KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A fundraiser in memory of a young Lake County soldier who died in 2012 will take place this coming weekend.

The second annual horseshoe tournament in honor of Sgt. Richard Essex will be held beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, at 5050 Konocti Road in Kelseyville, across from the elementary school.

The tournament takes place on the second anniversary of the death of Essex, who at age 23 was killed when the Black Hawk helicopter in which he was a gunner crashed near Shah Wali Kot, Afghanistan.

He grew up in Kelseyville and was – in the words of family members – an “adrenaline junkie.” At the same time, he was a thoughtful young man who also grew to be a gifted writer, and published two books of poems.

The Aug. 16 fundraiser in his memory will benefit Kelseyville-based Operation Tango Mike, an organization that over the past decade has sent monthly care packages to US troops overseas.

The cost per two-person team for the horseshoe tournament is $40.

Preregistration will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15, and also at 8 a.m. Aug. 16.

Prizes are $200 for first place, $100 for second pace and $75 for third place.

For more information about the Essex fundraiser, call 707-263-5981.

For more information about Operation Tango Mike, visit http://www.operationtangomike.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/pages/OPERATION-TANGO-MIKE/118847931474466 .

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.