Disability Resources Incorporated
Celebrity/Charity Quail Hunt
Supports Disability Resources Incorportated
May/June 2001
By CDR Mark Rockwell, SC, USN
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CDR Mark Rockwell, left, hunted with retired
Air Force Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager
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I recently had the honor of traveling to Texas
to hunt in the 12th Annual Big Country Celebrity
Quail Hunt. A total of 78 hunters, 60 guides,
38 celebrities, and a lot of eager dogs met
in February at the beautiful Embassy Suites
in Abilene, Texas, for fun, food and fund-raising
during this three-day event. The purpose of
the hunt is to raise money for Disability Resources
Incorporated (DRI). During this three-day event
we managed to raise over $100,000 for DRI.
Disability Resources is a nonprofit organization
created to meet the special needs of persons
with developmental disabilities, including Down’s
syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, and closed-head
injury.
The highlight of my trip was hunting with retired
Air Force Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager. It was an
honor and also a little intimidating to hunt
with General Yeager. Yeager is unquestionably
the most famous test pilot of all time. He won
a permanent place in the history of aviation
as the first pilot ever to fly faster than the
speed of sound in 1947.
Gen.Yeager is a popular celebrity at the hunt
and he is very generous with his time. I watched
as he signed autographs throughout dinner at
the final-night auction. He had donated an autographed
painting of himself flying a P-51 Mustang. The
painting sold for over $3,000 and it all went
to DRI.
During the final dinner at the conclusion of
the hunt, I had one of the DRI residents ask
me for an autograph. He obviously mistook me
for someone famous, but I was glad to accommodate
him and have a little small talk. He had Downs
syndrome and it was tough for us to communicate.
It was during this short conversation that I
was struck by what a good cause this is. This
young man was making a life for himself in spite
of his disability.
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