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Operation Combating Veteran Suicide: Rallying Support and Honoring Sacrifices · The Scene Projects

• 0:02
  Well welcome into this very exciting episode of the scene.
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  I am your host Bubba Starts and with me today is Mrs.
• 0:07
  South Dakota International and founder of Operation Combating Veteran Suicide Mrs.
• 0:12
  Charlotte Rupp.
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  Charlotte welcome back to the show.
• 0:14
  Thank you.
• 0:14
  It's great to be back.
• 0:15
  Oh, it's great to be on camera again this morning.
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  We just came off the local KOTA and KEVN news program where we're obviously talking about
• 0:23
  Operation Combating Veteran Suicide.
• 0:26
  But I wanted you to talk about how special this week has been the opportunities that we've been
• 0:31
  given and why rally is so important to the mission as a whole.
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  Absolutely this week's been great we've been super busy out up at the rally at Post Club's
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  Customs.
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  We've been up at Indian Mhmm.
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  Just promoting Operation Combatting Veterans Suicide.
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  And it is so important in the rally because a lot of the guys that are up here riding are
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  from other states and are veterans too.
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  So it's good to be able to reach out to them and let them know that we're here to help them
• 1:00
  as well.
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  You know, we've got some great events coming up.
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  Tomorrow's a big one for us.
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  We've been handing out water like crazy.
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  It's just been great.
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  Yeah.
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  Well, a huge shout out to our sponsors cufflinks.com and Captain Jack's RV Park and
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  Resort down there in Summersville, Missouri for helping us to do just that.
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  I mean, without our sponsors, we're not able to put out over a thousand bottles of cold water
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  into the hands of thirsty patrons of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and to spread the word
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  of OCVS nationwide and really worldwide with this opportunity.
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  So we're very blessed to be not just from South Dakota but to have this opportunity out here in
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  the Black Hills to drive it home.
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  Also want to thank KOTA and KEVN news programs for having us on this morning and helping us to
• 1:48
  promote everything as well.
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  Charlotte, what is the the big vision here for Operation Combating Veteran Suicide?
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  We talked about the some of the little stuff that that you do.
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  We know your boots on the ground, literally putting boots, putting guys back to work, and
• 2:02
  helping with, you know, those things, but I know there's a big dream to this.
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  So why don't we share a little bit about that?
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  We are very excited.
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  We're hoping by spring to be looking at breaking ground for a apartment complex that
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  will be just for veterans and it will be their own housing, their own place where they can you
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  know get reintegrated back into the communities, whether it's just coming out of
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  the military or if they've just had a step back in life that they need a little extra help that
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  they'll be able to work with us, and we're gonna have just everything they need on-site in
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  a complex here helping between Box Elder and Rapid.
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  And we are going to just make that their place where they can go and they can live and and
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  have people like their own there and also support for them within the buildings.
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  I think that's really important.
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  And, obviously, the the Black Hills community at large has a lot to do, you know, with
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  veterans and supporting veterans.
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  Obviously, Ellsworth Air Force Base is right here in the Box Elder area, actually, a few
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  blocks away really from where we're at here.
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  But the the big mission, you know, big operations take big contributions.
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  And that's really what Rally has been about for us looking at national brands and having
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  conversations with organizations outside of South Dakota that also have ties to us because
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  of the rally.
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  Places like Indian Motorcycle and Harley Davidson and some of our great nationally based
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  veteran programs.
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  Yep.
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  We've been having a lot of conversations and spreading the word around here.
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  What is the I mean, we're talking millions of dollars at the end of the day to do this.
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  Why is it important to have the right partners involved with that as well?
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  Because it's gonna be continually and ongoing.
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  I mean, we've already talked about what our next state is after, you know, we're gonna we
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  are housed and live here in South Dakota, and this is always gonna be our home, but we are
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  going to then start moving to other states.
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  We've got some connections that we're already looking at different states.
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  So, you know, yes, we're starting here, but this is a national project that we are gonna
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  move forward on.
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  So it's never gonna end for needing donations.
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  It's never gonna end for the support for our veterans.
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  Even if I build a community in every town, the veterans are still gonna need employment help.
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  They're still gonna need boots.
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  They're still gonna need all those other things.
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  I can build their houses for them, but I need the rest of them too.
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  I need Right.
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  Still need the other parts of their lives helped out with.
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  Well, and the housing units are meant to be a transition.
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  So you're always going to have new people that are needing to come into the housing units and
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  people that are leaving as well.
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  And I think the big dream is that, you know, that these become ways for veterans to help
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  other veterans as well.
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  That as guys are coming through, that they move into more leadership roles and are able to help
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  people that are just coming in and doing this.
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  So there's such a long term vision with it.
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  I know we're really just getting started, and that's why it was such a major push during the
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  eighty fifth Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, a record breaking year here in South Dakota to really
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  just get the word out, meet as many people as we can, put as many of our marketing materials
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  into their hands, getting people to the website to know who we are, and then also utilizing all
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  of the different avenues of media and social media and our podcast, obviously, as a vessel
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  to deliver this message.
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  Absolutely.
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  And our community that's support you know, supporting us here so much.
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  You know, we're doing events with them.
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  They're calling us to come out and hang out with them so that we can get the word out
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  there.
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  And it's so important that we continue that and keep growing those partnerships as we are.
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  Definitely.
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  And you had mentioned them before, but HostClamps Custom is a new a new organization,
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  has become not just friends, but major supporters of what we're doing.
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  I I don't know if we'll turn the episode around fast enough because we have so much planning to
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  do, but August 7, we're hosting a very big benefit fundraiser for not just us, but for a
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  member of their community that, you know, befalling some hard times, was in a pretty bad
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  motorcycle.
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  Do you wanna share a little bit about Lucky and their situation?
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  Because that's that's going to require some funds and some contributions as well.
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  So Host Club Custom had an employee, and he left the shop on last Friday and was heading
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  home and on his motorcycle, of course.
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  And he was struck by a vehicle that pulled out in front of him.
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  It shattered everything on the right side of his body.
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  He's already had one surgery, and I think today is the next one.
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  I have to check again that it's all rolling together.
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  But he's already had his hip replaced and his shoulder.
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  He's fairly concussed, still having a little bit of hard time finding words, maybe not
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  doesn't know everybody and kinda loops a little bit with, you know, the thought process.
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  But he is a single gentleman, just started working for him, like, less than thirty days
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  ago, but a really great guy and has just been hugely a supporter of mine being down there and
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  helping and doing.
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  So really sad he's going to be in the hospital quite a long time, but we're gonna we're
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  raising funds for him too to keep him on his feet here.
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  He had just, you know, started kinda making that comeback of had fallen on some hard times
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  and then got a really good job, and, unfortunately, this happened.
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  Right.
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  Well, and then that's a big thing with Operation Combating Veteran Suicide is that
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  it's not just about people that are on the verge.
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  It's about helping gentlemen like Lucky who I mean, if all these medical bills stack up and
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  we don't contribute now, that that becomes another statistic down the road possibly.
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  Right?
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  So it's about helping everyone.
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  It's about helping those in need, and and it's not quite limited.
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  And we've talked a little bit about, you know, helping the community whether they're veterans
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  or not.
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  We have so many organizations that are veteran adjacent as well.
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  Right?
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  You know, a lot of veteran works have included first responders now, which I think is really
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  cool.
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  And just supporting our community, whether it's at host, clench, custom, or whether it's just
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  someone in the community that's fallen on hard times.
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  I think what we want to do is to help people that maybe don't know how to go about putting
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  together these events and helping to raise money and then always having the Operation
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  Combating Veteran Suicide name out there.
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  I think that's very beneficial to all us.
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  It is very beneficial for us to have our name involved in anything we can, but also to show
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  our support to the community.
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  They're supporting us, and, you know, I will we will continue to support them back.
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  If we're not doing that, we're truly not a great partner, and and we will continue to be a
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  great partner with the communities that we are in.
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  Definitely.
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  Well, you've been a great partner for the same projects.
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  I've loved working with you.
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  We we talk all the time.
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  We spend a lot of time online and on the phone, and it's been a blessing this week, Charlotte,
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  to get to spend so much time with you and Casey.
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  And to see the good that you're doing, to see the relationships you've built with your
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  veterans.
• 8:48
  Yeah.
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  And that's exactly how you do it.
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  They are my veterans.
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  And and I think we can all take a little bit more ownership in that because it makes it seem
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  like it's not something that's not of us.
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  Right?
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  It is of us.
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  These military veterans here in The United States have sacrificed so much for us to enjoy
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  all of these freedoms that we get to have, that we get to come to Sturgis and express.
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  Right?
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  And everybody gets to go and ride free and live free.
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  Well, we have to remember the people that gave us that freedom, and that is our United States
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  military veterans.
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  So a big shout out to all of our veterans.
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  Thank you.
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  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
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  And, Charlotte, anything that you wanna add before we jump out of here today?
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  You know, I just wanna thank you.
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  It's a new partnership for you and I.
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  I'm a few months old now, and it has been amazing.
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  And I appreciate what you've done and brought to us.
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  I appreciate just your compassion and jumping in with Operation Combating Veteran Suicide and
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  just bringing us to that next level.
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  So again, thank you to you for what you've done.
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  Well, I think we look pretty good together.
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  We absolutely do.
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  Well, everybody, you can go and you can donate.
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  You can find out more information.
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  Ocvs.com.
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  You can obviously find out more about The Scene Projects at thesceneprojects.com.
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  You're gonna see a lot more of this branding together.
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  We're gonna be out promoting the cause and supporting other causes around the country for
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  many many years to come.
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  This is just the beginning of a really beautiful partnership and I think we proved
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  that this week.
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  I think we proved that what we're doing is important.
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  I think we have shown people that we have the motivation and the wherewithal to not just do
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  this for a year or two, but to build something and to build a community around this
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  organization that keeps it going for, you know, fifty, sixty, seventy years into the future
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  long after we have gone and stepped down and can't do the events anymore.
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  So thank you, Charlotte, for everything that you've done for your veterans and for us as
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  well.
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  We appreciate it.
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  Thank
• 10:46
  you.
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  For everyone else, thank you for tuning into the scene.
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  Remember to like and subscribe, and go find Operation Combating Veteran Suicide online as
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  well.