Latest / Momtalk Maryland / Serving Our Veterans Through Music: A Tune for Every Tale

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Serving Our Veterans Through Music: A Tune for Every Tale · Momtalk Maryland

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_02: Hey friends, and welcome to Mom Talk Maryland.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_02: I'm your host, Claire Duarte, founder of the Columbia Mom.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_02: And this is your spot for real conversations, local love, and a whole lot of community.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_02: Whether you're folding laundry, running errands, or hiding in your car for some peace and quiet, let's dive in.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_02: We want to get started?
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: So hopefully I like looked over a couple things.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: So we'll just We're gonna roll away.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_02: We're just gonna roll a roll.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_02: And it's great timing to have you here today.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_02: I'm so excited.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_02: I know.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_02: So um we have here Cassie from Voices of Vets, which um, like I said, is perfect timing with Veterans Day right around the corner.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um literally next week.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_02: Um so I first met you, gosh, like a month or two ago.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_02: I know.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um and uh I just fell in love with you're just this cute little like ball of energy, and you're so infectious and learning about um your organization, what you do, and um I'm almost like surprised that I had like had just met you now, really, like hearing everything that you've done and then getting to go to um well, sorry, my first time going to one of your fundraising events, which was beautiful.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_02: And um, I I told you that I ran into like one of my neighbors who her husband's a vet, and um and they're big supporters, um, and uh was just such a small world, and um loved hearing how successful that night was for you guys too.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um so anyway, so I'm excited to have you on today, obviously with Veterans Day around the corner.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so can you tell us?
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I love an origin story.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, obviously I know you and have gotten to know you, but um, I love an origin story, you know.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_02: I feel like I get my little Taylor Swift era.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_02: Like, tell me everything, how and why you got started.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and for everyone listening, um, let's let's shed some light on that.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: So, Voices Avets started almost 10 years ago.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: It will be 10 years, actually, July 3rd, 2026, so next year, um, which is really exciting to hit our 10-year milestone.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: So cool.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but really what happened was I I was homeschooled and um my government teacher, Colonel Holmes, um, I would volunteer to do the history banquets and sing the national anthem.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: And he, you know, I I did that, I did a couple other things for him, and he said, you know what, you should go down and sing for the veterans at Charlotte Hall.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so Charlotte Hall is the only veteran home in Maryland, it's all the way in St.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Mary's County.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: And at the time, here I am, a senior in high school, I'm applying to colleges, I'm working, and I'm just like, uh I don't have time.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I'd say, oh, that's really nice, but yeah, I don't have time.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: So in my mid-20s, I was finishing up a master's in math, and I felt like I wasn't doing anything to give back.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I thought, you know what?
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Let me give Colonel Holmes a call and figure out where that veteran home was, and I can do a one-time show.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll do it on July 4th and you know, make it about them.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: So I called, um, figured out where it was, Colonel Holmes told me.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: I called the activities director and I said, What is your demographic?
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Because if I come in and do a show, I want it to be about them.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I want it to be tunes that they're gonna recognize.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: So it was really important for me to capture the demographic.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: And the demographic was at the time almost all World War II veterans.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Uh-huh.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, Alright, so I looked up some tunes.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Vera Lynn was very popular back then.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so I I had a bunch of tunes.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, all right, this is gonna work.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: I had one pianist who come and and play the piano for me.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: And let me tell you, when I got there, they had the entire room filled with that, like I think we had about 70 plus veterans.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: 70, oh my gosh.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: They were all in wheelchairs.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I tried to connect with them before the show.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: They wouldn't look at me, they wouldn't talk to me, and I thought, oh my god, I'm here for 45 minutes to sing to them.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm not getting a massive room of people.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not getting anything.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it was just like nothing.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I thought, okay, how is this gonna work?
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I was like, we'll just get through 45 minutes, I'll get it over.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: It is what it is.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: But let me tell you, Claire, as soon as the music started, it was like magic went over the room.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: I can't tell you some of the responses.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, when I sang White Cliffs of Dover, which was written by Walter Kent, um, I had a couple in the front, and the husband just started crying, just bawling.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought, oh my goodness, I need to talk to him and figure out what that meant.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, right, right.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: I had another gentleman on the right who started screaming, I was there, I saw the white cliffs.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: They were like, fuck, I was there.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, gosh.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, like he's so excited, he's trying to get out of his wheelchair.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: And the guy next to him goes, Shut up, I'm trying to listen.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: Shut up.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: So I have a couple of guys saying, Shut up, we're trying to hear the music, and this guy's just having his moment.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: And so after the show, it I mean, it was it, they changed.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: It was like magic.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's just like they all came to life.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I asked the gentleman in the front, what did the song you know, white clothes, what did it mean to you?
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: And he goes, Um, during World War II, I was deployed to Germany, and when I was deployed, that was my wife, that was our song.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: And so, and every time I heard it, I thought about her.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: And it was just, it was precious.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: That was the pettuses.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and after that moment, just seeing the change, yeah, uh every veteran, every veteran deserves to hear live music from their demographic because it really changes and impacts the quality of life.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I recognized, like, you know, you see the elderly or you see somebody in a hospital and they're you give them blood pressure medication.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: They have high blood pressure or pain management, right?
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: Our elderly veterans living in veteran homes in um veteran facilities, um, we're really taking care of their body, but what are we doing with the mind, right?
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: And music and memory is just so powerful.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: Dr.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: Oliver Sachs as well as Dr.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: Francis Collins has done a ton of research, and there really is something with the connection of music and memory, but it has to be, and this was the one of the things, it has to be from their demographic.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's what makes it so important.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_02: Like it look like like it would have no effect if we're playing music from our era.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, if you go put Taylor Swift on, I'm sure it's not gonna resonate with it.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's just not gonna happen.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_02: Well, you you're hitting a very important the the memory piece, right?
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_02: They have no I mean, yes, we can talk about memory on a very like kind of basic level, but like, you know, that's not gonna be hitting that social, like a that mental emotional piece for them because it's not something that was like that they learned and heard.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_02: Back then.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: And it's I feel like it's the same with us, right?
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um if I hear a tune, um, like there's a song that I I danced to in high school, and I'm like, oh my gosh, I danced to this in my high school, like memories.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, or like a song our parents would have on the radio on replay.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: We always remember that.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, or for example, my sister, when she had her, I think her first baby, she had like a playlist.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so now when she hears the song, she's like, oh, you know, that was that was my birth playlist.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so for veterans, it's really important to hone in on what they listen to growing up.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not only that, we not only bring music right from their demographics, but we try to make it very interactive.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so for example, we sing the song Let Me Call You Sweetheart.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: And the first time, I actually did it July 4th, our first show.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I did it the first time, and we picked up flowers um before at the dollar store.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: It was just a we were driving there and I thought, oh, we should pick up some flow, we should do something, like hand something out.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so got flowers, and so when I sang the song, I gave them each a flower and let them sing in the mic.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: And um my mom was there helping me at the time.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: And when I was there, when I for my first show, I wanted when you go see a concert, they're all dressed up and they look so nice, so I made sure I, you know, um was wearing a gown and you know, you you you give your best.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: And so I was giving them flowers and there's 70 in the room.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: And so mind you, eight minutes of let me call you sweetheart, it goes on and on, and finally my mom's like, let me help you hand them out.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, no, no, we want her to hand it to us.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: We want to sing in the mic.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: And that song went on for like 14 minutes, and that is a staple song every time we go to a veteran home.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: They love it.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's about the connection and it's about that tune, but it's also about the interactiveness with the the songs we bring.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: But going back to what started it.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: After that, after I can go on and on from that first show, I truly believe every veteran deserves to hear music um to enhance the quality of life.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: And these are our veterans who've given so much.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: Right they've given so much to our country, and this is one thing, this is one small thing that I can do to get back.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: And that's how Voices of Vets started.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_02: I love the story.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's so powerful and amazing, and makes me think of my grandparents, my um, my dad's parents that were also World War II vets that have now, you know, passed as well.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I know my my grandmother specifically had very staged dementia for the last like 10 years of her life, um, and was, you know, in one of the assisted living homes um with the Alzheimer's support and things like that.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, the last like five years or so of her life, um, she was, you know, obviously not very active, not very cognitively aware, things like that.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_02: But um, you know, I would hear like when they played music and things like that, that's where she would come to life and she would like actually sing and sing in other languages and things like that, but otherwise she was kind of very like recluse.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I think that's just like directly to your point, you know, of how elements of that are are so helpful.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_02: Right?
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and and I'm so excited to kind of keep talking about your story, but before I kind of I want to ask you all the questions about brain and music before I kind of get there.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_02: So obviously you shared how you got started, right?
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_02: But now the program has kind of I feel like grown a little bit now that I've seen your like your recent programming in almost 10 years.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_02: So how um what's that progress and growth been like for you?
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: So it's with ch like it's a lot of change within 10 years.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: So when I started the organization, it was just me.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so my background is mathematics.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I, you know, STEM, um, I did not um I sang right in college.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: I actually um got a full ride for music and decided, you know what, I I don't want to do that because I it's a very difficult career to break into.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I didn't really want to be a music teacher, and I thought, you know, I really enjoy math.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: Why don't I try that avenue?
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: So I ended up doing math, which meant I didn't have a lot of contacts when it came to music.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember trying to get people to work with me.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: They didn't know who I was.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: So, and that was like, no, or it it was a it was really tough.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so the first year trying to get musicians, trying to to get all of that, now like at our tenure mark, like we almost have 200 people on our roster.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my god.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: And we have expanded significantly.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: Uh-huh.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and we've learned a lot too, right?
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, a lot of our demographic is changing.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: We have more Vietnam veterans, so that's gonna change the music we bring in.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so there's that.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: We also have um we do the armed forces medley, which is really important.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: I mean you can see the camaraderie in the room.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: Right, especially like when they're like the the army's better than the the Navy door.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's so cute.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_02: I was like, okay, everyone gets a little bit of something.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody, they go wild.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: So we used to just do the the the songs, but again, a lot of our veterans that we visit are in wheelchairs.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah and so what happens it becomes a risk because they all want to stand up.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: Because they're like, we're our branch is better than yours in a sense.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so nurses are then you have nurses yelling at them, sit down, sit down.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: And they don't want to sit down.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: So what we've done is we've pivoted and we give them flags of the different branches.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: So they get to wave their flag and they love it.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: So we do that.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: We sing your grand old flag.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: We make it interactive, like we sing it slow, and you know, depending on where we're like the cognitive ability, right?
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: So if you know, we'll say, okay, wave your slow flag slow, wave it fast, and that gets everybody moving because not only are you getting that music piece, you're getting a little bit of movement.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so we've really tried to capture how we can best bring um an experience um for them.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I look at it like this.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Lady Gaga did a free concert in Brazil.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I believe it was it over two million people attended.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: So music being the universal language, everybody loves to go see a concert, Taylor Swift.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, some of the effects she has, it's amazing.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: People go and they're like, I mean, it's a show, it's energy.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: Literally, literally.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: That's what we do at Voices Events.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: That's what we capture.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: We capture a show, we do their songs, we give them flags, we give them armed forces, uh, the different branches flags, we give them flowers.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we really try to make it a show, make it a performance, and it really leaves an impact.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we've gone to many different states.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, one of the states we visited is Arizona, and one of the veteran homes there, um, we did a show, and a lot of the veterans who attended had dementia and Alzheimer's.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: And the activities director called us, it was like a week later, maybe about it was actually two weeks later.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: And he said, Listen, is there any chance y'all can come back?
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: Because the guys keep going in the room saying, Hey, is there gonna be that show again?
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: And he's because they don't remember their name.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: They won't remember certain things, they won't remember what they have for breakfast.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: He goes, but they remember y'all.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: And that was such a huge that's huge.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's huge.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um so we have really refined the way we do our performances.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: So we've grown in that sense of always changing, always pivoting.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: Like on our first, you know, couple years was World War II veterans, now Vietnam veterans, you know, um, White Cliffs of Dover, um, where the boys are.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um those are two, you know, very popular ones.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: Moving into the Vietnam era, it's we've gotta get out of this place.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not gonna be singing that, but who who sing that tune.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: So it's making sure that our veterans that we're we're singing the right songs to be able to do.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_02: So you're looking to act right.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_02: You're looking to activate that area of the brain.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: So and at 10 years, um, so we focused a lot on veteran homes.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: Now we are going into VA hospitals.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_02: I was just gonna ask, like, you know, do you only do VA um homes?
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_02: Because I'm sure there's so many of these different um uh assisted and supported living that, you know, sure are a mix here or there.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, okay, so VA you said hospitals.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: VA hospitals.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: We just started breaking into that this year, which I'm really excited about.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um and every show that we do is free.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: So we go in, we're being a nonprofit, um, you know, we're so thankful for our donors and supporters so we can continue to bring live professional music to enhance the quality of life for our veterans.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um so we'll do uh veteran homes, VA hospitals, and we'll do veteran events.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: We just did an event in, I want to say it was Cecil County.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um I believe it was the traveling wall or the wall that heals.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: It was a replica of the Vietnam Wall down in DC, um, and it was displayed.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: And so we did um a concert before they had um their program, and it was all Vietnam tunes.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we're gonna do a lot, especially for Veterans Day.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: We are slammed.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: So of course uh we do a lot of veteran events because that's you know, that is our demographic.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: So we we still do the veteran homes, the VA hospitals, but then we have outside events we do.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_02: So what's on your docket?
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: I think I have maybe seven, seven events for myself, but that's for me.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: And then being Veterans Day, like we get double tripled booked.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I have other um people who will go in and will do a performance.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: So and who are amazing and exceptional um musicians.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: And um, yeah, I can trust them.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_02: You know, expand your footprint and enable, you know, um and that that's just growth as a as a business owner in an organization, and that's what you want.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, right.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I know um an another thing we've added too, I've been thinking about the different things we're doing, um, is we've added dance, which is really cool.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I think that's a really cool element.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love that.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: So um Brennan Mazzara, um, she has worked for us I think three to four years now.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: She's amazing.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: And um we were able to bring her on tour to New Jersey.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: We visited two homes in New Jersey and Menlo Park in uh Vinland, and she danced on point.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: And let me tell you, you could hear a pin drop.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: Oh they loved it.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: And this one guy kept saying, Oh my gosh, this is so beautiful.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: She's amazing.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: And then after she finished, they were just like she went to the side because we did a different two, but they just were like, are you gonna do are you gonna dance again?
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: It was so right, they were captivated.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: They were, and so she's been teaching some dances to songs.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so even when you're in your wheelchair, like my girl, we do a dance.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: And that's a lot of fun.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: And it's turned into um so we do other events at assisted living centers, and um I said, Do you think you could do some chair dances?
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: Because I know everybody, you know, wheelchair.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_02: But they do like all in those they do like chair yoga, you know what I mean?
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_02: Like those types of things, right?
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, and that has, you know, that has kicked off.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um and that's been a huge thing.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: So every time I try to, if we can get Brenna on our our shows, I try to get her as well because it's just something different and it's fun.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, how many, how many of them have seen a ballerina and how you know they're they're stuck to they're stuck in the veteran homes.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like how we all like to go out and do things, especially COVID.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: I like hated being inside.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, absolutely.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: We all were, you know, um, we're like that.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's like them almost every every day.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's their life.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: So we bring it to them.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: So um it's really fun to see the reaction when she comes and dances, but that's something else new we've added.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: And um, we're about to scale again and um we're uh reorganizing.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I'm I'm really excited.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: So the website's gonna kick off and you'll see a lot of things there.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_02: So my gosh, I can't wait to see what you have up here.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: We have it's a lot, a lot of new stuff is coming, is about to happen.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_02: That's so great.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_02: And I love hearing like not only like obviously like how you got started, um, you know, but I can't I can't believe you're gonna hit that 10-year mark, and that'll be like even more exciting to celebrate with you into next year and things like that.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um well and yeah, you're clearly gonna have your roster super full next week.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um, which is um which is fun.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_02: I know it's exhausting at the same time, but it's it's like it's kind of like your Christmas, right?
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_02: It's like your Super Bowl.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: It is.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's and you know, it's the best feeling in the world because I when I go in there and it, you know, and we we sing for the veterans, I I hold their hand and it's that physical touch too, and it's this is so small, but they are so appreciative.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: And it's remembering them and they're sacrificing their sacrifice, and and for me it's giving back, and you know, it feels really good for me.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_00: As much as I'm there singing to them and and you know, we're putting on this show, seeing their faces light up and watching even those who may not fully be there, you can see their toes tap.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it and it's it's incredible.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: And so at Voices of Vets, you know, our goal is to advocate for those who can't advocate for themselves.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: So this is really important for them.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: It brings them back.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_00: And um, it I will say, I have another story, but I don't want to like I I can I can talk on it on not.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't wanna I don't want to love it.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: So um we were in Tennessee and we had finished a show at the assisted living side and it went really well.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: And the activities director said, Would you mind doing something for the memory care unit?
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: And she's like, You don't have to.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I don't want I don't know what your schedule's like.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, Absolutely, like we can make time.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: We will make time, yeah.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: And um, so we get in there and they start bringing the guys and gals in, and there was a guy in in a bed.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh-huh.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, What tell me his story?
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: There was a nurse with him, and they said, Well, we've we've called hospice, he stopped eating, he stopped drinking, and um his family is actually on their way.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, Okay, well, tell me a little bit about him.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: When did he serve?
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_00: Where, you know, where was he born, and you know, how old old is he, things like that.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: So I went back to the band and I said, Okay, we need to focus on music around this era.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: Let's try this, let's try that.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: So we started, and it was the memory care unit.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's just figuring out who's there and how to connect with them.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: And within 10 minutes, I don't remember what the song was.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_00: All of a sudden, he like lifted up his head and he goes, I danced to this at my high school prom.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: I want a milkshake.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: And the nurse was like just shocked, blown away.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, he like, you know, he's this poor man he hasn't eaten and drank or anything, so he just I mean, very like, and it it was incredible, and it brought him back in that moment.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: And so they brought him a milkshake and a sandwich, and he ate half of his sandwich.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my god.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_00: It was just that one thing, and it's like that one memory was triggered, and he was like, I was it it was very pronounced, and I just thought that is amazing, and then afterwards it like you know, the nurse was just very emotional.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: She called the family, let them know what was going on.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: And then at the next show, we go to the next show, and um we had very full room, this is still in Tennessee, very full room of veterans, and there was a guy, and there was a mix, so you know, sometimes you go in and they have their baby dolls, and you know, some people and it and so they have pretend cell phones, and it you know, yeah.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: This one guy held his cell phone the entire time in the air.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought, oh, and he goes, I I I wanted my wife to hear it.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought, oh, okay, that's nice.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I, you know, was thinking it's probably a fake cell phone, you know, it is what it is, but she was on the other line.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: They were separated.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_00: She was in another um facility, not at they didn't have enough room for her at the bedroom.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my god.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: So we went and visited her afterwards.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my god.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: She was like, she I got there and she cried.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: She goes, Thank you for making time for me.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I was I said, Of course, of course, this is what it's about.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: This is what it's about.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: And she goes, Me and my husband, we talk every day, and I I miss him, and it just, you know, it it really was a connector, and I it was just so precious.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: So those moments, and I've learned that you learn more and more with music and how it you know affects memory.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: But the instance where the the gentleman woke up and wanted a sandwich, there has been more studies found that after a performance, um, the individual they'll eat a little bit more for dinner.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_00: They'll be in a little bit more of a better mood.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_00: And that's like any of us, right?
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: Like after a show, I mean we go to shows and like, oh, I want a beer, I want this hot dog, you know, or even like at the end of it.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's a it it it it changes your mood.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: And um so yeah, it's it's oh my gosh.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: And those are the stor stories and and just seeing our veterans that keep the mission going because it's important, you know, it's something small that we can give back, but it makes such a huge difference to their lives.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_02: So well, and that's kind of uh the other reason why I'm so excited to have you here.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_02: And ironically, like, you know, I was just talking about this earlier today, too, but you know, I feel like it's this kind of is like the perfect way to kind of keep shifting the conversation to talking about like brain health and the you know, activating the different areas of the brain.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_02: And um, I think you and I, this is why I think we're very much naturally drawn to each other because like we're big on human connection, right?
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you're we're doing it through slightly different modalities, right?
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_02: You know, through through song and through, you know, um touching these veterans' lives, whereas like for me, like one of my big pillars in my business is community and connection and with the podcast, community connection conversation, right?
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_02: Because I myself was um looking to be more connected with my community, with my peers, with my surrounding heirs, with other moms, with other women, right?
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_02: And that's just our personal motives, right?
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but I think at the core of that doesn't matter, like I mean, obviously I think we're both very extroverted people, right?
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_02: So that connection comes just very naturally to us.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_02: Like I I literally physically need it.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_02: But it the yes that I have a very strong need for that, but that is a natural human need.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_02: We need to be connected to each other.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_02: Physically, emotionally, mentally, right?
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so you're really hitting on an actual human need, like, you know, was it Maslow's hierarchy of needs, right?
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_02: If we want to go that route.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_02: You know, like I mean, they talk about like love, and obviously, like, you know, we we need like food, shelter, safety, right?
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_02: But we need human connection, which is also, again, not this is not what we're talking about today, why social media has exploded the way it did, because it's another form of a way that we are able to connect with each other and stay connected, right?
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, that's a whole different conversation, but it's it's just that same principle, just in a different modality, right?
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_00: It really is because it's you know, you go into some of these veteran homes and they have like um they have little bird uh feeder things, they have different things, but they they can't they can't they usually can't leave.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's they're they're there.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_00: They're a lot of the family is either far away in a different state, so they're they're alone.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's a lonely place.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: It is a very lonely place.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: So bringing that connection, and some of them, most of them don't know how to use a cell phone, right?
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah they can't, it's not like they can pick up the phone in FaceTime like we do, um, or make a phone call or check their Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's very different.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, though I did have there was one veteran, kudos to him in uh New Jersey, who had an iPhone and who was videotaped the entire show.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my god.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: And he actually was doing it.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_00: I checked to make sure he had clicked like record.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah, and he was.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: He goes, This is the best.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_00: I just want to remember this moment, and it was the sweetest thing.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but that's you know, voices of Ets, we advocate for that.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: We do not want to forget our veterans who've given so much to us and who are now older in these veteran, you know, veteran hospitals, um, veteran homes, and we want them to know that they're not forgotten.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: We remember them and we honor them, you know, for what they've given to our country.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um and that's a huge thing.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: And it's I can't tell you how many, you know, assisted living um or activities directors or even some veterans, like because I have my personal number on my first business card.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't do that this time.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, because it you we get a lot of calls who call and say, When are you coming back?
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my god, can you come back tomorrow?
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_00: Can you sing that song for me?
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: And so vo the goal is to branch out and we want to have different chapters of Voices of Ets in states so our veterans and vet homes can receive live professional music on a consistent basis.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because it's important, it's that human touch.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I think what's really amazing about Voices of Ets is the people who work for the organization.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: They're good people.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_00: We don't just hire anybody just because um, you know, and a lot of a lot of the people we hire, you know, have gone to Peabody or have masters, some of them have PhDs in what they do.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um it's which is amazing.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_00: They're very good at their craft.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_00: If a veteran requested a song and maybe we don't have it on the set list, I could go back to the guys and like, oh yeah, we can do that.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_00: Let's do it in this key.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_00: They're incredible.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: They're incredible.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: I have such an amazing team.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but you know, not everybody does well with the elderly or making that connection.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_00: Because, you know, some we've had some people come in and, you know, we'll take a selfie with a veteran and then that's it.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_00: That's all they do.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_00: And it's it's not about that, it's a really about making that show for them, making the human connection, like you said.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: Because it's about them.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_00: How can we honor them?
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_00: How can we serve them in that moment?
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_00: And it is the best thing, and it's funny because we had um one of uh our musicians, Haley, she played the violin.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh-huh.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_00: And this veteran was so excited, he had to go get his violin in his room.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_00: One of the one of the nurses got it for him, and he's, I don't I he was in his 80s, he had a really hard time, but he he was playing for her.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_00: He just wanted, he was like, Oh, I have mine.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: Let me let me play something for you.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_00: And it's that and she just they talked to it, they played something like very small together, but it's that connection and having the right person who sees value because it's seeing the value in our elderly and not, you know, sometimes it's uh our older veterans because it Charlotte Hall's very far.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's very, very far to get to.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um it's it's a lonely place and it it it can be very you know difficult to get to.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: So we wanna make sure that we're we're reaching them and we have the right people there.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um absolutely that's important.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_02: So well, and I feel like it kind of like bigs brings up this like Bigger like thing when I think about like when obviously all the side mental side quests that I'm having is like I'm thinking about brain and brain health and like what we need as humans, and then I also kind of think like you know what our elderly need, but also like what do our kids need?
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_02: Because you know, when I think about like like music, right?
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_02: Like we in and I'm thinking about like sorry, I'm kind of going off topic here when it's I think about like education, but I'm thinking about like what does the brain actually need, right?
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_02: And yeah, you know, and that kind of goes and I'm you know glad that our schools are fighting to keep music like alive.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, like we need music just as much as we need physical education, and neither one are more important than the other.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_02: Do you know what I mean?
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_02: And um, and there's value, right?
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_02: Like there's like like movement is medicine.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um, we know that.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_02: But music is is just as helpful.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_02: Like it's an active, like I think the arts in general, like I mean all areas of art, right?
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_02: It act it can reach a part of the brain that um that language can't.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_00: It really can.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's funny, um, because you make the connection between, you know, um like children and the elderly and having it's because it it it's music, the arts are important in both of those demographics.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um so my sister sent me a video a couple weeks ago.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um her daughter, I think she's five now, um, Lily, she is so sweet.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_00: And she wanted the whole family to sing to do a song.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_00: And she goes, Let's do You Are My Sunshine.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_00: So my sister like recorded it with her phone.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_00: They're all singing You Are My Sunshine.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_00: And it is the sweetest, it's you know, my sister, her three kids, and Lily who's leading the song.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I had um somebody that I work with, um, her mother has since passed, but was very ill in the hospital, and um uh they she started singing You Are My Sunshine.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_00: And it was really interesting the connection, and we even sing it when we go to um we do a lot of work with the nursing homes and assisted living centers in the area.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um like Vantage and Brightviews as well.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um but uh we do that song.
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_00: I can't tell you, like everybody loves it, and it's just this funny thing of when we're at like the assisted living centers or nursing homes, or even my friend whose mother was very ill, they knew all the words to You Are My Sunshine, but here I here's little like my my niece Lily who's singing You Are My Sunshine, and it's just there's a there's that connector in a sense.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um and it doesn't matter if you're young or old, it's just you know, that there's that one song that's just it sticks with you.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't know, it it's really crazy.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, as I'm watching my nieces' nephews grow up and listen to the type of music they listen to, um I'm interested to see as you know they get older what what what kind of music is gonna be when when they're older, because again, it's it's that connector finding the right tunes, but um Yeah.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_02: Well, and you know, and I think kind of like that beautiful take on people we're talking about human connection, but like you said it already, but like music brings us together.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_02: I mean like take the I mean yes, we're using massive examples of like, you know, mega stars like um like Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga that literally have brought millions of people together.
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_02: But think about like, you know, these are it's interesting because like when you're talking about planning your shows, you're planning that music for a very specific demographic.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_02: And I guess we could argue the same for potentially Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga, but you know, when you're talking about millions of people, you're getting all a lot of walks of life.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, maybe not World War II vets, but you know, you're getting expansive.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_02: You're getting in a massive range of people.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah right?
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_02: And you can't ignore the point that, you know, music is another universal language.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_02: The arts are another language that hits us all.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I know for myself, just in a again, the way that music hits me in very different ways, like it's able to trigger emotional areas that I don't necessarily have access to on a regular basis.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, we can again whole other side, you know, com conversation about that of like, you know, of the way that we mentally and store and process things, right?
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_02: You know, like shoving things down, right?
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but um, but I like to use music as a tool, um, not necessarily because I'm always trying to bring it up, but it can kind of help like, you know, churn and move things around mentally, emotionally, if I feel if I'm feeling stuck.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so even if I'm not wanting to like maybe face or deal with whatever, right?
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_02: It's still I don't know how to like explain it, but it's just just still kind of feels like it's getting moved around and I can feel a little bit lighter.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and when you're in a bad mood, if you turn on, you know, music sometimes that helps, or like if you go for a run, um, you know, you there's certain tunes you listen to, because you mean probably some people listen to classical music when they run, um, and that's their thing.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_00: But other people are like listening to like that heavy and that keeps them going.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_00: But it's it's just that, and I I forgot to mention, um, and I wanted to mention it.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_00: So um we do have a board of directors, uh-huh.
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_00: And um talking about like music and and and changing the mood, they all have songs that they love.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like my um vice president Joe Lloyd, um, he's a Vietnam veteran, and his favorite song is We Gotta Get Out of This Place.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_00: So every time we sing it, we always call out, you know, you know, VP, Joe Lloyd, this is for you.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's really important.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_00: Or um, I another um board member, um Bert Rice, he loves um I Left My Heart in San Francisco.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_00: Also served in Vietnam and was a helicopter pilot, and um he he would go back and forth from um California and uh he that that was his song.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_00: So every time we sing that we we call at him.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um and it's just it's it's beautiful.
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, music and mood completely change because I can tell you there are some veterans who come in who are not happy and it's a good thing.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, there have been some really grumpy, like they didn't like what they had for breakfast, and it just continues.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's a mood, it continues, and then as soon as we start, it's like, you know, or I had this uh one veteran, we sang uh Where the Boys Are by Connie Francis, and um I I sang it, and um uh I I I started singing, you know, Where the Boys Are and he goes, Connie Francis, I love Connie Francis.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_00: Connie Francis is my favorite, yes, Connie Francis.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_00: I had that one on the entire song the entire time I sang.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_00: He goes, I love, I love me some Connie Francis.
• 36:37
  SPEAKER_00: And then after the show, he said, So your favorite song was Where the Boys, oh yes, love me, Connie Francis.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_00: Connie Francis is the best.
• 36:44
  SPEAKER_00: But that's you know, he it I don't know what he was thinking when he came in.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, right, but his mood had completely changed.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_00: And now he's a Connie Francis, which is great.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_00: That is great, and I'm sure the the nurses appreciated that, but it was like, you know, coming in in in a rough mood, and now and now it's you know it's this, it's a it's a change.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_00: It just it's a change that comes over the room.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, and um, yeah, it's it's it's incredible.
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_01: It's a beautiful thing.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_00: And it it's it's one thing.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's one thing we can do.
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I'm I'm just so thankful that I have an amazing board of directors that support the organization and um you know we're ready to see it grow.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_00: We're ready to get it to the next level, which is incredible.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_00: That's so exciting.
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um, oh my gosh.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I cannot wait to to I keep wanting to noodle it with you and and hear about all the new things.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_02: And um, but as we get up to start to wrap up here, yes, what are the best ways for people to, if they have questions, if they wanted to book you, or or if they wanted to, I don't know if you guys have any volunteer opportunities, obviously donate donation opportunities.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_02: Can you can you break that all down for us?
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_00: So um you can check us out on our website, www.voiceseovets.com.
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um you can find us there.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_00: We also on um socials Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn.
• 38:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, follow us there.
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you can figure out how to donate.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's all on the website.
• 38:07
  SPEAKER_00: You just push donate and you can donate to the organization.
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_00: If you're interested in volunteering, you can always reach out to info at voicesovets.com.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and we have different roles coming up.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_00: We have a lot of new new things coming up there.
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you can follow us on our socials and and our website to see where we are performing next.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_00: I really try to um bring exposure of where we're gonna be.
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_00: If it's a community event we did, um Dinner Under the Stars in Annapolis to help bring exposure because this is something that I've learned is it's amazing what we do for our veterans in vet homes and VA hospitals, but the public doesn't know about it.
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_02: I was gonna say that's a perfect way, yeah.
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the public doesn't know about it.
• 38:49
  SPEAKER_00: So we actually do performances other places to help bring exposure to the organization to share how we support our veterans.
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then also if you wanted to listen, um Oh, wait, that's so cute.
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_00: We actually have an original song called More Than Pictures, and um a gentleman who supports our organization, he wrote the song he used to walk work for the Washington Post.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_00: And at the time the Graham family owned um the post, and they were um uh pulling pictures of our fallen.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um and so he um was looking at the newspaper and he goes, you know, these men and women, it's more than just a picture.
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's somebody's mom, it's somebody's dad, it's a brother, a sister, a wife, a husband, and they're more than just pictures.
• 39:41
  SPEAKER_00: So he wrote the song More Than Pictures.
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um and it's a it's a beautiful song.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um you can look it up, it's on all the streaming services, Spotify.
• 39:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we also have the music video on YouTube.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um and that we what we've tried to do is we um put pictures of our our fallen soldiers as um the uh song plays, and it's it's really beautiful.
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um so we try at Voices Events, we try to honor um our veterans in our veteran homes, VA facilities, hospitals, but also those who've given the ultimate sacrifice so they are never forgotten.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um that's really important.
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um but yeah, so um you can check out our song, check out all those, and we've we do partner with Blue Star families too.
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_00: We do a couple events for them, so and we do corporate events.
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_00: So a lot of our um donors um will reach out for um holiday stuff coming up.
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, we're doing our holiday party.
• 40:33
  SPEAKER_00: Can you do music?
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_00: Again, we have over about 200 musicians.
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_00: So if you need a jazz trio, you need a harpist, you need if you need a band, hire through voices events because a portion of the goes back to the organization.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_00: Excellent.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_02: So we'll make sure to sh, you know, I'll get all of your information.
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_02: So when you're listening to this and it's this um episode is live, um, you know, you'll we'll also be able to have all that information there for you.
• 40:59
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm guessing the same goes like if you are, I don't know whether you're if you're a caretaker of a loved one or you are working in a facility and want to, like, I guess, see if you will come out, they can also do the same thing.
• 41:12
  SPEAKER_02: Go to info at voice of vets.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_00: And they can just go directly, voicesavets.com, go to our website, and it has all of our information there.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_00: So you can put in um it has like a little link for you can like it right in there.
• 41:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um and what's probably one of our bigger things in December is our Caroling crew.
• 41:30
  SPEAKER_00: We get a lot of people our carolings.
• 41:33
  SPEAKER_00: So it's so much fun.
• 41:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's it's a it's a blast.
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_00: So and you'll see more in social media coming out um about some of our of what we do and and yeah, so follow us on socials.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, check out our website, and yeah, if you have any questions, info at Voices of Bets.
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_02: Beautiful.
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much for your time today, Cassie.
• 41:50
  SPEAKER_02: It's so much better.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_00: We're excited.
• 41:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna be a it's gonna be a great week.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Mom Talk Maryland.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_02: If you loved it, leave a review, share it with a friend, or tag me at the dot ColumbiaMom on Instagram.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_02: I'd love to hear what you think.
• 42:06
  SPEAKER_02: And don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an episode.
• 42:09
  SPEAKER_02: Until next time, keep showing up, keep supporting local, and keep being the incredible mom, the woman, and human that you are.