DINNER #2 & ANOTHER OUTDOOR MOVIE THIS SATURDAY NIGHT AT MY PLACE!

  
We are hosting our 2nd outdoor Movie Nite of the 2023/24 holiday season this Saturday night (Dec 2nd) at in my backyard (in Pinellas Park, FL) at "BIRDDOG CINEMA" (named after my Mom)!
 
THIS WEEK'S MOVIE & MENU:
MOVIE: Home Alone 1
MENU: Pizzadillas, Salad, S'mores, Popcorn, & Snacks
DRINKS: Water, Soda, Lemonade (or similar)
  
Each Movie Nite is provided by GTD for FREE, and includes dinner, a campfire, s'mores, popcorn, and snacks. Some outdoor games like cornhole, ping pong, arcade style 2-player basketball game, connect four, and more will also be available.
 
"Doors" open at 4.30p if you want to arrive before it gets dark and play some games. Dinner will be at 6pm-ish. The movie will start around 7pm-ish.
 
Outdoor propane griddle, grill, & burners will be available for those that have special dietary needs or those who want to make something different than what's on the menu.  
We can comfortably accommodate about 40 people. We have 16 Adirondack chairs, 4 zero gravity chairs, an outdoor sofa, and plenty of camp chairs. Feel free to bring your own chair.
 
All movies are family friendly (movies have been edited to remove cursing & inappropriate content except fighting/violence when showing action movies like Die Hard, Mission Impossible, etc).
 
Since this is a family friendly setting and we have friends with various conditions including lung conditions smoking, vaping, & alcoholic beverages are not allowed.
 
Check weather and bring any comfort measures needed (blanket, jacket, pillow, bug spray, etc)
  
Currently we don't have a RSVP link set up so for now you can comment below, text me, or message me via FB Messenger or Instagram to reserve your spot.

MOVIE SCHEDULE:
Nov 25: >> Hoodwinked!
Dec 2: HOME ALONE 1 & PIZZADILLAS!!
Dec 8: Christmas movie (TBD)
Dec 16: Christmas movie (TBD)
Jan 13: New Year's movie (TBD)
Feb 2: >> Groundhog Day
Feb 11: >> Super Bowl
  
I hope you can join us for one of our upcoming GTD MOVIE NITES!

 

 

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IT'S "GIVING TUESDAY"!! ...97K RAISED!!! ...ONLY 3K TO GO!

The BIG news is that we just surpassed $97,000 for funds raised this month!! Glory to God!!! Thank you BIG hearted Donors!!

As a an official 501(c)(3) non-profit faith-based organization we raise funds each year to offset our operating & event expenses. This allows us to offer our outdoor recreation events at either a reduced rate, a greatly reduced rate, and some events for free!

Our goal each year is to raise $100,000 between Nov 1 - Jan 31 to help us run the next year's program. 2024 will be GTD's 28th year of ministry (PTL!!). I'm thrilled to share that our AMAZING SUPPORTERS have already enabled us to raise 97% of our goal in record time!!! That leaves us with only 3% left to go!! Wowwww!!!

No pressure at all, but if you would like to donate to the cause today on Giving Tuesday (or any day for that matter) here are some donation/payment links:

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Donation methods:
1) PAYPAL: www.paypal.me/GTDadventures
2) VENMO: www.venmo.com/GTDADVENTURES
3) MAIL IN A CHECK MADE OUT TO "GTD" TO:
   GTD / PO Box 7523 / Seminole, FL 33775
4) BECOME A MONTHLY PARTNER: www.gtdbullhorn.blogspot.com/p/monthly-partners.html
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From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!

Going The Distance Adventure Ministry
God-Awesome Adventures Since 1996!

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What is Giving Tuesday?
"Giving Tuesday, often described as a global day of giving or a global generosity movement, is held each year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving."

 

 

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MOVIE NITE WAS GREAT!! ...NEXT MOVIE NITE IS DEC 2nd!

  
We had a great time kicking off our winter Movie Nites this past Saturday night at the Grand Opening of BIRDDOG CINEMA located within Shantytown Estates (aka, my backyard)! 30 fun-loving people showed up (and helped out) and enjoyed some games, fires & s'mores, the meatiest spaghetti ever made, and the hilarious animated movie - Hoodwinked!!

Many thanks to my awesome Sister Traci and our thoughtful Dad (The Tomato Man) for all their help leading up to Movie Nite! And huge thanks to the actual guests who showed up, rolled up their sleeves, and helped us finish setting everything up & preparing the food! And a very special thanks to one of our anonymous Ministry Partners who surprised us by sending us an outdoor propane fireplace to enjoy as cooler temperatures set in... it's the perfect gift that warms the hands, heart, & soul!!

I did a terrible job taking pictures, and missed most of the play time and several attendees... hopefully I'll improve at our next Movie Nite!

Did someone say, "Next Movie Nite!"?!?!... our next Outdoor Movie Nite is this Saturday Dec 2nd (2023)... as we kick off our Christmas movie mania with "Home Alone 1"!!!

- "Doors" open at 4.30p
- Dinner (pizzadillas) at 6pm-ish
- Movie (Home Alone 1) at 7pm-ish

These are family friendly events so we will have games & edited movies that are kid friendly.

Comment below, or text me, FB Messenger me, or Instagram Message me to RSVP to reserve your spot and so we have plenty of pizzadillas ingredients ready to gooooo!!

We hope to see you at one of our upcoming GTD MOVIE NITES at BIRDDOG CINEMA 😀

 

 

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BLACK FRIDAY FEELS MORE LIKE GOOD FRIDAY!! WE JUST HIT $94,000 RAISED!!! TYJ!!

  
We continue to be absolutely floored by the support & generosity of you guys!!! We just hit $94,000 raised!! As you know, our annual goal is to raise $100k by January 31st, and we only have $6000 more to go... and it's only November 24th!! That continues to be record breaking & record setting!! Thank you to our amazing supporters! You guys are PHENOMENAL!!! Thank You to our Awesome God!! We! Are! Blown! Away!!! Have a great Black Friday!

 

 

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING & MORE!!

 

Happy Thanksgiving & an early Merry CHRISTmas (& an upcoming Happy New Year) from the staff of GTD!! We are so thankful for YOU, and we hope you have a God-awesome holiday season!!!

 

 

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UPDATE: $90,000 RAISED!!!

 

You guys continue to rock our world!! It has only been 1 week since our Annual Banquet, and we just hit the $90,000 threshold!! We've never hit that amount this quickly! Praise the Lord, and thank you PHENOMENAL DONORS!!! Our annual goal each year is to raise $100k by January 31st... it's only Nov 22nd, and we only have $10k left to raise to hit our goal!! BLOWN! AWAY!! Yayyyyy God!!!

 

 

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DINNER & AN OUTDOOR MOVIE THIS SATURDAY NIGHT AT MY PLACE!

  
We are kicking off our holiday outdoor movie nite this Saturday night (Nov 25th) at 6pm in my backyard (in Pinellas Park, FL) at "BIRDDOG CINEMA" (named after my Mom)!
 
Each movie nite is provided by GTD for FREE, and includes dinner, a campfire, s'mores, popcorn, and snacks. Some outdoor games like cornhole, ping pong, arcade style 2-player basketball game, connect four, and more will also be available.
 
"Doors" open at 4.30p if you want to arrive before it gets dark and play some games. 
 
Outdoor propane griddle, grill, & burners will be available for those that have special dietary needs or those who want to make something different than what's on the menu.  
We can comfortably accommodate about 35 people. We have 16 Adirondack chairs, 4 zero gravity chairs, an outdoor sofa, and plenty of camp chairs. Feel free to bring your own chair.
 
All movies are family friendly (edited to remove cursing & inappropriate content except fighting/violence when showing action movies like Die Hard, Mission Impossible, etc).
 
Alcohol, smoking, vaping, etc are not allowed.
 
An RSVP link will be set up this week (hopefully on Wednesday), but for now you can comment on my/our Facebook post, text me, or message me via FB Messenger to reserve your spot.
 
UPCOMING MOVIE SCHEDULE:
Nov 25: >> Hoodwinked!
Dec 2: Christmas movie (TBD)
Dec 8: Christmas movie (TBD)
Dec 16: Christmas movie (TBD)
Jan 13: New Year's movie (TBD)
Feb 2: >> Groundhog Day
Feb 11: >> Super Bowl
 
THIS WEEK'S MOVIE & MENU:
MOVIE: Hoodwinked! (Animated)
MENU: Spaghetti w/ Meat Sauce, Salad, S'mores, Popcorn, & Snacks
DRINKS: Water, Soda, Lemonade (or similar)
 
ABOUT THIS WEEK'S MOVIE:
TITLE: Hoodwinked! (Animated) (2005) (PG) (1 hr 20 min)
- TOP CAST: Anne Hathaway - voice for Little Red Riding Hood; Glenn Close - voice for Granny; Patrick Warburton - voice for The Wolf ; Jim Belushi - voice for The Woodsman.
- SUMMARY: "Everyone knows the story of Little Red Riding Hood . . . or so they think. That's all about to change because no one has ever seen their favorite fairy tale quite like this -- turned upside-down, inside-out and reinvented as a computer-animated caper comedy that at last reveals the shocking true-crime investigation behind the legend. At last, the full story can be revealed of how Red, Granny, The Woodsman and the Wolf all came together as criminal suspects in a case that almost HOODWINKED the law. With inventive story telling, spunk and wit, filmmakers Cory & Todd and Tony Leech bring to the screen a story for the young, the young at heart and everyone in between."
- ONLINE MOVIE REVIEW: "One of my favorite movies as a kid... still stands as an adult. This movie has such great comedic points for both children and adults. First time I saw it I was in 6th grade at the ripe age of 11 and remember laughing so hard I almost peed my pants. Here I am now, 14 years later, and it still brings me such joy. I feel as though this is a comfort movie that provides an excellent twist on a classic fairytale (Shrek style, if I may) that brings joy and amusement. Great for all ages."
- LINK TO TRAILER: https://youtu.be/_WGv6Rgp72k?feature=shared

PS: This is one of Carson's favorite movies, and a very difficult movie to find via streaming services, cable, etc. We were able to purchase a new DVD on eBay.
 
I hope you can join us for one of our upcoming GTD MOVIE NITES!

 

 

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GTD's Highlight Video "Come Alive" has been uploaded to YouTube!

 

Come Alive!! Our 2023 God-awesome GTD Highlight Video "Come Alive" has been uploaded to YouTube! Thank you to everyone who participated and supported GTD in 2023... this video is for you (and because of you)!!

Special thanks to Carson for making this video!

Extra special thanks to God for making His amazing playground!!

2023 GTD Highlight Video: https://youtu.be/TkSpThfXP9s

 

 

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DAD UPDATE... SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR!

As we enter into the week of Thanksgiving I will summarize my Dad's update in his own words. After a great night of sleep he woke up early this morning and wanted to cook a big breakfast. He said, "I haven't felt this good in a long time." We are so THANKFUL to hear those words! A few days ago he went grocery shopping and made a big pot of his famous delicious stew that my Sister and I grew up on. You can tell when the Tomato Man is feeling good simply by looking in the kitchen... when he is feeling his best he is cooking food for everyone! It's his love language. Thank you to everyone who has prayed for him, encouraged him, spent time with him, ran errands for him, taken him to Dr's appointments,  & helped him in various ways!! You did more than you may ever know. He is truly The Comeback Kid! Very thankful!!

 

 

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Mt Dude made an appearance at the GTD Annual Banquet!! But who is he?!?!

 

Mt Dude made an appearance at the GTD Annual Banquet!!  I, oops - I mean "he", thought it was a costume party ;) ... will anyone ever be able to figure out the true identity of Mt Dude?!?!

 

 

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$80,000 RAISED!!!!

 
Thank you so so so so much to everyone who participated in our Annual Banquet last night - both near & far!! We had an amazing time glorifying God as we celebrated all the gains of 2023 while honoring those we lost... and preparing, Lord willing, for so much "MORE IN 2024"!! Thank you to every volunteer and staff member who worked so hard to make this event a great success!! Thank you to everyone who attended our special event when you could have let the rain keep you from venturing out!! Thank you to the City of Pinellas Park, Carrabba's, Flashpoint Productions, & all the vendors for making last night so delicious and special!! And thank you to every Table Sponsor, Ministry Partner, & Donor who rocked our world last night as well as the days & weeks leading up to our Annual Banquet!! Everyone blessed our hearts immensely with all the love & support!! I'm THRILLED to announce that our preliminary numbers are already in and we raised just over a $80,000!!!!!!! Glory to God!!! Thank You Jesus!!! We are jaw-dropped!! Our goal is to raise $100,000 by the end of January, and you guys already knocked out at least 80% of that!!! We had some very generous donations that came in from supporters outside of the area that helped us hit our Matching Gift one-time donation challenge!!! And several generous Monthly Donors at the Banquet that enabled us to hit our Matching Gift pledge challenge!! So far it's right at 50% ($40,000) that came in through one-time donations, and 50% ($40,000) pledged for 2024 as monthly donations. And we still have regular supporters who weren't able to attend last night that may enable us to knock out our entire $100,000 goal before Thanksgiving! Oh, it's fun to dream a little! Well, all I can say is, from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to everyone who helped make our fundraising season already an overwhelming success!!! We are touched, humbled, and blown away all at the same time!

 

 

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DOUBLE YOUR DONATION TO GTD!!

 

DOUBLE YOUR DONATION TO GTD!!
...Matching Gift Challenge
....Turn $21,000 into $42,000!!

HELP LAUNCH GTD INTO OUR 28th YEAR OF MINISTRY IN 2024!

GTD has 4 different donors that will match all donations & pledges dollar-for-dollar up to a total of $21,000!!! That means that if our donors combine to donate/pledge $21,000 they will DOUBLE IT for a total of $42,000!!!

WHAT WILL BE MATCHED??
>>> $15,000 in One-Time Donations!!
>>> $500/mth in Monthly Pledges ($500 X 12 mths = $6000/yr)!!

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Donation methods:
1) PAYPAL: www.paypal.me/GTDadventures
2) VENMO: www.venmo.com/GTDADVENTURES
3) MAIL IN A CHECK MADE OUT TO "GTD" TO:
   GTD / PO Box 7523 / Seminole, FL 33775
4) BECOME A MONTHLY PARTNER: www.gtdbullhorn.blogspot.com/p/monthly-partners.html
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From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!

 

 

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One of the BEST aspects of being part of a non-profit organization is...

 

One of the BEST aspects of being part of a non-profit organization is that you get exposed to some of the most caring, most loving, most positive, most supportive, and most generous people!! Although my career path in a non-profit organization requires that I participate in fundraising, I'm not a fund raiser... I'll never be a fund raiser... it's not part of my DNA, and in fact goes against everything in my authentic self to ever ask for any kind of assistance, aide, help, or support - especially financially. Although I don't mind being asked to volunteer or being asked to contribute for any cause (in fact, I like being asked those things), I never like asking others to help. Some may say that's pride or insecurity. Maybe. I'm open to that. But what I've found it more to be is - like my Mom never liked to ask for any help, but loved to help others - is that it is an authentic thoughtfulness of other people's time & resources... it's the part of the heart that says, "I don't want to inconvenience other people or take them away from their priorities." That may be wrong thinking to think that way, but it comes from a place that genuinely respects people's time and resources. So why do I even elaborate on that?? Because I'm going somewhere with this... WE ARE SOOOOOO BLESSED WITH AN ALMIGHTY GOD AND AMAZING SUPPORTERS!!! We are strongly supported by both God & people!! They fill in for my shortcomings. Every year God moves the hearts of amazing people to strongly and generously support this ministry! I don't do that. I can't do that. God does it all! And you guys answer the call God puts on your heart! The beautiful thing from my perspective is that I can't ever get prideful about the yearly accomplishment & funds raised, because I didn't do a single thing. God does it all through you guys! He gets all the credit! You guys get all the blessings! And all it leaves me with is overflowing gratitude for both God & you!! God is at work AGAIN this year... our fundraising season began weeks ago, and it's off to an amazing start!! And I didn't do anything above & beyond to raise funds... God teamed up with you, and you're blessing our socks off AGAIN!! Soooooo from the bottom of my heart - my "don't want to inconvenience you" heart - THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR LOVE & SUPPORT!!! THANK YOU JESUS FOR MOVING SO MANY HEARTS!! Have a great weekend!

 

 

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE! ...HAPPY VETERANS DAY!!

 
A huge & heartfelt THANK YOU to all our military veterans (AND their spouses & families) who made all kinds of self-sacrificing choices in order to serve our country! We salute you!! Thank you for your service!!

Our Dad faithfully served 20 years in the United States Air Force including Vietnam & Iran, and our Mom spent many months & years by herself raising kids and managing all of the household responsibilities (not to mention uprooting and moving every few years). Traci & I lived on or near military bases in Georgia (before I was born), Florida, Texas, & Mississippi.

Interesting Side Note: If the military recruiter I met as a Respiratory Therapy (RT) student in 1995 had shown up to his office for our scheduled meeting there's a good chance I would have enlisted & accepted a $5000 signing bonus (I was going to use the money to send my parents on a nice vacation), and my life would have taken a different course. But he never showed up to our meeting, never called, & never followed up. I loved the military and had many times growing up when I wanted to follow in my Dad's footsteps, but that day I took the fact that this very zealous recruiter forgot our scheduled meeting as a "sign" to keep tracking on the course I was already on. Otherwise there's a good probability that I would have decided to enlist that day.

(*Image by pikisuperstar on Freepik)

 

 

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INTRODUCING The GTD S'mores Raffle Girlz!

Tuesday night we will be debuting "The GTD S'mores Raffle Girlz" at our Annual Banquet!! Who will they be??? Join us for a rip "roasting" time and buy some raffle tickets & 50/50 tickets from a walking Graham Cracker, a walking Marshmallow, and a walking piece of Chocolate hahaha! Nothing says camping ministry more than roasting s'mores over the campfire! Good times ahead!!

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ANNUAL BANQUET:
Nov 14th, 2023 (Tues Night)
6:30pm - 9:00pm
 
Pinellas Park Performing Arts Center
4951 78th Ave N, Pinellas Park, FL 33781
 
CATERED BY CARRABBA'S!!!!!
 
Website, More Details, & RSVP:
https://gtdbullhorn.blogspot.com/p/annual-banquet-pppac.html?m=1

 

 

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24 FREE BANQUET TICKETS!! ...COME JOIN US THIS TUES NIGHT!!

  
Each year we have a few generous Table Sponsors that live out of the area that want to offer their banquet tickets to anyone that wants to come to our Annual Banquet and enjoy a night of celebration along with a delicious Carrabba's dinner. This year we have 24 FREE TICKETS AVAILABLE! Yayyyyy!! Thank you generous supporters!!!

To claim your FREE TICKETS simply click on the GTD Annual Banquet website link below and complete the RSVP form (takes about 1 minute) so we have enough Carrabba's for everyone!! Super simple!
 
Come join us for a fun night as we celebrate 27 years of ministry as well as prepare for our 28th year!

Dress Code: Semi-formal / Business attire
 
ANNUAL BANQUET:
Nov 14th, 2023 (Tues Night)
6:30pm - 9:00pm
 
Pinellas Park Performing Arts Center
4951 78th Ave N, Pinellas Park, FL 33781
 
CATERED BY CARRABBA'S!!!!!
 
Website, More Details, & RSVP:
https://gtdbullhorn.blogspot.com/p/annual-banquet-pppac.html?m=1

 

 

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EVER WONDER WHAT WE LOOK LIKE WHEN WE AREN'T CAMPING & ARE ALL DRESSED UP??? ...FIND OUT AT OUR ANNUAL BANQUET ON NOV 14th!!

Join us for our BIGGEST event of the year - our Annual Banquet - on Tuesday night Nov 14th, 2023 at the Pinellas Park Performing Arts Center (6:30p - 9p) as we CELEBRATE 27 YEARS OF MINISTRY... Aaaaaaaaand prepare to kick off our 28th YEAR!!

To RSVP and/or read more details about our BIG EVENT click on the link below... we can't wait to see you there!!

GTD Annual Banquet website:

https://gtdbullhorn.blogspot.com/p/annual-banquet-pppac.html?m=1


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WELCOME HOME DAD! ...DAD RETURNED HOME LAST WEEK!

After 6 weeks in the VA hospital & rehab Dad returned home last weekend! (I meant to post this last Saturday night, but we've been going pretty much non-stop since he got home.)

Special thanks to the awesome Zeitler family for making a cool "Welcome Home" banner for Dad to see when he arrived home!

Thank you to everyone who prayed for Dad, encouraged him, called him, & visited him while he was in the VA!! It all played a vital role in the healing process.

So what is the most excellent Tomato Man doing 1 week after returning home??? Well, he was back home for about an hour after doing his Saturday morning dialysis treatment and he just drove off to the City of Pinellas Park BBQ Fest with his "I Like Pig Butts & I Cannot Lie" shirt on hahaha!! Our cousins bought him that shirt earlier this year... absolutely classic!!

 

 

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