Veteran service organizations can’t run on good deeds and good will alone – they need money to pay staff, utilities and rent – that’s where Tulsa-based Coffee Bunker’s primary annual fundraiser, Bunker Bites, comes in. On November 6, at Tulsa University’s Student Union, 200 veterans, supporters, and community leaders came together. Guests paid $125 per person or $200 per couple to eat tasty hors d’oeuvres, buy raffle tickets to win 11 gift baskets and a 50/50 cash prize and watch three deserving people receive awards. It was loud, social and fun. Readers were introduced to Coffee Bunker in August’s publication.
Coffee Bunker’s mission is “to empower veterans and their families as they move forward.” They support veterans and their families transition to civilian life through personal and professional development.
Attendees sampled – and re-sampled – a wide variety of appetizers prepared by 10 local chefs. Each guest dropped their attendance ticket in one chef’s bowl to vote for the “People’s Choice Award.”
Chefs had personal reasons for participating. John Badgwell, an Army veteran in Tulsa, said, “I like to cook for the Coffee Bunker once a month because I want to give back to veterans.” He and another chef offered raspberry lemon cakes with homemade raspberry topping and cherry chocolate brownies with homemade cherry glaze.
Joaquinn Juarez cooks for the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. “My mom is a ten-year Navy vet and she went to the Coffee Bunker often. Someone at the Food Bank suggested I show up and compete.” His oh-so-good meatballs were rewarded with the People’s Choice Award, a white chef’s jacket. Dr. Michael Horton, Coffee Bunker’s Executive Director, said, “It’s a very prestigious jacket. They want that jacket.”
After the auction and People’s Choice winners were announced, Scott Blackburn and Dr. Robby Hedrick were inducted into Oklahoma’s Military Hall of Honor for their work at Coffee Bunker and presented medallions.
From the stage, Jim Lyall, President of the Board of Directors, remarked, “I’ve worked alongside our two inductees tonight for several years, and both of them wear the motto, ‘The spirit of a warrior in the Heart of a Patriot.’”
Blackburn served as Operations Manager from 2011 to 2019. Lyall noted, “Scott credits the veterans, the volunteers he had the honor of serving with, and the community partners for the success of the Coffee Bunker and the lives that are changed within its walls.” Blackburn is now a clinical therapist at Rightway Medical in Bartlesville.
Lyall then recognized Dr. Robbie Hedrick, a former Director of Transition Services. Among Hedrick’s accomplishments, Lyall added, “he led strategic initiatives and connected veterans and their families to critical resources in education, employment, and entrepreneurship. His leadership helped forge partnerships with (other service) organizations…” Hedrick now works as a Military Account Executive at Grand Canyon University.
The Honorable Rebecca Nightingale received the first-ever Lieutenant Colonel Bobby Armour Service to Veterans Award. As a Tulsa District Judge, she supervises the Alternative Courts program, including Veterans Treatment Court and Reentry Court.
Lyall explained, “Working with veterans and those recently released from prison is Judge Nightingale’s passion…Adjudication of Cases in Veterans Treatment Court necessitates the unique ability to blend appropriate justice and appropriate compassion.”
Mary Ligon, Coffee Bunker’s founder, concluded with a moving, deeply personal account of the organization’s beginnings. Daniel, her Marine son who experienced intense combat in Iraq, returned home with severe PTSD and died by suicide in 2007.
Ligon recalled him saying, “Mom, there’s no one to talk to. And there’s no USO or anything. And you know, civilians, they can be really nice, but they just can’t relate.” She “began to have this concept of a place…where they (veterans) could put up their boots…and just talk and connect.” She provided examples of the veteran center’s importance and relevance.
Coffee Bunker receives no local, state, or federal funding and relies entirely on grants, donations, and fundraising. Dr. Horton explained, “The funds from… Bunker Bites…will be dispersed…to all the programs we do for veterans, to include our food pantry, helping them with job searches…with education searches, and sometimes, emergency funding.” The event raised $70,000 – an impressive 30% increase over 2024’s $50,000 total. The lead sponsor among 19 listed in the program was Helmerich Payne, Inc.
Afterwards, Horton mentioned that “people left in good spirits with a willingness to donate more and it was a great exercise of teamwork.”
A community that knows Coffee Bunker makes a difference ensured the doors were kept open to help veterans and their families. •
by Richard Stephens, Jr., Lt Col, USAF, Ret. See Rich Travel Niche
