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Oscar Mike Radio – 509 – Heroes on the Water · Military Broadcast Radio | MBR Talk

0:06
Hello and welcome to OM Radio live and in person in Danbury,
0:12
CT with Josh Stanwitz. I got it right and I love doing
0:17
these live is a little bit of a dry this morning.
0:19
No problem. Beautiful New England day and I
0:22
am with Josh and he runs leads heroes on the water.
0:27
Josh, welcome to OM Radio. Thanks for having me.
0:30
It's been a beautiful ride down here.
0:33
Like, like, no traffic. Even on the Mass Pike.
0:35
Hartford was easy. And I get here and I'm like,
0:38
this is like a resort feel. Oh.
0:41
Absolutely gorgeous. Absolutely.
0:43
Right, right, right. And so people have been asking,
0:47
what does heroes on the water do?
0:48
Why are you, you know, driving all the way down there?
0:51
I'm like, you know what? I talked to Josh before today.
0:54
I'm like, I'm in. I want to find out more.
0:56
Tell us before you get into all the good stuff and it's all
0:59
good. Sure, sure.
1:01
Tell us who the man is, who is Josh and how did you get
1:04
involved with Heroes in the Water?
1:05
Oh man, that's that's a great question and I'll keep it fairly
1:08
brief. Generational veteran.
1:12
I grew up in a small town on the East Coast, joined the Marine
1:15
Corps right out of high school and took off Semper Fi and ended
1:20
up discovering California and staying.
1:22
And while I was transitioning out of the Marine Corps, I had
1:25
my struggles like a lot of us do.
1:27
I had some good officers that kind of pushed me to go back
1:30
into the reserve element. And I found myself into what we
1:34
like to joke in California as the retirement home for the
1:36
Marine Corps, which is the California National Guard,
1:39
because everybody there's a Marine or, or a police officer,
1:42
you know, And anyway, you know, life was life.
1:47
And I was going to college and Fast forward a few years, I'm in
1:51
Arizona with my beautiful wife and I had to have an emergency
1:53
surgery due to an injury I sustained overseas on a
1:56
deployment and kind of cut my law enforcement career a little
2:00
short. And from that point forward, I
2:03
kind of by happenstance landed in veteran advocacy.
2:07
And I've been working in the veteran advocacy space and
2:09
policy space for almost 15 years now from state level to national
2:16
level to here on the nonprofit side to the national level as
2:21
well. So it's been, it's been a, a
2:23
blessing, a journey. And you know, I've always viewed
2:28
it as, you know, I'm kind of helping my family out because
2:31
not only are you my family, because you're my brothers,
2:33
you're right, and sisters, but you know, my dad's a veteran, my
2:36
cousins are VATS, my grandparents are VATS.
2:39
So. So, so you've lived this?
2:41
Yes, Sir, from, from serving our country afterwards you've had
2:45
the veteran experience. Sure.
2:47
So what was it about Heroes on the Water that said, you know
2:49
what? This is an organization that you
2:52
know I want to align with. Ohio Well, the easiest question
2:55
is the outdoors and looking for ways for myself to decompress
3:04
and to deal with issues that I have without being medicated.
3:09
You know, one of the things, and I'm, I'm not here to beat up the
3:13
VA, but you know, a lot of us coming back, a lot of infantry
3:16
guys, non infantry guys and gals, you know, we have our
3:19
issues from from the global War on Terror.
3:22
And one of the ways that they treat that is, you know,
3:25
uncomfortable forms of forced counseling, lots of medication,
3:30
often times. And, you know, now we're lucky
3:33
that they're starting to look at alternative methods.
3:35
But, you know, I grew up a country boy and in the mountains
3:38
of southwestern Virginia and, you know, being outdoor was
3:40
always kind of spiritual. So while I was in Arizona kind
3:44
of miserable, I was given the opportunity to attend a fishing
3:48
program that was not heroes on the water, but similar.
3:52
And I spent 8 weeks going out on the water every week with a
3:56
group of veterans I didn't know and 1st responders I didn't
3:58
know. And it, it absolutely changed my
4:00
life, you know, made me want to get out more, more.
4:03
It made me want to be around people more, allowed me to
4:06
decompress. And I just realized how much I
4:08
miss being outdoors. And realistically, you know, we
4:12
kind of realized how healing the outdoors were.
4:16
And then Fast forward a couple years from that, I was
4:19
introduced to heroes on the water.
4:21
And you know, they're not just talking it, but walking it.
4:25
You know, we're, we're, we have our therapeutic programs or our
4:29
chapter programs, but the, you know, the most important thing
4:31
is, is we're getting the data that shows that being outdoors
4:36
in an environment like this is easier to decompress and it can
4:40
provide the exact same results, if not better than what you
4:43
would get. It's great that you mentioned
4:44
that because I was at the Military Creator Con 2026 in
4:48
Arlington, TX and there was a heroes on the water, you know, a
4:51
person up there and she and I start talking and she said this
4:54
is where we are different. We collect data and we are
4:57
starting to build models of, you know, nothing personal but an
5:00
idea of how effective the efficacy being outdoors, but
5:05
also the veterans experience from the time they get to us
5:08
until sometimes they move on, sometimes they stay with us and
5:10
it's very interesting. Why is that the focus of what
5:14
you all do I. Want to make sure I have the.
5:18
Question correct. So a lot of nonprofits means
5:21
rephrase. A lot of nonprofits are just,
5:22
hey, we're having an event come show up, we're all feeling good
5:25
and then they go home. But she was like, we we collect
5:28
data to tailor our programs and to do that.
5:32
And that's, that's not just a happenstance kind of decision.
5:35
That's very someone purposely intended to use data to be
5:39
better what they did. Yeah, absolutely.
5:41
And that came before me and I would actually have to highlight
5:45
our amazing therapeutic programs director, Joe Winston, OK.
5:49
He has been at the forefront of helping develop our program.
5:54
He, one of the things that he said to me when I first came on
5:57
board the Heroes on the Water, which was nine months ago, was,
6:00
you know, our dream is to get it to where you can go into the VA
6:03
or going to your doctor's office and get a prescription written
6:06
to go kayak fishing as opposed to getting a prescription
6:09
written for pills or something to deal with stress.
6:12
And because of the program that Joe has developed and because of
6:18
the work and the partnerships that they formed with Texas
6:21
State University system, they've been working with, with them
6:25
doing research for, for years now.
6:28
You know, it's caught on and you know, what started as an idea is
6:35
come to quickly coming to fruition.
6:37
I mean, we have veterans for years now that have been doing
6:40
our, our therapeutic programming from the VA, from as certified
6:45
rec therapy and it's working. We're finishing.
6:48
Up. It's an actual thing.
6:50
Certified rec therapy? Absolutely.
6:52
So you can go to the VA if our program is there, which we're in
6:57
12 right now, but I promise you we're going to get, we're
7:01
getting bigger. But if you go to the VA right
7:04
now, depending on the area that you live in, you can go on the
7:06
heroes on thewater.org and click on chapters and find the local
7:11
volunteer in the therapeutic chapters.
7:13
But yeah, absolutely, if you have rating and the ability to
7:18
get certified rec therapy, you can go in and request to join
7:23
the Heroes on the Water group and go kayak fishing for your
7:26
rec therapy. And it counts.
7:28
And they charted and everything. And what's really exciting is
7:31
we're actually starting to pilot it for mental health too.
7:34
So, you know, the dream is that you can go in and instead of
7:38
meeting with your clinician or your counselor for 30 minutes,
7:44
you have your prescription to go kayak fishing.
7:46
So you can go out with your group and you can kayak, fish
7:48
and achieve usually better results.
7:51
Really. So talk to me about kayak
7:54
fishing. What is exactly kayak fishing
7:57
entailed? Oh man, kayaking and fishing,
8:00
right? We're combining 2 amazing
8:02
hobbies into one. So like I'm in one of those, you
8:05
know, single seat, you know, watercraft, sure, with a little
8:08
award that goes like this. That's right.
8:10
And you go out into the lake or ocean wherever, correct, and you
8:13
cast your line. That's.
8:14
What we're doing and go fishing, that's it.
8:16
So I got to tell you on a day like today.
8:18
It's beautiful, right? Who doesn't want to do it?
8:21
I'm not even doing it, Josh, and I already feel better.
8:23
Yeah, it's amazing. It's amazing, absolutely.
8:26
And you know, the big thing that people don't realize is it's so
8:31
non invasive. I mean, we have families out
8:35
here fishing, hanging out on the dock, chatting at the picnic
8:40
table. And this is therapy.
8:42
And we're getting better results than if you're taking pills.
8:47
Well, that's one thing. And, you know, I've been around
8:49
some veterans who've been on pill regimens and it just seems
8:52
like over time, they have a briefcase full of pills and it
8:56
becomes this, this cruel circle where they got to take one pill
9:00
for their main thing and then 15 other pills.
9:03
Absolutely. And and that's no good for them.
9:05
No, and you know, the biggest thing that we face is vets and
9:08
I'm I'm guilty and I'm I'm I'm a salty infantry NCO is, you know,
9:13
you get back and we really don't like to be around people.
9:16
We want to be around our own people and that camaraderie and
9:19
that community has come to gone away.
9:22
Our sense of purpose is kind of gone away and you know, we start
9:26
to isolate. We she creates issues with our
9:30
family. I've been married and been with
9:32
my wife for almost 20 years now. We have 2 little boys and bless
9:36
her she's dealt with my issues. But this gives such a natural
9:40
non invasive way for you to decompress, come out of
9:45
isolation and the biggest thing is really form lasting memories
9:50
with your family. Well, that's nothing I wanted to
9:53
touch on is you're 1 of few orgs also that really say hey, your
9:57
family is welcome and I'm and I've talked to other orgs like
10:01
hey, if you don't start letting the kids and the wives show up,
10:04
it's going to be hard to survive.
10:06
Most people you know, women or men, veterans who have families
10:10
a weekend, got stuff to do. And they want to do it with
10:13
their family. That's right.
10:15
Isn't the family part of their healing?
10:16
Absolutely. And, and, you know, it should
10:19
be, I mean, you know, it's, I don't want to throw a guy under
10:23
the bus, but I've, I've made a couple of quotes.
10:25
But, you know, I was at an event a few months ago and there was a
10:30
police officer there with his, you know, with his kid and with
10:32
his wife. And you're the police officer is
10:34
a former Marine veteran, like a lot of police officers are.
10:37
Yeah. And you know, the the wife was
10:40
just saying like, you know, this is the first time that we really
10:42
get to hang out and that he doesn't have to worry about
10:44
going on call. And we're in a place where we
10:47
feel safe when we're around, you know, people and his alerts not
10:51
up all the time. And and, you know, it's it's
10:53
important. And what's really interesting in
10:56
those dynamics is they become they become their own community.
11:01
So you have these guys that are going from, you know, military
11:06
hospitals or VA treatment and they're taking a new skill set
11:11
and a new hobby out into their, you know, out into the world
11:15
and, you know, in some cases creating their own how chapter
11:18
and creating their own community.
11:20
And these are guys that and gals that, you know, before didn't
11:24
want to be around people. We're dealing with all your,
11:27
your usual PTS or, you know, trauma site things.
11:30
And now they're making memories, they're smiling, they're
11:33
laughing. You know, I'm, I'm not trying
11:35
to, to, to, to sound cool and like, you know, throw a special,
11:39
you know, talk about a special operations guy, but we had a, a
11:42
retired special operator and he literally said at our last
11:46
Dallas event, you know, this is the first time in probably 20
11:49
years I've got to sit down and fish and make a memory with one
11:52
of my kids. You know, and he's like all of
11:54
my other kids are grown and missed out.
11:56
But like, you know, this little guy's getting one-on-one time
11:58
and you know, people don't you get it, but and the families get
12:03
it. But it's hard to explain, you
12:05
know, the sacrifices that the families make and, and what the
12:08
families deal with from the veteran and the emergency
12:12
responder community, right? So to be able to give them.
12:15
That I wasn't in law enforcement and even still, you know, you
12:18
never lose that hyper. It's hard to really turn it off
12:22
and just be in the moment. I'm always assessing threat
12:25
vectors and you know, that person's a little shifting you
12:28
to keep my eye on them, and it's hard to put that away.
12:32
One thing that that I've really was amazed at is you're here in
12:36
Connecticut right now, but in this one weekend alone, there
12:40
were like 12 events nationwide. Yeah, isn't that incredible?
12:44
And and and and not just for for this little time frame.
12:47
Here you all have had events all summer long, just one after the
12:51
other. How does that all get supported?
12:54
Because that's hard to do. It is hard to do well.
12:58
It gets supported by everyone's donation.
13:00
So we're a nonprofit. We strictly operate off of off
13:05
of donations, private donations or grants.
13:09
And we have been blessed to have a really good team that is very
13:15
fiscal responsible. And, you know, but yeah, that's,
13:19
that's just kind of where we're at.
13:20
So we support the chapter. So, you know, if, if somebody
13:23
wants to start an amazing volunteer chapter in their,
13:26
their town, they go onto our website, put in an interest form
13:30
and then there's processes that they take and it's almost like a
13:34
turnkey kayak nonprofit for your community.
13:37
You know, that's not the therapeutic side, that's the
13:39
volunteer chapter side, but same results basically.
13:42
You know, and I get to send Joe's team out or, or Camille,
13:49
our volunteer program director, her team out and, you know, they
13:52
bring the trailer and the kayak and the fishing poles and we
13:55
train and get everybody set up on the water.
13:58
Nice, nice, nice. You know, as we go on, this is
14:03
this is a lot bigger than I thought it was when I met, you
14:06
know, you know the person in Dallas and she's talking about
14:09
this, I thought this is just like a Texas based entity, but
14:11
this is truly nationwide and you're growing.
14:15
Growing. What's that feel like as a
14:18
nonprofit director? Because, you know, money's tight
14:20
right now for a lot of people. Time is tight right now for a
14:23
lot of people, you know, But you all are executing the mission.
14:26
Absolutely, absolutely. Well, I mean, I, I think anybody
14:31
in the nonprofit space, you, you always feel the, the pinch and
14:35
the burden of, of fundraising on the development side of the
14:39
house. But for us, again, the, the, the
14:44
proof is there. We've been, we're getting ready
14:46
to hit our 20 year mark. Our, our therapeutic program is,
14:51
is skyrocketed. I mean, we're going to probably
14:54
potentially double our footprint next year.
14:56
And I mean, I, and I think that's the probably some of the
14:59
things that maybe make heroes on the water a little bit
15:03
different. A We have the, the quality of
15:06
data, we're going to soon have the quantitative data for, for
15:09
our programming. And then, you know, I think one
15:12
of the largest things and it was actually brought up to me just
15:17
maybe a couple of weeks ago by an event attendee.
15:20
But to your point, not only do we have a national footprint,
15:24
we're an organization that you can continue to do what we are
15:30
taking you out to do. You know, most outdoor type
15:33
nonprofits, you go to a retreat and you're done, right?
15:38
I take you on a hunting trip and there's two of you and you're
15:41
done. There's five of us going fly
15:43
fishing or on a fishing charter and we're done, right?
15:47
And that's great and that's healing.
15:49
And absolutely the men and women deserve those trips 1000%.
15:55
But after that trip, they're done.
15:59
So you did this amazing fishing trip or hunting trip or
16:01
mountaineering expedition. You made these memories, but now
16:05
what do you do? And Heroes on the Water is in
16:08
unique because you're not done the next week.
16:11
You can probably go to another event and fish right?
16:13
And you're just consistently given the ability to go back and
16:19
do what we started out doing right, which is the ability to
16:22
hit the water and fish well. That's the thing, right?
16:24
You get to go to the one time thing, you have the feel good
16:27
vibes, you're in your feels. And then, you know, a month
16:31
later it's like, Oh yeah, I'm right back to where I was and
16:33
hey, how's it going? And he's like, hey, I'm we had
16:36
you one time, see you later. This is a VFW correct where we
16:40
are. Yeah, and this crazy, gorgeous
16:43
VFW. But but this is one thing I kind
16:46
of wanted to touch on is how cool is the VFW and you are
16:50
collaborating? It's amazing.
16:52
It's a blessing. It's a blessing.
16:53
And that's, that's the kind of support we, you know, we want
16:56
and the partnerships we like to foster locally.
16:59
I mean, it doesn't get any better than this, right?
17:01
Your local VFW Post having us here, you know, people are going
17:06
to be fishing and kayaking all day, going to be barbecuing
17:08
later, I mean. I just thought it was very
17:11
interesting, very cool when, you know, a lot of the FWS are
17:14
closing down or they're trying to get people to come to, you
17:17
know, their location. And I'm like, OK, this is a cool
17:20
way to, you know, get some membership, but also just to
17:22
pay. We're here for you to support
17:24
the community. That's right.
17:24
It's really amazing. So I'm, you know, check things
17:29
out on the waterfront and we're going to go down there.
17:31
But Josh, thank you for talking with me.
17:33
Thanks for having me. We'll keep this up.
17:34
I'm going to go and check it out and then maybe I'll have you
17:36
back on and close this. Out All right, I appreciate it.
17:38
Super 5, we are mission in flight and we're back.
17:42
I have the director of Volunteer services for Heroes in the
17:45
Water, Camille Knoll. Join us next.
17:48
Camille, how are you doing? I'm doing great.
17:50
We're on the water today. It's awesome.
17:51
What, what a what a great, first of all, a great New England day.
17:55
And then coming down here, I didn't know what to expect and
17:58
it's just exceeded every expectation.
18:01
Who was the the fire salesman you were telling me about
18:03
earlier? The fire salesman.
18:06
No, the the lady who? Oh, Laura Lindsay.
18:10
Yes, yes, yeah. Laura is our Director of
18:12
Development. Well, Laura, all your work in
18:17
Arlington, that military computer con is coming to
18:20
fruition because this just been a banner day so far.
18:23
So, you know, I come down here and I'm watching a couple of
18:27
things. One, there's little pockets of
18:30
people, just one-on-one talking. And then you have like a system
18:34
for people getting in the kayak, getting kit up ready to go.
18:38
Is that by design? It is by design.
18:41
It is by design. What's happening in that time
18:43
when you have the the one on ones in the kayak time please?
18:47
And when you're talking about the one on ones, they're getting
18:50
to know the other people that are here.
18:52
Maybe they're maybe they're other officers, other veterans,
18:57
maybe some are active duty, but they're hey, where did you go
19:00
up? Hey, you know, how did you get
19:03
here? How do you how did how did you
19:08
end up here and comparing notes and maybe developing
19:12
relationships, you know, for future kayak fishing buddies,
19:16
you know? Well, the one thing I would say
19:17
is I'm not seeing anybody really singing alone by themselves.
19:21
It's it's almost like, hey, you know, come on in and.
19:24
Exactly. And yeah, it seems intent full
19:27
as well. It is, it is I, you know, it's
19:30
we want to make sure our volunteers are great at
19:34
welcoming new people in and introducing them.
19:37
Hey, we're here, you know, here's what we're going to do
19:40
today. Glad to have you.
19:43
And they want them to feel welcome.
19:45
They want to help them develop their new community.
19:48
So, Camille, how did you get in touch with or involved with
19:52
Heroes in the Water? So my husband was involved with
19:56
one of the very first events that we did.
19:59
Like 20 years ago. Yeah.
20:00
Oh wow, yeah. 20 years ago, we had a group that came down from
20:05
Brooks Army Medical Center in San Antonio.
20:08
And my husband was one of the fishing guides, you know, one of
20:11
the expert kayak anglers at the time, and he was involved.
20:15
He was a Houston police officer at the time and it resonated
20:19
with him. He used the outdoors as a coping
20:22
mechanism for his own trials and tribulations with the job.
20:27
And so it resonated with him. And when he saw Friday night,
20:33
the guys showed up from Brooks and they were quiet, spoke when
20:38
spoken to, but not really engaging.
20:41
By the end of the weekend, we couldn't shut them up.
20:43
They were picking on each other. They the, the competition came
20:47
out, that unit feel came back to them and they then went back to
20:55
the hospital and we're excited about next steps and getting out
21:00
and going kayak fishing again. And these guys made plans to
21:05
meet up and go again. So that was one of those where
21:10
you took these guys who did not want to talk about what they had
21:14
been through. They are all TBI patients.
21:16
They didn't want to talk about what got them to that medical
21:19
unit. They didn't think anybody wanted
21:22
to hear their sad story or whatever.
21:25
And so it wasn't safe to talk to anybody.
21:29
Once we gave them the kayak fishing experience and they got
21:33
out and started talking about, you know, catching fish and, you
21:37
know, I, I got more than you did or mine was bigger than yours.
21:41
That gave them something safe to talk about.
21:44
And that just continued. They realized that there was
21:48
life beyond that, that injury. What was it like watching your
21:53
husband being involved with this and go through this?
21:56
It was wonderful because my husband had a lot of guilt about
22:00
not serving as he was on the Police Department, went on the
22:03
Police Department at 19, and so he was already committed to the
22:07
Houston Police Department. And so he never served.
22:11
And there was a little bit of guilt to it, but he also
22:15
understood there's a lot of common denominators between
22:19
experiences. And so he felt very passionate
22:24
about sharing what he knew about sitting in deer stand or sitting
22:29
in a kayak or being in the outdoors and how it helped him
22:33
cope with the day-to-day stuff he dealt with.
22:36
Well, just amazing. I come here and again, I didn't
22:38
know what to expect and it was nice meeting.
22:41
I'm going to get him out here later.
22:42
Joe, who is, he's a big talker, but just seeing that the program
22:49
in action, understanding that, hey, you know what I'm, I'm
22:52
noticing people seeing at picnic tables by the shoreline, but
22:55
they're not alone. Someone's talking with them and
22:58
then they're completely immersed in the kayak experience.
23:01
No one is having a bad time. And it just seems like you also
23:06
have the support of the community and the VFW.
23:09
What a great day. It is.
23:10
It's a wonderful day. It's a wonderful day.
23:12
We do. We collaborate as much as
23:14
possible with other veteran service organizations or law
23:18
enforcement or firefighters wherever we can find the
23:23
opportunity to collaborate, because the more we work
23:26
together, the more we serve. Have you ever been doing them
23:30
before? I have not.
23:32
So this is your first time in the great Great Northeast.
23:36
I've been to New York City a couple of times, but that is it.
23:40
This is, yes, it's beautiful. It's absolutely beautiful up
23:44
here. Everything that everybody ever
23:46
told me is true. You do this and people are, are
23:52
watching this right now and I, I want this out to two different
23:56
people. One, people like yourself who
23:58
didn't serve but want to help out the org.
24:01
And then to the, the, the veteran who is thinking about
24:04
doing this. We'll start with the first one.
24:06
What do you tell somebody who's watching this?
24:08
Say you know what? I don't, I haven't served.
24:10
I don't know much, but I believe I can help out this
24:13
organization. There is.
24:14
There's a lot of ways to help you.
24:18
You know, obviously, first and foremost, if you can't do
24:20
anything but cut a check, cut a check.
24:22
OK, that's always there's not going to be a non profit.
24:25
That's not going to tell you that.
24:27
The other is if all you can do is show up, serve lunch, help
24:33
load and unload kayaks, help talk to people you know, go ask
24:39
them where did you serve? You know, how long have you been
24:42
out? Where you know, where did you
24:44
grow up? Get to know them and help them
24:49
feel more comfortable on where they are now.
24:52
Yeah. And for that veteran who's
24:55
sitting there, because, you know, one of the things I'm
24:58
learning, you know, studying the VA numbers on on suicide and the
25:01
fact that the 22 a day has not really moved that much in the
25:05
last 10 years. One of the things that's coming
25:07
up more in the VA side, but also just basic psychology, is the
25:12
aspect of isolation. You know, isolation is truly one
25:17
of the first precursors to a suicidal audiation state.
25:21
Yes. What do you tell that veteran
25:23
who's second? You know, I don't know if this
25:25
is for me or how this is going to go.
25:27
Let's give it a try. One time come out.
25:29
Let's just one, one time. If you don't like it, you don't
25:32
have to come back. Well, I didn't know what was
25:35
going on. It's not hurting me yet.
25:37
I'm having a great time. But you know, I think it's it's
25:40
great. I got a picture of someone in
25:42
the middle of the lake fishing and they just look peaceful.
25:45
Very much so. There is a feeling that you get
25:49
and, and it's really hard to describe, but when you push off
25:52
the shoreline on a kayak, and This is why that's our modality
25:56
is you push off the shore in a kayak, you can feel your body
26:01
just relax. I've never been on a kayak but I
26:05
have to feel it's like my my motorcycle.
26:08
Exactly. The minute I put it in first
26:10
gear, everything goes away. Exactly.
26:12
It's that same kind of feeling. And I tell a lot of people, I
26:16
don't care if you're kayak fishing, you're riding a
26:18
motorcycle, you're playing golf, whatever it is, get outdoors and
26:25
find a community that you're comfortable with.
26:28
Well, it's it's got to be different with the kite because
26:30
you're so close to nature, like you're literally on the water
26:33
inches from the water. Exactly.
26:35
Like you can see that fish as you're reeling in.
26:37
That must be awesome when they get a fish.
26:39
I you know there is nothing more addicting than watching a fish
26:44
take a lure and and being able to fight that fish and bring him
26:49
in and give him a kiss and send him back.
26:52
Nice, nice. You've been with this program
26:55
now for effectively 20 years. Yes, you'll in some capacity.
26:59
Some capacity, right? I mean, you had a funny quote
27:01
earlier, but what's next for you in the organization?
27:05
So to serve, I want more chapters in more communities
27:10
because we, you know, this is something we've seen the
27:14
results. We know it works.
27:17
We have testing that Joe can talk about that proves it's
27:21
effective. And if you know, I know a lot of
27:25
people want to give back. They just kind of assume that
27:28
it's too much work. It's not.
27:31
Find a team of four or five people and say we all want to
27:36
work together, we want to commit.
27:38
We'll take it from there and help you get everything you
27:41
need. The equipment, all of the all
27:43
the coaching and support and help that you need will help you
27:48
get started. But volunteer and serve your
27:52
community of veterans and emergency responders.
27:56
One of the things that I found truly impressive was that we
27:59
have this event in, you know, southwestern Connecticut, but
28:03
there were events going on all weekend.
28:05
Yes, there's events going on now in other states.
28:08
It's really interesting how you all coordinate and keep it all
28:11
together. We have currently 54 volunteer
28:15
LED chapters in 25 states. I was looking on Facebook today
28:22
checking it out. We had our Coastal Bend chapter
28:25
out of Corpus Christi, TX. Put 45 kayaks on the water. 45.
28:29
45, they have a very big fleet. They have a lot of support, a
28:33
lot of community outreach. And so, yeah, they put that many
28:38
on the water yesterday. Nice.
28:40
Yeah. And it's, you know, it's a
28:41
perfect time. This is the perfect time of the
28:44
year across the US to be on the water.
28:49
It's will be really busy between now and through September.
28:54
Some will actually go through October, November.
28:57
Y'all will not. No, no.
29:00
But we also, several of our volunteers up in this area know
29:03
they have a short season, so they'll try to plan as many
29:07
events as they can in that three to four month period that they
29:10
have. And you know, we have, I have
29:13
Genesee Valley, New York. I have a group of school
29:16
teachers. Oh nice.
29:18
Oneida, NY. I have a group of bus drivers.
29:23
They, you know, some of them are served, some of them haven't,
29:26
but they want to give back to their community.
29:28
They have that flexible schedule and they said we want to do
29:31
something to get back. So they put together A-Team.
29:34
I ordered them kayaks. They now are doing events up in,
29:39
you know, New York. Love it, love it, love it.
29:41
Got one in Long Island. Well, you know, again Camille,
29:44
this is just this start off as a simple conversation at Multi
29:47
Creator Con with Laura Lynn. Lindsay.
29:50
Yeah, Is it Lindsay? Lindsay, Laura.
29:52
Lindsay. Look at that, Camille.
29:55
Let's start off as a simple conversation at Multi Creator
29:59
one more time with feeling Camille.
30:02
This started off as a as a simple conversation at lunch
30:06
with Laura Lindsay at military creator Con in Arlington.
30:10
And, you know, learned about it in my, my, my good Marine sister
30:13
and friend April Palatino was like, you know, I want to check
30:16
this out. And it's just amazing how this
30:20
story has grown because I was really encouraged to come and
30:23
meet with you today. And I'm so glad I did.
30:24
I am so glad you're here. So glad you're here.
30:27
We'll get some other people on. Thank you Camille for talking
30:30
with us and I can't wait to see what's next.
30:33
That's great. We're looking forward to it.
30:35
Absolutely, Absolutely. And we're back.
30:39
I'm having a great day down here in Southwestern Connecticut at
30:42
this VFW hall with Heroes on the Water.
30:45
And I've talked to Josh, I've talked to Camille, and now I'm
30:48
talking to Joe Winston, director of Hang On a Second, director of
30:52
therapeutic programs. Thank you very much.
30:54
And he's going to take some time and tell me what it's all about.
30:57
Joe, welcome. Thanks Travis.
30:58
This is amazing. Thanks for coming out.
31:00
Gorgeous day, right? Right, right, right.
31:02
It's really interesting how just a simple conversation led to a
31:06
couple of emails. I talked to Josh and then Feta's
31:09
like, hey, you know, we want you to come to the the Connecticut
31:13
event because you, Camille and Josh are all going to be there.
31:17
I'm like, OK, I'll go anywhere. But what an amazing event this
31:20
has turned out to be. I feel so blessed.
31:23
It's about 100 and something degrees in hometown Beaumont, TX
31:25
right now, so really enjoying being up here this weekend and
31:29
getting to see this part of the country.
31:31
What does this mean to you when you see?
31:33
Because you know, like I've told Josh and Camille, I can't
31:37
believe that there's this going on right now, but yesterday and
31:40
today there are multiple events nationwide going on right now.
31:46
I'm still humbled, astonished. I remember the very first time
31:50
when the our founder, Jim Dolan and I were talking and somebody
31:55
from Virginia reached out and said, hey, we like what you guys
31:58
are doing in San Antonio. We'd like to do it here.
32:01
Like, well, that's neat. And then it just it, I don't
32:05
think we ever intended to start a national nonprofit, but it
32:09
just kept going. And people love this idea.
32:11
And you get to see what it does in these communities all over
32:14
the country. It means the world to me to see
32:16
the program grow the way that it's grown.
32:19
Now you were at the very beginning starting this.
32:22
I was. And so tell that story because,
32:25
ladies and gentlemen, it's really cool how this came about.
32:30
OK, so there was a tip of the hat to a lot of the folks from
32:35
Texas Kayak Fishing Forum. We were all sort of probably
32:39
wasting time at work because it was back in the late 90s, early
32:43
2000s when you didn't have high speed Internet everywhere.
32:46
So there were a few of us that that had that at our jobs and we
32:49
were just trading ideas and exchanging.
32:51
And there was a gentleman that was at one of the hospitals in
32:55
San Antonio, and he said, hey, does anybody have a extra kayak?
33:00
I've got these guys that are causing trouble in the hospital
33:04
and sure would be nice if we could get them out on the water.
33:08
And I said, well, heck, I've got an extra kayak.
33:12
Let's go do this thing. And so shortly thereafter, we
33:16
got a grant from Parks and Wildlife and found some
33:20
community partners. And next, here we are about to
33:23
celebrate our 20th anniversary next year. 20 years Unreal.
33:28
And it's I've said this before and I'll say it to you again,
33:30
it's just amazing. When I looked at your events
33:33
page, like, wait a minute, there's there's this event going
33:36
on which Fader really wanted me to go to and Fader, thank you
33:38
very much. But there's events nationwide
33:41
going on right now in that need. That's just something else and.
33:45
And if you and if? I want to say something to the
33:48
audience, too. If this appeals to you and
33:50
there's not something when you go to our website and there's
33:53
not a chapter in your area, come see us.
33:56
Fill it out. This is our job.
33:57
We want to extend the mission to anybody and everybody in the
34:01
veteran emergency responder space that wants to start a
34:05
chapter. Yeah, we were talking and.
34:07
You brought up this thing called is it certified therapeutic?
34:11
So. Certified recreational therapy.
34:13
Thank you. So that.
34:15
Is a degree four year clinician much like a doctor?
34:20
You know, not as much Med school, but they provide
34:25
recreational therapy and that our particular modality in rec
34:29
therapy is the kayak and the fishing opportunities.
34:34
So. You really went that way to, you
34:36
know, not just have an event, but have as a as a, as a
34:39
therapeutic killing event. But you also said there's,
34:43
there's data points that you collect throughout an event.
34:46
I was curious if you talk about that little bit more and why
34:49
that was so intentful so way. Back in way back in the day, Jim
34:54
Dolan and I are sitting on the side of the Guadalupe River in
34:57
San Antonio, TX, New Braunfels, TX.
35:00
And we're like, you know, wouldn't it be cool someday if
35:03
you could go see the doctor and they would write a prescription
35:05
for kayak fishing? And, and so it was just this
35:09
wild kind of crazy dream that I had always in the back of my
35:13
head. And so as the years went by and
35:16
we started growing, I, I, my degree is in Fine Arts, I am a
35:22
former professor of fine art and photography, and I have no real
35:27
medical background, but I started digging in and
35:29
researching and found a path for us to start doing that.
35:34
And so one of those ways to get scientists to listen to you is
35:39
to produce scientific data. So five years ago we started
35:43
what we call Operation Early Impact and it's a quality of
35:46
life survey. We went through an internal
35:49
review board and we've done that.
35:53
This is our fifth year and it's the end of phase one of our
35:55
research. We've got almost 1000 responses
35:59
in five years of people and 95% the the stats are on the
36:06
website. I'll try to remember most of
36:08
them, but 95% of the people that have come to our programs and
36:13
participated in the survey have said that this helps improve
36:17
their self efficacy, their stress, it reduces stress and
36:21
they're really and it helps them build relationships.
36:24
So that told us that what we always knew our motto's
36:29
paddlefish heel, we knew there was healing going on.
36:32
But now I have a set of data and I can say here, it's, it's fact,
36:37
it's scientific data. And so our our phase two that
36:41
we're moving into in just a few weeks and we're doing a pilot
36:45
study where we're going to do salivary testing for cortisol
36:49
and testosterone changes before, during and after an event.
36:53
So further, going from qualitative to quantitative
36:57
data, you know, hard facts, biometric feedback and so well,
37:03
I think that's you know. Key because now the VA is
37:05
starting to say hey, you know, we need to start doing or the
37:08
Department of War wants to do testosterone testing because
37:11
it's been known that military veterans have, you know,
37:15
deficiencies after they serve. It's it's be really interesting
37:17
to see what that data I'm I'm excited about.
37:19
The next phase in our research and, and it's just again the to
37:24
prove that kayak fishing is a healing opportunity and that
37:29
maybe before we turn to heavy narcotics, opioids,
37:35
antidepressants, maybe maybe just a little time outside
37:40
getting together with some friends, some people you served
37:43
with, meet some new people, maybe that's just as effective,
37:47
you know? One thing I wanted to ask, is
37:50
this like a one and done type of program where you come once and
37:53
then you can't really come back or you got to cycle back through
37:56
before you're allowed to come back?
37:58
A lot of programs are liked. I'm just curious how it's
38:00
structured. We're a community.
38:02
You might start to hear some of the background noise over there.
38:05
The community is where we thrive and.
38:09
And one of the. Reasons that we chose to be that
38:12
way was in the early days of veteran support groups, there
38:16
were lots of really neat trips to Montana and Colorado, go
38:20
skiing or surfing in San Diego. But we wanted to meet people in
38:24
their community and give them a Sunday morning or a Saturday
38:27
afternoon and let them meet the folks that are there in their
38:30
community and come back be be part of something.
38:35
So our reoccurring, if you hang around very long as a
38:39
participant, you get voluntold something and next thing you
38:43
know, you're in a leadership position and it's it's a really
38:47
neat and 55 volunteer LED chapters, 12 therapeutic
38:52
programs. And it's like this all over the
38:55
country. Well, just.
38:58
Again, it it started off as a simple we're we're having lunch
39:01
in Arlington with Laura Lindsay. She's like, you know, I'm up
39:05
here. I want to tell you about here's
39:07
in the water. I started checking it out and,
39:09
and the real kicker for me was again, a Marine sister.
39:14
I serve was like, I want to go do that.
39:16
And like, OK, maybe we'll do it in Texas.
39:18
But then Fayette was like, you want to come here today and meet
39:21
you, Camille and Josh and I get here and it's just exceeded all
39:25
my expectations. I don't, I don't see people
39:27
singing alone. I don't see people, you know, on
39:31
the fringes. Everybody's kind of like, we're
39:33
going to come here, you know, check it out, have some fun.
39:35
And then watching the veteran get in the in the kayak and
39:39
paddle out in the middle of this beautiful lake.
39:42
You can see. Them at peace.
39:44
You can see it. What does that do for you?
39:47
You've been doing this for a long time.
39:48
Is it still? Does it ever get old for you?
39:51
No. No, no, absolutely not I.
39:57
Especially there's a young. Man that we just spoke to, this
39:59
is his first time. As long as there's someone out
40:02
there that's never been in a kayak or or maybe it's kayak
40:05
curious, I want to take them out kayak fishing.
40:09
I want to share my passion for on the water and out in the
40:13
outdoors with anyone and everyone that's available.
40:17
Awesome, awesome. Well, I think they're serving
40:19
lunch, so I'm going to let Joe go, but just thank you for
40:22
talking with me, especially before we get on on a film here.
40:25
It's just been great learning about your organization.
40:27
Thanks, Travis. Thanks for coming.
40:28
Out. Absolutely.
40:30
We'll be back, and we're back. We've been mission flight all
40:36
day today here at the Heroes on Water event in Connecticut.
40:40
And the wind's picking up. Yay, just in time.
40:44
And I was told, hey, do you want to talk to some board members?
40:47
I said sure. And I found that the Christine
40:49
here is just I, I'm just, I'm trying to maintain my
40:54
journalistic integrity because she was on the B1, the US Air
40:59
Force, and she's a board member. Christine, welcome to OM Radio.
41:02
Thank you. Nice to be here.
41:04
Absolutely. I mean.
41:06
I could spend all day just talking to you about the B1 and
41:08
how cool. Right, right, right.
41:10
But what was that like? Because that's a very unique
41:13
aircraft that almost like died and then Reagan brought it back
41:17
and now it's just, it won't go away and it's and.
41:21
It's earned its keep with, you know, Iraq, Afghanistan, and you
41:26
know, just the capabilities it has.
41:29
I was, I was very fortunate when the combat cockpits were open to
41:34
women. I was the first one to go into
41:37
the B1. So I, it's, it is, the mission
41:42
is, is pretty amazing. You know, high speed it, it's
41:45
supersonic, but it like you said, you've seen it.
41:48
It's, it's a massive airplane. It can it can hold a ton of
41:51
ordinance and it's just the capability is pretty impressive
41:57
and and it and it it it's kind of kind of like some of it your
42:00
other, you know, legacy Air Force aircraft like the B52.
42:03
It just keeps it keeps getting modified with greater
42:06
capabilities, you know, and it's just it's it has been a
42:11
workforce, I mean a workhorse for so so we.
42:14
Were taught to shoot those down in my MOSI was a Sam battery
42:18
operator. Oh oh gosh.
42:20
Yeah, so we learned all about them.
42:22
But it's my understanding that aircraft was designed to deliver
42:25
nuclear payloads, long range, drop the payload and then, you
42:29
know, get out. That's that was its original.
42:32
Mission nuclear bomber, low level.
42:36
Were you taught all that? Yes.
42:37
So we used to fly. And it has terrain following
42:42
radar we used to fly, you know, through the mountains at 500,000
42:46
feet and. And and.
42:48
You know, AT450580 knots, yes. It's hard to believe because
42:56
again, people don't understand that aircraft was told, oh, we
42:59
don't need it, it's not going to be worth anything.
43:01
Reagan just brought it back as a as a, as a having his back
43:05
pocket and kind of like the F15, it's gotten to be this, you
43:09
know, Swiss Army knife workforce force multiplier.
43:12
It's really amazing. So I I could nerd boy fanboy for
43:16
the next half hour. You serve in the Air Force and
43:20
then you get out. What was that like, Christine?
43:22
Well. My, my last job in the Air Force
43:25
was at the Pentagon and I was working congressional affairs.
43:28
So I was, I know you, you think the training, well, it was kind
43:33
of OJT there. And so I spent time and actually
43:37
I, I was working the in the the weapons office kind of making,
43:42
making sure that the, the bomber force, the trainer force, I had
43:47
kind of a portfolio that was funded for Congress and that
43:52
congressional members and staff knew what we were doing.
43:55
And so that was my last job in the Air Force.
43:59
And just so happened to be that I'm in DC and Elizabeth Dole was
44:05
a brand new senator. And so I went to work for her,
44:09
doing her, I was her military assistant, military military
44:14
legislative assistant. And so and so then, yeah, I kind
44:18
of kind of stayed in that world government world.
44:21
I was with base. Closure Commission.
44:25
I, I was an assistant secretary of the VA for a little while
44:29
with one administration. And then, then I, my, my last
44:33
job there was, I was with the House Veterans Affairs Committee
44:36
and I did all, the, all the, all the health programs, the health
44:40
subcommittee, which was, you know, and that's really gotten
44:43
me kind of involved in it more in the veteran world and the, in
44:46
the veteran service world, because we're writing, we're, we
44:51
had oversight of the VA and we're also doing all the
44:53
legislation, things like like Choice Act, Mission Act, you
44:58
know, the, the current toxic exposure legislation.
45:02
So how did you then? Become involved with her get to
45:06
know heroes in the water. They reached out to me it.
45:08
Was it was it was pretty amazing.
45:10
They they were looking for a couple new board members and
45:15
reached out to me and it it just, it just really resonated.
45:18
I, I love, if you ask me what's your favorite thing anything in
45:22
on or near the water is I'm there.
45:25
And so, and then I've also, you know, over the years having,
45:28
working with veterans and, and also just being a veteran
45:31
myself, you saw that you just being outdoors and connecting
45:37
with people and being able to, you know, have, have someone
45:40
next to you that you can kind of relate to and, and, and really,
45:44
really getting out of any. Kind of isolation.
45:49
And it's just, it's the mission is, is, is just amazing.
45:53
And it just really resonated with me and I'm glad I could be
45:56
a part of this. So you're here now?
45:58
In southwestern Connecticut, Danbury, CT out of VFW.
46:02
And you know what do you see when you watch the program in
46:05
effect today? You just.
46:07
You just. You see, I mean, everybody's
46:10
been talking for the past three hours and you can get it get out
46:13
in the water. It's calming.
46:15
It's and then you're, you're hearing stories from other
46:18
people and, you know, just kind of kind of experiencing that
46:22
kind of camaraderie again. Well, that's one thing I
46:25
noticed. I I.
46:26
I told, you know, Josh, Joe and, and, and Camille is I noticed
46:30
there's no one on the fringes, there's no one solitary.
46:34
You know, I, I, I either see somebody talking to another
46:37
person or the counsellor here, or they're talking in a group or
46:40
they're waiting to get on the kayak.
46:42
The only time you're alone if you want to be is on the water.
46:46
And I got some video of a, of a veteran now on the water and
46:48
they list them totally at peace. Oh, yeah.
46:51
It's it's it is nice. Have you ever done the kayak?
46:53
Fishing yourself. I I did it.
46:55
For the very first time last year, I went out, We were, we
46:58
were down in Louisiana visiting a chapter there and it's the
47:01
first time I've been kayak fishing.
47:03
I I have yet to catch a fish, but I'm Were you hooked?
47:08
Pardon. Were you hooked?
47:09
No. Oh, was I hooked on?
47:11
On Kai? Yeah.
47:12
Absolutely. Yeah.
47:13
Yeah. Yeah.
47:14
So as a board member, you oversee the health of the
47:17
organization where the money is spent and making sure they align
47:21
to the mission is dictated in the, you know, bylaws.
47:25
You know, you, you serve in a different way.
47:27
And what's that service like seeing this program come
47:30
together? It's it's great.
47:33
This is this is an amazing team and, and it's, you know, just,
47:36
I'm very confident in, you know, just the volunteer aspect of of
47:42
this program and, and also the therapeutic.
47:43
There's, there's, you know, you talk to the other guys and you,
47:46
there's two different programs that just, the volunteers are
47:50
just the lifeblood of this organization.
47:51
And, and that just their dedication and, and just kind of
47:56
make, you know, our, our job is to make sure that they're taken
47:58
care of and because they're the ones who are taking care of the
48:02
veterans and 1st responders. So it's, it's, it's been very
48:06
enjoyable. I've really, and it's like I
48:07
said, just a great group of people.
48:09
Well, again, you know. The original plan was to go to
48:12
Houston and check out one of the chapters there.
48:14
And then feta's like, hey, you know, we have like, leadership
48:17
and people in Connecticut. Can you check that one out?
48:20
And this has exceeded all my expectations.
48:21
And the weather's amazing. What a Well, it was kind.
48:25
Of. Earlier.
48:26
In the week it was. Supposed to pour today.
48:30
And and it's just been. A banner New England Day.
48:32
It's beautiful. Yeah, absolutely.
48:34
Well, Christine? Thanks so much for talking with
48:36
you. Absolutely, absolutely.
48:37
And maybe I'll get her back on and talk more B1 stories and Air
48:41
Force stuff. You know, it's just very, very
48:43
cool seeing you. Thank you so much.
48:44
Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
48:46
Remission of flight. And we're back.
48:51
You know, a lot of people don't ever meet or understand the
48:55
finance part of nonprofit work. And so I do, which is why I am
49:00
like, yes, we're going to get her on the on the line here to
49:02
talk to us about the finance side of yours in the water.
49:05
I'm with Chelsea now. It's her first interview.
49:09
Let's see how I do with her. OK, here we go.
49:12
Here we go. Chelsea, welcome to OM Radio.
49:15
Thank you. Happy.
49:16
To be here, well, first of all, can I?
49:18
Tell you something, Yes, I am mad Jelly of that shirt.
49:22
Thanks I. I got to pick out the colour
49:25
myself, so I'm, well, the colour.
49:27
Is the first thing that I'm like you know what that's that's a
49:31
nice colour it is and it makes the blue pop so I'm like that is
49:37
nice and I like to like it's it's dressy, but you 2 all turn
49:40
at the same time with the side pocket and the breast pockets
49:44
well done thank you well I'm. Just, you know, game.
49:46
Respects game and and you got it.
49:52
How do I say this? I I've talked to a lot of
49:55
nonprofits over the years and a lot of people with very good
49:59
intentions, but a lot of people don't understand that when it
50:04
comes down to it, you've got to have your money game on point
50:08
when you're dealing with nonprofits.
50:12
Why do you think people miss that part?
50:15
I think people miss that part because they honestly believe
50:20
it's easy easy. But it it does.
50:27
Sometimes it doesn't come naturally.
50:28
There's a lot of a lot of background work that goes on
50:32
behind the scenes to make sure that a non profit stays
50:35
profitable and it's make sure a non profit stays in compliance
50:40
as well. Do you have a financial?
50:42
Background. Yes, I do or.
50:44
SAS 70. No, actually.
50:48
CPA, I do not have ACPA. I'm actually sitting for my CMA
50:54
and I'm actually trying to get, I have a bachelor's in
50:59
accounting. OK.
51:00
All right. Well, the reason I'm so like
51:05
wowed about that is I meet a lot of people who are starting to
51:08
nonprofits who are trying to use QuickBooks.
51:11
Nothing wrong with QuickBooks, but I'm like, hey, you know, it
51:13
might be worth your while to go find someone in accounting and
51:18
maybe pay him a little bit of your money and get the books
51:21
right. And no, I don't know, I need to
51:23
do that. And then come, you know, it's
51:25
time to file And all of a sudden it's like, Oh my God, how do we
51:28
do this? So you sort of a very important
51:31
role here, you know, when when you're looking at what this
51:35
organization does. And the reason I'm kind of
51:37
impressed right now is we have this event right now.
51:41
We're in Danbury, CT, we're at the VFW here.
51:44
Beautiful day. But there's not, there's just
51:47
one going on Chelsea, but there's like 8 other events
51:49
going on over the weekend. The money's going to be right.
51:54
How do you how do you structure that we give?
51:58
We give a lot of leeway to our chapter coordinator, so we make
52:03
sure that, you know, their individual cards are filled up
52:05
so they can be able to host these type of events.
52:10
And then we make sure that we're continuously on top of
52:14
everything as well. And then, you know, and you
52:21
talked about how people wait until the end of the year.
52:24
If you're not getting your books cracked throughout the whole
52:27
year, you're not getting the full picture of what's really
52:30
going on throughout the full year.
52:32
So what you had in your mind about how you were doing during
52:34
the year may not be how you were actually doing at the that
52:38
balance sheet can really. Tell a different story from
52:42
January to November, Yes. So what's your?
52:46
Recommendation to be better at this side of the game when keep
52:53
up to date, get help, ask for help.
52:56
What should a nonprofit do that you guys have done so well?
52:59
Well, we have our accounting in. House So I like I said, I am the
53:03
finance director. I'm touching the books
53:06
throughout the year every month I'm producing financial reports
53:10
for our board members, for our chapters, for my executive
53:13
director every month. So everybody knows exactly where
53:16
they stand for as a chapter and where they stand as as a whole
53:21
for the entire nonprofit. What I would suggest is, you
53:26
know, if you get the outside help, if you don't have anybody
53:31
in house to make sure that you are staying on top of things
53:35
because what grant, what corporations, what, what people
53:42
you're trying to get grants from are probably going to want to
53:44
see audited financials. We're going to want to see your,
53:48
your, obviously your 990. And if if you don't have it
53:51
right in house, it probably could be a Ding against you.
53:55
Well, I've certainly seen. Nine 90s that made me go, you
53:59
know, and it's just what it is. I see a chunk of money in the
54:04
general expenses category that is quite large with no real
54:08
narrative around where it went. And it makes me worried and I
54:13
start questioning things. But there's an art form to
54:18
making money and numbers tell a story, isn't isn't there?
54:22
Yes, How do you? Then.
54:24
Take and explain what you know is the is going on to somebody
54:28
who may not have a financial background.
54:30
You do I. Really try.
54:34
To walk. Them through it in like piece by
54:38
piece and I really try and I actually do take.
54:44
The time with some. Chapters that some of our
54:46
chapters that reach out that don't quite understand what
54:48
they're seeing on their financial statements.
54:50
And I take the time to explain to it.
54:52
And we do have a chapter conference coming up in in
54:57
Arkansas where I will be in attendance.
55:00
And I will be giving a presentation to make sure those
55:04
people who are running our chapters who do not have the
55:06
financial background know how to read their own finance
55:08
statements to see where their chapters are at.
55:11
Now. Maybe I assume something here?
55:12
And I apologize if I did, but is this your primary role or do you
55:15
have a job outside of Heroes on the Water?
55:18
This is my primary role. So not only am I the finance
55:21
director, I'm the, I'm in charge of operations for the overall
55:24
nonprofit. So I handle a lot of the tasks
55:28
that keep the keep the organization going.
55:32
So state registrations, charitable registrations,
55:36
insurance, getting that together to make sure that we stay
55:39
compliant, making sure that we have the tools in house to be
55:45
able to get our nonprofit operating the way that we want
55:50
to and basically just a pretty much a Jack of all trades after
55:55
that. Well, it's just very.
55:57
Interesting because again, a lot of people can't really see or
56:00
touch what you do, but you are across the entire organization
56:04
and it's not just like one stack location in a, in a city in
56:07
America, you have 55 different little companies running at any
56:12
given time. And sometimes like I couldn't
56:14
believe it, like I looked at the calendar for this the last two
56:18
weeks and and like multiple events going on during the day,
56:22
money coming in, money going out, It can be a lot to do.
56:27
What is it like when you pass that audit with like flying
56:30
colors? Oh, it's great.
56:32
It's great, it is. Absolutely amazing.
56:35
To pass an audit with flying colors, which we have done, I
56:38
believe, for the last three years.
56:39
Well, yeah, I looked. I looked your eyes up.
56:41
And I'm like, wow, their their money game is on point.
56:43
Yeah, we we want to make sure. That we have those audited
56:45
financials again because it is sometimes an ask for the grants
56:49
that we're trying to go after to get our chapters funded and to
56:52
get our our therapeutic programs funded as well.
56:55
You're doing the operations you're doing.
56:56
The money you're doing the compliance, which is a huge part
56:58
of any nonprofit. But what's it like coming to
57:01
this event, you know, in in a place you may not visit all the
57:05
time and see the effects of what you do?
57:08
It is. Honestly inspiring.
57:11
It's honestly inspiring myself, I'm actually a a military brat.
57:15
Oh really? Yes, my.
57:16
Dad is in the air. Force for 24 years.
57:18
Oh wow my. Mom was.
57:20
Also enlisted we. They actually met.
57:24
At Milton Hall and I was born in Lake and Heath.
57:27
Oh wow. I think we spent about 12 years
57:30
in on the East Coast of North Carolina before we spent seven
57:34
years in Germany as big Dolan and I graduated from Bickberg
57:38
American High School. They're probably one of the one
57:41
of the last classes before they shut Bickberg down.
57:44
But I come from a long line of family members that have been in
57:48
the military. My grandpa was an Air Force
57:52
pilot. My on my.
57:54
Dad's side my. Grandpa on my mom's side was in
57:57
World War 2, so being able to be part of an organization that
58:04
that helps people like my family members.
58:09
People like my family members. That kind of I, I don't think
58:12
your your. Granddad's looking at you right
58:14
now. I'm pretty proud of you.
58:15
Yeah, I. I would think so.
58:17
And and so wait a minute and when an officer for a father and
58:23
your mom was enlisted No, my both my.
58:25
Parents were enlisted, but still.
58:28
It's, it's bad enough. I mean, I knew Marine kids where
58:31
the the mom or dad were, you know the parent, but when both
58:34
of them are they had to be challenging as a kid sometimes
58:39
not too too. Challenging.
58:41
I think my mom probably was no longer enlisted I think a couple
58:46
of years after I was born. But have this die hard Chelsea.
58:51
But she definitely. Lived out the lived out the
58:55
military spouse life as best as she could, especially with my
58:58
dad going being deployed. Well, you know.
59:02
Excuse me, excuse me, I'll edit all that out.
59:09
One of the things that I, I, one of the things before I let you
59:14
go is I'm finding out more and more the organizations like
59:19
Heroes in the Water that have civilians that have civilian
59:23
women, you know, collaborating, working for or part of
59:27
leadership function seem to really excel because that
59:31
diversity of thought and experience.
59:34
And I'm trying to tell other orgs that, hey, you know, you
59:37
should welcome the idea of having, you know, women like
59:41
yourself serve in that capacity. Do you see yourself as a
59:45
trailblazer? Do you see yourself as like one
59:47
of the first? Because, you know, there's not a
59:50
lot of women serving in your role in most veteran nonprofs.
59:54
Now, in other civilian nonprofits, sure, absolutely,
59:56
But not so much in veteran. Do you think of yourself as any
59:59
different? Or is this just, you know, I'm
1:00:01
going to do the best job I can for the people we serve.
1:00:05
I. Definitely.
1:00:06
I'm going to do the best job that I can for the people that
1:00:08
we serve. I'm very happy to be here.
1:00:11
I'm very happy to do the job that I'm doing and I'm very
1:00:14
happy that it gives back to the community.
1:00:17
Well, just if I may. Just from, you know, my little
1:00:19
outside looking in is when, when the executive leadership is like
1:00:23
our, our, our finances are good, we're relaxed, we're able to
1:00:26
execute the mission. Someone like yourself has done
1:00:29
her job properly. So I just think it's been a
1:00:31
blast talking with you. Thank you so much.
1:00:33
Thank you again. This is Chelsea with Heroes in
1:00:35
the Water, the finance director and Director of Operations.
1:00:38
I want to thank you for coming on.
1:00:38
Talk with me. We've got one or two more guests
1:00:41
and then we'll wrap this up for Mission in Flight.
1:00:47
All right, we have the best for last.
1:00:49
I'm with Western Connecticut Chapter Coordinator Mike
1:00:52
Libertini, who is in law enforcement with me now to close
1:00:55
this out. Mike, welcome to OM Radio.
1:00:58
Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.
1:01:00
Well, I appreciate you guys. Having me down what a turn of
1:01:03
events. I had met Laura Lindsay and you
1:01:06
know, Arlington and then got connected with, you know, Josh
1:01:11
and Feta is like, hey, you know, more is more.
1:01:15
I want you to go to to the Connecticut event where a lot of
1:01:18
the leadership is going to be there and this has just exceeded
1:01:21
every expectation. Mike.
1:01:22
Excellent. Well, I'm glad you came.
1:01:23
And thank you for coming. I hope, I hope you had a good
1:01:25
time. I had a great time.
1:01:27
How did you get involved with Heroes in the Water so funny
1:01:31
enough? I started, I, I used to fish all
1:01:34
the time when I was younger and as life goes on and progresses
1:01:38
and we get distracted by things and I, I hadn't fished in many,
1:01:43
many, many years. And my kids were starting to,
1:01:45
you know, get a little older and I would bring them fishing.
1:01:49
And then I ended up getting some new fishing gear and I had a
1:01:54
small business card advertising heroes on the water in one of
1:01:57
the, the boxes that of fishing lures that I bought and I heroes
1:02:01
in the water. What's this?
1:02:02
So I, I kind of looked into it and I said I'd really like to go
1:02:05
to an event. So I looked up chapters in my
1:02:07
area and there really weren't any as a would have traveled
1:02:11
quite far to get to 1. So I said, why don't you start
1:02:13
on my own chapter? So me and a couple of guys from
1:02:17
work decided that we would start our own chapter here in Western
1:02:19
Connecticut. And that's what we did.
1:02:20
Just right on the kind of on the cusp of, of COVID.
1:02:24
It was kind of, so it was timing wasn't great, but we, we, we dug
1:02:29
in and we, we got it done. We'll totally get it done.
1:02:32
We're at the VFW here in Danbury, CT, right on the water
1:02:36
behind us. You can see it.
1:02:37
It's been absolutely beautiful. I can't get enough.
1:02:40
Like, to me, this is the ultimate success story.
1:02:44
I understand you didn't serve the military.
1:02:46
I did not I. I got started in law enforcement
1:02:49
just after 911. I, I told myself I, I, it was
1:02:54
right after 911. I, I had graduated College in
1:02:56
two, 2000 and I was looking to get into law enforcement or the
1:03:00
fire service and I didn't rule out the military and I was
1:03:04
applying for various jobs and I gave myself until my birthday,
1:03:07
which would have been in January if I didn't get hired.
1:03:10
I was going to enlist in the Army and I wanted to fly a
1:03:11
helicopter. That's all I wanted to do.
1:03:13
So I ended up getting picked up as a police officer in, in the
1:03:18
month before I gave myself that deadline.
1:03:20
And here I am 25 years later. Well, I I.
1:03:23
I bring that up because I keep being reminded that a lot of
1:03:28
times it's a civilian advocate for military and veterans and
1:03:33
law enforcement that are, you know, more and more becoming our
1:03:37
our true advocates that the people that are really putting
1:03:40
themselves out there. And so it was nice to see this
1:03:43
story come together with you're at the VFW now.
1:03:46
And I think it's just, it's very cool that this VFW allowed you
1:03:51
all to have this event here. How did that relationship work?
1:03:54
So again. You know, you get in these
1:03:56
circles in law enforcement and a lot of guys have either spent
1:03:59
time in the military or in the reserves.
1:04:01
And one of the guys that I work with was active here and said,
1:04:05
you know, why don't we try having an event at the VFW in
1:04:08
Brookfield? It's right on the water.
1:04:10
And I said, yeah, it'd be a great idea.
1:04:11
So I came came down one day to check the place out.
1:04:13
I met John, who's who's one of the executive members here, and
1:04:19
he said, yeah, this would be a great relationship.
1:04:21
So we just for the last three or four years now, we've had just
1:04:25
about every one of our events here and it's worked out really
1:04:28
well. It's just been great.
1:04:30
It's been great to see. I think one of the things that
1:04:32
really struck me is I came here, I had no idea I was going to
1:04:35
see. So I'm here.
1:04:37
I'm up here watching what's going on down there.
1:04:40
And I noticed two things right away.
1:04:43
One, no one was on the fringes or alone.
1:04:46
You go to these events sometimes and there's always that those
1:04:49
three or four people that are kind of by themselves.
1:04:52
No one was by themselves. They were talking to either
1:04:54
another person veteran or one of your, your care providers.
1:04:59
And the second thing was, is you could see people really get into
1:05:04
being on the kayak. Like their whole demeanor
1:05:08
changed. What's that like seeing man?
1:05:11
It it's it's. Fantastic to see when someone
1:05:13
kind of gets their bearings in the water, if you will, because
1:05:19
not everybody's comfortable around the water.
1:05:20
And I get that you put them in a little plastic boat that can be
1:05:24
maybe a little bit unstable at times and a little shaky at
1:05:27
first. But once, once you kind of fall
1:05:29
into it, once you kind of get into that groove, there is just
1:05:33
some calming effect about being on the water and, and kind of
1:05:37
letting everything, leaving everything else on land.
1:05:40
Not to sound cliche, but it just it, it really is a meditative
1:05:46
and mindful experience when you get out there on that boat.
1:05:51
One of the last things is you got into work today.
1:05:53
It was very cool. Tell us about that.
1:05:55
That is fantastic. I did not.
1:05:56
Expect that apparently it's one of only two that are out there
1:05:59
floating around right now. And Josh presented me with that
1:06:02
and I couldn't be couldn't be more, more thankful.
1:06:05
It's it's really nice to see some of the work that I've put
1:06:08
in is, is appreciated and and is, is, is making an impact on
1:06:13
on people and you got I got to think that.
1:06:14
Seeing a lot of the leadership, the board members and some of
1:06:17
the senior people here like Josh, like Joe, like Camille,
1:06:21
makes it all worth it. Absolutely, absolutely.
1:06:23
It's good to. Have you know any, any
1:06:25
organization, any business, any anything at all is is only as as
1:06:29
good as it's, you know, it's it's core team and its
1:06:33
administrators and its leadership without without
1:06:35
leadership, you really there is what is there if you don't have
1:06:39
a direction and have a purpose and a meaning.
1:06:41
Well, Josh, this is I mean. Say that again, Mike, this has
1:06:44
been an absolute pleasure. I can't wait to come back and
1:06:47
check it out again. Yeah, absolutely.
1:06:49
We're gonna wrap it up here because if you look behind us,
1:06:51
we see the storm clouds coming. They're coming, they're coming.
1:06:54
And last thing, like, you know, five days ago, I'm looking at
1:06:57
the weather and thinking, man, this thing's going to get rained
1:06:59
out because it's supposed to pour.
1:07:01
You never know. And.
1:07:02
I'm driving down. Here this morning, like what a
1:07:04
banner day. It was beautiful, absolutely.
1:07:06
On purpose on. Purpose Mike, thank you so much.
1:07:08
Congratulations. I appreciate it.
1:07:10
All the best in the it's great talking to you.
1:07:11
Thank you so much. Travis for mission and flight.
1:07:13
We'll see you next time. Every generation, every
1:07:17
sacrifice, our nation's service members have stood up for our
1:07:20
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