BY KAREN BOSSICK

Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta will headline the Higher Ground Hero’s Journey fundraiser on July 6.

The event, which supports therapeutic recreation programs for veterans and youth and adults with disabilities, will also feature guest speaker Justin “Sergeant Pat” Patterson, a seven-year combat who was wounded five times.

The evening will conclude with an After Party open to the public featuring music by the Andrew Sheppard Band. The $20 entry fee to that will include a complimentary drink and raffle ticket.

Higher Ground Hero’s Journey supports therapeutic recreation programs for veterans and youth and adults with disabilities. It will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. at a lake side setting at Golden Eagle Ranch and will include a cocktail hour, live and silent auction items and dinners.

For tickets to the fundraiser or to the After Party, go to www.highergroundsv.org/herosjourney.

Panetta has served as director of the CIA, White House Chief of Staff to President Clinton, and director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. He currently chairs the Panetta Institute for Public Policy.

Patterson served from 2002 and 2009 in Iraq where he took shrapnel through the eye, was shot through the foot, was hit by a suicide bomber and took shrapnel to the face and pelvis when his Bradley fighting Vehicle hit an Improvised Explosive Device.

Finally, in 2007, his BFV hit a large IED, overturned and caught fire. Patterson was ejected while his other crew members were burned alive. He spent the next few years in physical, speech and cognitive therapy for Traumatic Brain Injury and other injuries.

Established in 1999 as Sun Valley Adaptive Sports, Higher Ground has grown to serve more than 200 students a year. It s programs include a summer camp for local students with developmental disabilities, a Blaine County chapter of Winter Special Olympics, an After School Program and a Members Only group fitness and outing program.

It also sports an off-road hand cycle camp, backcountry ski camp for individuals with spinal cord injuries and a road bike program for adults with disabilities.

The Military Program started in 2005 and includes ski programs, rafting trips and week-long programs with a unique follow-up and reintegration program.