Quality of Life Plus Program to Host Veterans Day BBQ

Quality of Life Plus (QL+), a 501(c)(3) charity established earlier this year by a McLean-area resident to aid and improve the quality of life of wounded veterans and public servants, will host its first annual Veterans Day BBQ and Picnic Nov. 8 at The Pavilions at Claude Moore Colonial Farm.

The event will build awareness of QL+ in the Washington, D.C. region and of the foundation's mission to improve the day-to-day lives of disabled military veterans, those serving today on the front lines of the Global War on Terrorism, and the nation's first responders.

"We invite citizens from throughout the national capital area to join us to learn about QL+ and how specifically channeled technology and innovation can improve the lives of our nation's heroes," said QL+ founder Jon Monett of McLean. "During this special event you also will learn about the wounded veterans we serve."

"Our program has funded a new state-of-the-art laboratory at Cal Poly, one of this nation's preeminent Schools of Engineering. At the QL+ Lab students are teaming up to use their engineering disciplines to develop assistive technologies tailored for the people who deserve their efforts the most: "those injured while fighting for and protecting us every day," said Monett.

The QL+ event will feature activities for people of all ages, including moon bounces and slides for children and a BBQ feast by J.R.'s Steakhouse Catering. Activities will begin at 4 p.m. and run through 8 p.m. Adult admission is $50; children under 18 will be admitted free. The admission fee for veterans is $25.

Advance tickets and contributions can be made online at www.qlplus.org/festival or by check made payable to "Quality of Life Plus" and sent to: 6748 Old McLean Village Drive, McLean, VA 22101. Donations to the QL+ Program and the event admission fee are fully tax-deductible. Admission to the Claude Moore Colonial Farm is free for anyone attending the QL+ event.

After a distinguished 26-year career with the CIA and a successful second career in the private sector as founder of a global provider of security and intelligence solutions, Monett decided to support his alma mater while supporting the military men and women who serve their country. He funded the QL+ Laboratory, a multidisciplinary facility that generates research, development and innovation of technology that helps improve the quality of life of those injured in the line of duty. Monett is a graduate of the School of Engineering at Cal Poly.

Monett also is the father of McLean community leader Scott Monett, who headed up TysonsTunnel, Inc., the group of Northern Virginia residents and business professionals that advocated for a tunnel in Tysons Corner as part of the Metrorail extension to Dulles Airport. Scott Monett now is the executive director of QL+.

The QL+ Program, which was founded earlier this year to raise awareness of and funding for the Lab, has two principal focuses:

Identifying the challenges confronting those injured in the line of duty, and

Working with teams of Cal Poly students and faculty to solve these challenges as part of their educational curriculum.

At the QL+ Lab students and faculty direct their engineering talents to real-life solutions. QL+ identifies and recruits wounded veterans with specific needs that can be met by applying and combining engineering disciplines, such as electrical, industrial or mechanical. The curriculum is centered on these physical challenges and dedicated to improving the way a person lives, works or plays with an injury, paralysis or amputation. Students and faculty plan, design, build and test assistive technologies that can serve a single participant or thousands of wounded veterans and public servants.

Currently in the lab, students are adapting heavy equipment so veterans who underwent leg amputations can operate the machinery. In response to a climbing challenge presented by a paraplegic, another team of students is designing an ultra-light, off-road wheelchair that will be capable of climbing mountain peaks. The QL+ program also will build a fly-fishing rod for an arm amputee and modify a prosthetic ankle so that an injured serviceman or woman can actuate a roller blade.

The overarching goal of the QL+ Program is to identify similar challenges within the veterans community and to provide solutions to injured veterans to improve their quality of life. QL+ (www.qlplus.org) currently is promoting its mission to the public and establishing a presence among the nation's veteran's organizations.