Early on the morning of February 22, 2022 Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation”, and Russian military forces crossed the borders from Russia and Belarus, launching missile strikes on airports and military installations across Ukraine. The attack terrified many Ukrainians, and caught many flat-footed.

Meanwhile, back in the United States, Dan Zellhoefer, Director of Play for the WGCC golf course and one of everybody’s favorites, was going about his business on an unseasonably warm winter day. The temps would hit 63 degrees that day as Dan left for work knowing that the tee sheet would probably fill up given the mild weather. Dan, a 6 year employee at the time at Washington Golf, was married to Alina from the Ukraine. Alina’s mother, Svetlana, was living in the small coastal town of Kryvyi, Ukraine at the time of the invasion.

The military conflict caused immediate panic in the Zellhoefer household, and Dan went into overdrive trying to figure out how he could get his mother-in-law out of harm’s way and somewhere safe. The full story of how Dan and his wife were able to get her mother out of the country and eventually to the United States can be seen in this video. The Shield Foundation and some wonderful members at Washington Golf jumped in with both feet to help. The attached link details this ordeal in Dan’s own words.

Svetlana is now living in Chicago and is engaged to be married.