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Photos courtesy of LotUSA.
The 2025 LotUSA One Yard at a Time Gala Military Honoree is Rear Admiral W. Kent Davis, USN (Retired), who served 31 years and is now the seventh commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs.
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Photos courtesy of LotUSA.
Richard Shea, a former Auburn University defensive tackle from 1991. Shea has been part of LotUSA since its inception and today owns Morris-Shea Bridge Construction Company.
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Photos courtesy of LotUSA.
Veterans attend a past One Yard at a Time Gala.
Homewood-based nonprofit Lettermen of the USA (LotUSA) will host its sixth annual One Yard at a Time Gala in late February.
Guests will have the opportunity to meet and celebrate with military heroes, former college and professional football players, and coaches to raise money for veterans in need. Proceeds from the gala’s silent and live auctions, conducted by Jack Granger of Granger, Thagard & Associates Inc., will benefit discharged and wounded veterans.
Darryl Fuhrman, a former Alabama football player, founded LotUSA after a 2011 tornado devastated Tuscaloosa. Fuhrman helped organize a flag football Iron Bowl game between former Alabama and Auburn players that raised $150,000 for the Governor’s Emergency Relief Fund.
Proving that rival teams and fan bases can work together to achieve a common goal, LotUSA is a national social impact organization that harnesses the power of former college athletes and current and former coaches to help those in need.
“We are a small drop of fresh rainwater in an endless ocean of saltwater despair,” Fuhrman said. “That's what we are, a little Thomas the Tank Engine that does a whole lot with very little.”
While Fuhrman’s efforts to make an impact began in 2011, LotUSA did not become a nonprofit until 2018, after he was encouraged by his former coach, Ray Perkins, to expand from the organization’s signature Autographs for Heroes program.
“I was telling him about how we had given over 250 footballs at breakfast, and he put down his fork — and we were in the Mike Slive booth, if you know anything about Salem’s Diner in Homewood,” Fuhrman said. “I remember him putting down his fork, and he said, ‘Well, son, why haven’t you given 250,000 footballs?’ And I said, ‘Well, coach, that costs a lot of money to give 250,000 footballs.’ He said, ‘Well, I guess you better get busy then.’”
The program provides autographed footballs to wounded veterans as they return home from duty. LotUSA determines each person’s favorite college football team and has the head coach sign the ball.
The organization offers a variety of programs, ranging from celebrating wounded veterans as they return home to providing assistance with housing, rent, food, and more. The gala helps fund these programs and ensures LotUSA can continue its mission of making a long-term impact on local communities by offering the motivation, guidance, and support necessary to pursue success in life, school, and work.
Each year, LotUSA recognizes an Athletic Honoree and a Military Honoree at the gala. This year’s Athletic Honoree is Richard Shea, a former Auburn University defensive tackle from 1991. Shea has been part of LotUSA since its inception and today owns Morris-Shea Bridge Construction Company.
The Military Honoree is Rear Admiral W. Kent Davis, USN (Retired), who served 31 years and is now the seventh commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs.
The gala is set for Feb. 28 at The Club. Doors open at 6 p.m. For more details or to purchase tickets, visit lotusa.org.
