Melissa Herndon with troops last year
The WPBA will partner with the Great Escape Recreation Center at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar on March 9th and 10th for 8-ball and 9-ball tournaments. For the past three years, newly-elected WPBA President John Rousseau would purchase tickets for troops to attend the San Diego Classic at Viejas Casino. But he subsequently learned that more than half of the troops were under 21 years of age and not allowed into the casino.
That's when visits to the base began. Jeanette Lee, also known as the Black Widow, heard that many of the underage soldiers wanted to meet the WPBA players. Jeanette, along with her husband and professional player, George Breedlove, and other WPBA players, made a special visit to the base that year and players have been going back ever since.WPBA Player Cristina De La Garza noted, “Many of the troops going to Afghanistan begin their deployments through the San Diego bases and it's really important to support them in any way we can. I visited the base last year with many of the girls and we all had a blast, everyone was so welcoming.”
Players scheduled to visit the base are Jennifer Barretta, Eleanor Callado, Cristina De La Garza, Allison Fisher, Dawn Hopkins, Melissa Herndon, Melissa Morris, Sarah Rousey, Kim Shaw and Laura Smith. This year, Camp Pendleton and the Navy bases are invited to join the festivities at Miramar and once again this will include the Wounded Warriors.
For more information about the WPBA visit to Miramar please contact Jeannie Oshima at oshimajm@gmail.com.
