country and by the couple’s love for each other, despite the hand that life has dealt them, Mary bids & wins the destination holiday in our live auction – and promptly gives it to Jack and Jane as the honeymoon they never had.

So, thanks to Mary, thanks to QL+ and thanks to other generous donors who have offered to pay airfares & all other expenses, Jack & Jane are packing their suitcases and getting ready to jet off to the sunny Caribbean for an all-expenses paid vacation of a lifetime - literally!