Annual ‘Huskies and Heroes’ golf tournament in Vail benefits students and soldiers

The annual Huskies and Heroes Golf Tournament was born of a couple of good intentions.

One of those came from Vail Realty founder Bart Cuomo’s stint as an assistant football coach at Battle Mountain, where he learned about the lengthy road trips facing athletes, and the high costs of equipment and fees. The other good intention came from a desire to provide a bit of fun to active duty military members — mostly from the U.S. Army’s facility at Fort Carson near Colorado Springs.

Over the past 20 years, the tournament has raised more than $250,000 for equipment and paying fees and expenses for kids who need a bit of help.

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While the tournament is a fundraiser for the kids, it’s also a getaway for the military members.

Veteran Scott Leeling has participated in the event for the past 15 years or so. He’s retired now but recruits participants.

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“We primarily focus on the working man (and woman) from the army,” Cuomo said.

Cuomo said a former coach at Battle Mountain was a Naval Academy graduate, and it was his idea to bring up a group from Fort Carson.

These days, between 40 and 50 people are invited every year. Cuomo’s company, Vail Realty, is a property management firm, and that company usually supplies the lodging, with the cooperation of unit owners, of course. Several units are being renovated this summer, but there will still be 40 or more participants, Cuomo said.

While most of the soldiers are from Fort Carson, people come from all over. There have been 10th Mountain Division soldiers from Fort Drum, New York.

Civilians come from the Front Range and other states to participate and donate.

In addition to lodging, sponsors including Alpine Bank, FirstBank, Vendetta’s, Beaver Liquors and others help fund the event and provide funding for the high schoolers.

The draw for the military members is a chance to just get away for a couple of days.

“You can forget everything and just come up and have fun … it’s created a bond between us,” Cuomo said.

Leeling said the event at first was just active-duty personnel but has expanded to families.

“It’s a great experience for young servicemen and women,” Leeling said. “The entire community wraps its arms around the soldiers, and we return the favor.”

Besides lodging, donations are also needed to pay for food and other expenses. Soldiers are known for healthy appetites, Leeling said, adding they’re also known to drink a few beers.

The tournament is a good experience for the young athletes, too. Some of the youngsters carry bags and get a chance to meet the soldiers and learn about life in the artillery or as snipers.

“They’re excited to meet us, and we’re excited to meet them,” Leeling said.