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.
Golf 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.