Jacob Martin’s family has a long history of military service, a tradition that left a strong impression on the Texans defensive end.
That motivated Martin to launch his first annual Texas Together Golf Challenge at Topgolf in Springon July 5, a charity event with proceeds benefiting Boots for Troops. Boots for Troops, a charity organization based in Tomball (www.boots4troops.org) run by Jimmy Rogers and his wife, that assists active military servicemen and servicewomen by giving customized care packages and holiday flights.
“We have a blessed and wonderful opportunity,” Martin said following a training session with private defensive line coach Brandon Jordan. “We have an opportunity to raise some money to take care of care packages for men and women that fight for us overseas. It's just an awesome opportunity. This is something that’s near and dear to me.”
Anyone interested in participating can purchase a golf package for $125 throughvalortix.com. Martin will be participating along with teammates Whitney Mercilus and Justin Reid and other NFL players, including twin brothers Shaquem and Shaquill Griffin.
Started in 2015, Boots for Troops is geared toward boosting morale to sending over 1,000 packages annually overseas to the Middle East and other locations across the world.
“It’s all about their morale,” Rogers said in a telephone interview. “We send out these individual custom care packages and fly them back to their hometowns to spend Christmas and Thanksgiving with their families and cover the entire round trip. These random acts of kindness have grown over the last six years. It's been incredible."
Photo: Getty Images
Martin, a Katy native entering his third season with the Texans since being acquired in a trade involving former top overall pick Jadeveon Clowney, is looking forward to meeting the fans at his event.
“I think it's going to be an exciting year for fans,” Martin said. “Football is back. I'm really excited to interact with fans and have fans in the stadium, just doing little things like this in the community. This is my first actual annual event. We’re very grateful.”
Aaron Wilson has covered the NFL for 20 seasons, including the Texans, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars. He has previously written for The Houston Chronicle and The Baltimore Sun. He’s on Twitter: @AaronWilson_NFL and Instagram: @aaronwilson7128.