- October 1, 2024
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Joseph Buccini was looking for ways to raise money for the nonprofit, Hookin’ Veterans, when it occurred to him that putting on a comedy show would be a perfect conduit for supporting what the organization is about.
“I wanted to do something different,” said Buccini, who is affectionately known as Booch. “My buddy put on a comedy show, so we put one on last year. We all need a laugh in our life.”
The second annual Hook, Line & Sinker Comedy Night will be held Friday and Saturday, Oct. 25-26, at Club 51 at 51 N. Old Kings Rd. in Palm Coast.
Buccini, a resident of Palm Coast, is one of three founders of Hookin’ Veterans, which provides deep-sea fishing retreats off West Palm Beach and Maine for disabled veterans. They have provided four-day fishing excursions for 50 veterans since 2015. The trips include a learning session on how to fish and a chance to build new friendships with other veterans. Disabled veterans from all over the country apply to go on the trips. Several local veterans have participated.
“Doesn’t matter if you lost two legs, we’ll get you on the boat,” Buccini said.
The trips are quite expensive. Captains donate their boats, crew and gas. Hookin Veterans cover the remainder of the costs.
Sean Santore, the broker/owner of Launch Realty in Palm Coast, is a volunteer for the organization. He said one four-day trip for 15 veterans costs the organization over $25,000.
“Airfare, hotel, it’s all inclusive, dedicated to make sure these veterans get treated like they should be treated for all their service,” Santore said.
Buccini served in the Army for nearly 17 years from 2001 to 2017 which included two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was a door gunner on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter. He is a disabled veteran himself with three herniated discs, two bad shoulders, a bad knee and PTSD.
“Not all wounds are visible,” he says.
The other founders of Hookin’ Veterans are Tyler Jeffries, who lives in North Carolina and Colby Briggs, who lives in the West Palm Beach area.
The nonprofit Jeffries' brainchild, Buccini said. Jeffries is a double amputee who was wounded in Afghanistan in 2012 when a command-wired improvised explosive device detonated.
Buccini and Jeffries met at a Salute to the Troops event in 2015. It turned out they had met before.
“I showed him a picture of me in the helicopter and he said, ‘You flew me in.’” Buccini said. “I had flown him into Afghanistan and a few months later, he was blown up.”
They became fast friends. On a helicopter hog hunting trip together, Jeffries asked Buccini if he could arrange a deep-sea fishing trip for them, so he did.
“We were having a good time fishing,” Buccini said, “And Tyler said, ‘Dude I really want to do this for other veterans.’’
When Jeffries was at Walter Reed National Medical Center where he underwent his surgeries, he went out on the water and told Buccini that he found “so much peace and tranquility.”
That’s how the organization began.
We let veterans experience this tranquility and respite. ... We let them know we appreciate what they did for us and the sacrifices they made. The trips are a once in a lifetime experience.
— JOSEPH “BOOCH” BUCCINI
“We let veterans experience this tranquility and respite,” Buccini said. “And the talk therapy is huge. They’re able to talk about their experiences in the military and maybe build common ground with another veteran. We provide that vent. Otherwise they keep it inside and it destroys them. We let them know we appreciate what they did for us and the sacrifices they made. The trips are a once in a lifetime experience.”
Ben Bailey, who drove the “Cash Cab,” for over 550 episodes, will be the headliner for the Hook, Line and Sinker Comedy Nights. Cash Cab was a TV game show that took place inside a New City cab with Bailey serving as both game show host and cab driver.
Buccini asked a friend about booking Bailey because he read somewhere that Bailey owns a house in St. Augustine. It took a month to book Bailey because he was listed as a game show host even though he is on tour as a stand-up comedian. Buccini said he doesn’t know if Bailey has a house in St. Augustine, but he intends to ask him that when he picks him up at the airport.
The other comics in the show are PT Bratton and Dewayne White. They are both professional comedians and disabled veterans. Bratton is a 100% clean comedian, Buccini said, adding that he would probably give the show an overall TV-14 rating.
Tickets for each night are $45. (Order online at http://bit.ly/3Bp4HyX). Included are an appetizer buffet catered by Chef Bills Legacy Catering, desserts by Sweet Melissa’s Homemade Ice Cream, a silent acution and a commemorative photo. The event will not only benefit Hookin’ Veterans, but Buccini said he will also donate $1,000 to the Disabled American Veterans Palm Coast chapter.
“If you’re going to support veterans, support veterans,” Buccini said. “I just wanted to give back to veterans.”
Everyone involved in Hookin Veterans is a volunteer. All of the money raised goes toward the fishing trips.
Santore, whose father is a disabled Vietnam veteran, was hooked after he got know Buccini.
“Joe and I have been friends since our kids went to school together 15 years ago,” Santore said. “He knows I love to fish. He started to talk to me about it. I said how do I get involved. Now I do some social media for them. I’m a go-fer. If I’m not doing my job, which is real estate, I’m doing something for Hookin Veterans.
“Veterans that go to these (fishing) events pull me aside,” Santore said. “They say, ‘This is the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me in my whole life.’ That quote makes me want to cry. We are actually doing something to make a difference in these guys’ lives.”
