Upcoming events.
Always Beside You Gala
GALA
❧This is not a fundraiser. It's a rescue.
Every day, veterans come home carrying wounds the world cannot see. Southern Cross Service Dogs trains and places highly skilled service dogs with disabled veterans — at no cost, for life. These dogs are not pets. They are precision-trained partners that pull a veteran back from the edge and give them their life again. On October 3rd, every seat filled and every dollar raised puts another dog beside another veteran who is still waiting.
Always Beside You — that's the promise. Tonight, we keep it.
It started with one Marine and one dog.
Southern Cross was founded by Brandon Marquez, a Marine Special Operations canine handler. Over seven years and four tours, his multi-purpose canine Shimanski went first into danger at his side — from braving heavy fire in Sangin, Afghanistan, to searching buildings in Mosul, Iraq. Shimanski was honored in Washington with the Animals in War & Peace Medal of Bravery.
When Brandon came home and faced the weight of post-traumatic stress, Shimanski was still beside him — the steady presence, alongside his family, that pulled him through.
That is the mission this evening exists to fund: more dogs, beside more veterans, for the rest of their lives.
Sponsorships
Our leadership levels carry a benefit no other gala can offer: name your own service dog and follow its journey from puppy to placement, with your team as its puppy raisers.
- Name your own service dog & follow its full journey to a veteran
- Your employees serve as the dog's puppy raisers
- Title naming: "[Company] presents the 2026 Gala"
- Featured in all event materials & communications
- Two reserved tables (16–20 seats)
- Private pre-event reception with board & honorees
- Invitation to VIP reception
- Custom post-event impact report
- Name your own service dog & follow its journey to a veteran
- Your employees serve as the dog's puppy raisers
- Co-presented recognition throughout the event
- One and a half reserved tables (12–15 seats)
- Speaking moment or video recognition at dinner
- Year-round digital recognition
- Invitation to VIP reception
- Named dog sponsorship displayed at event
- One reserved table for 10
- Recognition in video program
- Invitation to VIP reception
- Named recognition on stage
- One reserved table for 8
- Program & digital recognition
- Invitation to VIP reception
- One reserved table for 8
- Logo recognition in materials
- Social media recognition
- Invitation to VIP reception
- One reserved table for 8
- Digital & program recognition
- Acknowledgment from stage
- Invitation to VIP reception
Tables & Seats
Reserve your place at the Always Beside You Gala — or send a veteran or first responder in your stead.
Schedule of the Evening
Saturday, October 3, 2026 · Bonnet Creek Ballroom, Waldorf Astoria Orlando
Stay & play at the Waldorf Astoria Orlando
Gala guests enjoy special rates at the Waldorf Astoria Orlando and Signia by Hilton Bonnet Creek — and a few optional ways to extend the weekend.
Book a RoomGolf Outing
Play the championship course on Friday before the gala.
Resort & Pool
Unwind at the resort on Saturday before the evening's program.
Our Host Committee
The "Always Beside You" Gala is championed by community leaders, business executives, and friends of Southern Cross who lend their name and their networks to this mission.
Every seat is a veteran's second chance.
Join us for an unforgettable evening — and put another dog beside another veteran who is still waiting.
Always Beside You Golf Tournament
Join us for the Always Beside You Golf Tournament, an inspiring day on the course in support of Southern Cross Service Dogs and the veterans we proudly serve. This annual fundraising tournament brings together golfers, sponsors, and supporters for a memorable experience that makes a real and lasting impact.
Enjoy a beautiful round of golf at the prestigious West Orange Country Club while helping provide highly trained service dogs to veterans at no cost. Every swing, sponsorship, and shared moment helps strengthen independence, confidence, and connection for those who have served our country.
Event Highlights
Morning tee‑off with fellow supporters and community leaders
Opportunities to connect with SCSD’s mission and impact
Sponsorship packages available for individuals and businesses
A meaningful way to support veterans and their future service dogs
Sponsorships are available and offer a powerful opportunity to showcase your support while directly contributing to life‑changing partnerships between veterans and service dogs. Click the Get Tickets button below for sponsorship details and registration.
Thank you for standing with us and helping ensure our service dogs are Always Beside You—on the course, in the community, and in life. Together, we are changing lives, one partnership at a time.
Veterans Day Classic
CLASSIC
❧
Bring a team. Bring a client. Bring someone who has never fired a shotgun.
The Veterans Day Classic is a full sporting clays course at one of the best public facilities in Texas — a genuine competition for the people who shoot every weekend, and an approachable, well-marshalled morning for the people who do not.
Squads of four move station to station with a cart and a scorecard, and we never put more than two squads on a station, so nobody stands around waiting. We award Top Shot for both men and women, and first and second place teams in both open and women's divisions. If nobody on your team has ever shot before, say so when you register and we will pair you with someone who has, reserve you a rental gun, and put you on a squad that will enjoy teaching you.
Ammunition, eye and ear protection, lunch, giveaways, and a door prize entry come with every package. The whole morning is over by two, which leaves the rest of the day for the dinner at Charolais — and the VIP Four-Man at $3,000 is the only retail way in.
The range goes cold.
At 11:11 on the morning of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, a horn sounds across the course. Every gun is broken and cased. Every station stops.
One hundred and seventy-five people stand in the open air and hold one minute of silence for the men and women who did not come home.
Then the horn sounds again, and the day goes on — which is, after all, the whole point of what they gave us.
Shooter Packages
Every entry includes ammunition, eye and ear protection, lunch, giveaways, and a door prize entry. Same prices as last year.
Sponsorships for the Classic
These positions are specific to the Veterans Day Classic and sit alongside the Team packages above. For recognition across the dinner as well, the campaign levels cover both experiences.
- Named across the course and at the awards
- One VIP team of four
- Four seats at the Classic Meating
- Branded course signage and a named station
- Recognition in pre- and post-event communications
- Every squad on the course passes your stand
- Named signage at your station all morning
- The right to host the station and greet shooters
- Recognition in the event program
- $500 for veteran-owned businesses
| Underwriting Opportunity | Investment | Available |
|---|---|---|
|
Breakfast & Registration
Branded check-in and breakfast service — the first and
longest touchpoint of the day. Includes a team of four.
|
$6,000 | 1 |
|
Lunch & Awards
Branded lunch service and the awards presentation, with podium
acknowledgment. Includes a team of four.
|
$6,000 | 1 |
|
Ammunition
Every shell fired on the course, on your name. The largest
single item we put in a shooter's hands and a natural fit for an
outdoor brand, retailer, or manufacturer. Includes two entries.
|
$7,500 | 1 |
|
Shooter Giveaways
Co-branded giveaways handed to every shooter at registration
— the items they keep. Includes two entries.
|
$5,000 | 1 |
|
Eye & Ear Safety
Eye and ear protection for every guest on the course. Quiet,
essential, and appreciated all morning.
|
$2,500 | 1 |
|
Door Prize Sponsor
The door prize drawing at the awards. Cash or in-kind —
talk to us about what you have.
|
$2,500 | 1 |
|
Shooting Game Sponsor
Our side game and its prize, with your branding at the game
station. Entries sell all morning at registration. Includes two
entries.
|
$4,000 | 1 |
|
Champions Sponsor
All five team placement awards, two shooters for open and
women's. You present the trophies.
|
$4,000 | 1 |
|
Top Shot Sponsor
Top Shot Male and Top Shot Female, presented at the awards.
|
$2,000 | 1 |
Schedule of the Classic
Wednesday, November 11, 2026 · American Shooting Centers, Houston
A safe morning is the only kind worth having
American Shooting Centers runs the range and their staff have final authority on every safety question. Please read this before November 11.
No alcohol until the range is cold
Nothing is served until every firearm is cased and ASC has verified the range clear. This is absolute and it applies to everyone, sponsors included.
Eye and ear protection required
Required at all times on the course. Bring your own if you have it; we will have spares at registration for those who forget.
Waivers signed at check-in
Every participant signs the ASC and Southern Cross waivers at registration, before reaching a station. Please arrive with time to spare.
Rental guns
Reserved on a first-come basis for guests who do not own a shotgun. Request one when you register — do not wait until the morning of.
Ammunition
Purchased on site at the ASC ammunition station. Details and pricing will be confirmed in your guest note before the event.
What to wear
Casual and weather-appropriate. Closed-toe shoes, a hat, and a light layer — a Houston November morning starts cool and does not stay that way.
Parking
Ample on-site parking at American Shooting Centers, 16500 Westheimer Parkway. Follow the Southern Cross signage from the entrance.
Going on to dinner?
Charolais is about 45 miles north in The Woodlands, roughly an hour. There is a built-in afternoon window — and please do not leave a firearm in a car all evening.
Never shot before?
Good. Tell us when you register. We will reserve a rental, pair you with a patient squad, and make sure a marshal is close at hand.
Awards, open and women's
Top Shot Male and Female, first and second place teams in both open and women's divisions, third place open, and the Shooting Game prize. Seven awards in all.
The Shooting Game
A side game running alongside the main course, with its own prize. Entries are sold at registration on the morning, so bring a card if you want in.
Course flow
We cap the field at 248 and never put more than two squads on a station, so the pace holds whether we run 100 shooters or a full house.
Take the morning. Give a veteran the rest of his life.
$60,000 trains and places one service dog with one veteran, at no cost to them, for life. Every team on the course moves us closer to five placements this year.
Veterans Day Classic - The Meating
MEATING
❧
A Meating is not a charity dinner. It is a real one.
The Red Meat Lover's Club has a format and we are not going to sand the edges off it. Abundance over restraint. Communal over formal. Culinary theatre, cheerful irreverence, a ritual or two a first-timer will not see coming, and something to take home.
Chef Austin Simmons is cooking. Every cut comes through Chef & Rancher, the program he runs with rancher Larry Ludeke, where the same people oversee the cattle from genetics to plate. There is no middleman between the ranch and this table.
Somewhere after the main course, for twelve minutes, the room goes quiet. A veteran stands up with a working dog beside him and tells you what changed. Then dessert lands, the music comes back, and the evening carries on — because that is what the dog made possible in the first place.
Seats. Not one more.
Charolais seats 168 for an evening like this — the main dining room, the Chef's Counter, the booths, both private rooms, and the patio. When they are gone, they are gone, and well over half are already committed to sponsors and VIP teams.
The Chef's Counter is the best table in the house and we sell it once, to one party, for up to eight people. It is not listed on the registration page. If you want it, call us before someone else does.
Seats & Tables
The room seats 168 and the individual seats are committed. What remains is held inside sponsorships and a small number of VIP tables, which is where to look if you want to be here.
A sponsorship is the surest way in, and it starts at $5,000.
See SponsorshipsDinner Sponsorships
These positions are specific to the Classic Meating. For recognition across the morning as well, the campaign levels cover both experiences and start at $5,000. Every position on this page includes a table of four at Charolais, which is the only guaranteed way into a room that seats 168.
- Named as host of the Classic Meating throughout the evening
- Six seats at the dinner
- Recognition on every menu card
- Acknowledgment from the podium
- A photograph with Chef Austin Simmons for your party
- Sole wine recognition for the evening
- Named as the first glass is raised, in a toast to the veterans in the room
- Named on every menu card at every place setting
- Four dinner seats
- Recognition in pre- and post-event communications
| Underwriting Opportunity | Investment | Available |
|---|---|---|
|
Whiskey & Cigar
The post-dinner program on the patio — a proven Red Meat
Lover's Club tradition. Four dinner seats.
|
$7,500 | 1 |
|
Take-Home Sponsor
Underwrites the item every guest carries out the door and
remembers on Thursday morning. Includes a table of four at the
dinner.
|
$5,000 | 1 |
|
Program & Sound
Carries the veteran's story to every corner of the room, both
private dining rooms and the patio included. Includes a table of
four at the dinner.
|
$5,500 | 1 |
|
Menu & Print
Menu cards, place settings, and the printed program. Your name
on every table in the room, and a table of four of your own.
|
$5,000 | Sold |
Schedule of the Meating
Wednesday, November 11, 2026 · Charolais, Hughes Landing, The Woodlands
Getting there
Charolais is at Hughes Landing in The Woodlands, about 45 miles north of the morning's clay course.
Valet
Hosted valet at Hughes Landing, at no charge to guests. Follow the Southern Cross signage on arrival.
Coming from the Classic
About an hour's drive north from American Shooting Centers, with an afternoon window built into the day. Plenty of time to get home, change, and come back.
Dress
Smart casual. This is a steak dinner with a serious purpose, not a black-tie gala — that one is in Orlando.
Staying over?
Several hotels sit within walking distance of Hughes Landing. We do not hold a block; book directly and you will do better.
Dietary needs
Tell us when you register. The kitchen will look after you — though we make no apology for what is on the main plate.
One hundred and sixty-eight seats. Five dogs.
$60,000 trains and places one service dog with one veteran, at no cost to them, for life. Your seat at this table is part of that arithmetic.
Red Meat Lover’s - FSG Beef and Hooten & Young Whiskey
A night of amazing with the Bourbon Sherpa Jon Carney of Hooten & Young, The Secretary of Steak Evan Darnell of Red Meat Lover's Club and Jeff Borysiewicz of Corona Cigar combine forces to create a trifecta of deliciousness .
The evening will focus on eating well, drinking beautiful bourbon and smoking world class cigars.
Menu will consist of Red Meat Lover's Club FSG Beef dishes with a boubon twist.
We will start with a tasty Hooten & Young Bourbon Old Fashioned and move into a wonderful evening.
Tasting includes Hooten & Young small batch bourbon tasting
EVERY GUEST WILL RECEIVE A BOTTLE OF Hooten & Young TO GO and will include 2 specially selected cigars
Ring The Meat Bell
To Start
FSG Sliders , Beef Pig In A Comforter, Sexzchef Bacon and FSG Meatballs
Main
Slabs of FSG Beef served Meat Mountain Style
Smashed FSG Beef Tallow Dripped Potatoes
Melted Veggies
Dessert
Glazed and Fueled Beef Tallow Fried Donuts....The Best of The Best
The cigars included in a Hooten & Young signature cigar samples
Auction Proceeds will go to the Southern Cross Service Dogs and Camp Freedom
2026 Service Dog Graduation
Celebrate Our Newest Service Dog Team
Join us in the Buena Vista Room at the Double Tree Suites by Hilton in Orlando Disney Springs Area for our 2026 Service Dog Graduation.
Graduation is one of the most meaningful moments in our mission. It represents the culmination of nearly two years of training, countless hours of work, and an entire community coming together for one purpose: to give a veteran a highly trained service dog at no cost.
On graduation day, we celebrate the moment another veteran and their service dog officially begin life as a team. But what makes this moment so powerful is everything it represents—the training, the volunteers, the supporters, and the people who believed that this veteran deserved the opportunity to have a partner by their side.
You can also help us send this team into their new life fully prepared. Your sponsorship can provide the food, gear, medications, training equipment, transportation, and other essentials they need as they begin their journey together.
Come celebrate with us. And help us continue the mission.
Because graduation isn't the end of the journey.
It's the beginning of a new life for a veteran and their service dog.
The public is free to attend, we do request that you register so that we can plan for attendance.
Red Meat Lovers x SCSD - Saddle River Inn
Calling all steak enthusiasts and supporters of a great cause! Join Southern Cross Service Dogs for an unforgettable evening at the iconic Saddle River Inn, where exceptional cuts of meat, great company, and raised glasses come together for something truly meaningful.
Guests will enjoy a mouthwatering dining experience featuring expertly prepared meats while connecting with fellow supporters who share a passion for community and impact. Every bite and every toast helps support SCSD’s mission of providing highly trained service dogs to veterans at no cost, empowering them with greater independence, confidence, and companionship.
This special night is about more than great food—it’s about standing beside those who have served our country and helping change lives, one service dog at a time.
✨ Come hungry. Leave inspired.
Your participation directly supports veterans and the life‑changing dogs who are always beside them.
We’re grateful to celebrate this incredible evening with you and appreciate your continued support of Southern Cross Service Dogs.
KBR 2026 Clays for a Cause
Join us for an action-packed day of camaraderie, competition, and cause at the KBR 2026 CLAYS FOR A CAUSE in support of Southern Cross Service Dogs, a non-profit organization dedicated to training and placing life-changing service dogs with our nation’s veterans.
Funds raised from this event directly support the training, care, and placement of service dogs for veterans with physical disabilities, PTSD, or other challenges. Your participation is more than a day of sport—it’s a step toward life-changing support for our heroes.
Grab your shooting gear, rally your friends, and help us make a real difference for veterans and their service dogs. Together, we can turn every shot into hope, companionship, and independence for those who served. Join us at 8AM Sharp in at American Shooting Centers in Houston, TX.
Unleash the Laughter
Join us for Unleash the Laughter, a fun filled evening addressing a serious issue facing many of our veterans. Up to 44 veterans commit suicide daily, recent studies state that 82% of veterans paired with service dog report reduced suicide ideation. Join our team to help us provide service dogs to veterans in need. Together we will save lives.
Governor’s Comedy Club
90 Division Ave, Levittown, NY 11756-2930, United States
Veterans Wellness Class
Join Totally... the Spa and Southern Cross Service Dogs as we continue our Veteran Wellness Series—a dedicated initiative supporting the well-being of veterans in our community. This ongoing program provides education, resources, and practical tools to help veterans strengthen both mind and body.
Red Meat Lover's Club - All the Meats for SCSD
United We Beef, an epic moment. Redefining what a “Meating” can look like. This will be a colossal feast that will be spoke about for years.
The Secretary of Steak and The Commander in Beef are rolling into Las Vegas for an epic feast to redefine how much meat can be consumed in one “meating”.
Las Vegas is now the new home of the Red Meat Lover's Club.
Our events are open meat, open bar, open cigar which creates the unique mix of business networking and philanthropy.
The Red Meat Lover's Club is the leading meat forward business networking club and we are beyond excited to show you exactly what we can do in Las Vegas.
The Cause for this event is Southern Cross Service Dogs.
For the dinner, think open bar, open cigar and open feast all included.
The Doyle Las Vegas
415 W Bonanza Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89106-3226
