Barbecue to benefit Patton foundation

A local nonprofit is still raising money to honor its namesake and war hero Shane Patton with a statue and has once again partnered with the That Others May Live Foundation of Las Vegas for a fundraiser this weekend.

A sixth annual clay shoot will be held Saturday, March 9, at Pro Gun Club in Boulder City, with all the proceeds from the barbecue lunch going to the Shane Patton Foundation to erect a statue in his honor. Patton was a 2000 Boulder City High School graduate and Navy SEAL who was killed in Afghanistan in 2005.

Approximately $110,000 has been raised for the statue, according to Joel Pepper, one of the foundation’s founders and a friend of Patton. Almost half of that money has come from the joint fundraiser.

“We would like to raise $200,000 for the statue and make something really impressive but also still give scholarships to high school seniors,” Pepper said. “Our goal for March 9 is to be a part of an outstanding charity and group of guys that greatly help out the Shane Patton Foundation in many ways.”

Lunch is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon; tickets are $25. They can purchased in advance at https://6thtomlpattonclayshoot.bpt.me or Saturday morning.

Pepper said the Patton family has been working with the city to find the best location for the statue to represent Shane and be a monument to Boulder City.

This year, lunch attendees will be able to shoot several types of guns for a fee, watch the clay shoot and visit different booths and vendors. Brett Buckner of Skydive Las Vegas will parachute in.

On Saturday, people will also be able to buy T-shirts for the 2019 Shane Patton Pub Crawl, which will be held April 13.

“The bulk of our charity money comes from selling … shirts and some donations,” Pepper said. “We have 1,000 shirts to sell this year for the pub crawl.”

Shirts cost $35 and all the proceeds go to the charity.

The annual Military Sporting Clay Shoot Supporting the Children of Our Fallen Heroes fundraiser was started by Sonny Latham, Billy Blackwell and Chet Opheikens. In five years, it has raised $343,000 for the children of fallen soldiers.

Latham, an ex-Navy SEAL who trained with Patton’s father, Jeff, asked Pepper to join the fundraiser three years ago.

Patton was one of 11 Navy SEALs and eight U.S. Army Special Operations aviators killed during Operation Red Wings in Afghanistan. The story of the battle was told in the book “Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Red Wings and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10” by survivor Marcus Luttrell and its subsequent movie, “Lone Survivor.”

Contact reporter Celia Shortt Goodyear at cgoodyear@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow her on Twitter @csgoodyear.