Latest / Newsradio WGAN / Maine Veterans Spotlight 5/17/26

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Maine Veterans Spotlight 5/17/26 · Newsradio WGAN

0:00
Welcome to The Maine Veteran Spotlight, a collaborative
0:02
effort with The Maine Association of Broadcasters,
0:04
Rates Across America, Portland Media Group, the University of
0:07
Maine System, Bennett Radio Group and Rangeley Community
0:10
Radio. I'm Jeff Pierce.
0:12
I'm the director of media and military partnerships for Rates
0:15
Across America. And it is my honor today to have
0:19
United States Army veteran Steve Brohall on the show with us.
0:23
Steve, thank you so much for joining us.
0:26
Well, thank you, Jeff. Glad to be here.
0:29
Steve, we're going to take it back a couple of years, OK, to
0:32
start the interview, how did Steve end up in the United
0:38
States military? Well, I was, you know, a member
0:43
of the Vietnam era generation. But I was fortunate for me, I
0:49
guess I was a little too young to serve.
0:52
This is the early 70s, but there was a thing called the draft and
0:57
I was a student at Northeastern University in Boston.
1:01
And I joined Army ROTC while I was at Northeastern and was
1:09
commissioned in 1976 as a second Lieutenant of infantry and then
1:15
embarked on a what turned out to be.
1:17
I thought I was only going to stick around for two or three
1:19
years, see what it was like. But I ended up 31 years later, I
1:23
retired. And you retired as a full
1:26
Colonel, right? Yes, yes, I did.
1:29
It's, you know, you wait around long enough and you get
1:31
promoted. And so while you're waiting
1:35
around to get promoted, can you kind of walk us through some of
1:39
some of what you did in the United States Army?
1:43
Well, I started off from the infantry and the Vietnam War had
1:47
come to a conclusion last year before I, I went on active duty.
1:53
My first assignment was as a rifle platoon leader on the DMZ
1:57
in Korea. That was a good place for a
2:00
young officer to start. And then I went on to a number,
2:03
number of other infantry assignments in, in the
2:06
continental United States and Panama and some other places and
2:10
felt midway through my career, you know, peace had broken out
2:13
in the world. And, you know, I decided the
2:18
Army created this thing called the Acquisition Corps to better
2:22
manage how we buy things, acquire things and manage,
2:27
manage all the, you know, billions of dollars that the
2:29
taxpayer was entrusting us with. And I found that to be pretty
2:33
rewarding. It was, it was a chance to, you
2:37
know, put into practice some good business techniques, save
2:41
the Army some money, get the right equipment to the soldier.
2:45
So I did that for the second-half of my career and,
2:48
and my my last assignment in uniform was running the Army's
2:55
research development technology Center in Europe, Middle East,
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Africa. I was based in London, but
3:01
travel all over those regions. And then when I retired, I was
3:06
asked to come to work in the Pentagon to do some of the stuff
3:10
at the Pentagon level. So I got my third return trip to
3:14
the Pentagon. So I, I, you can say that I
3:17
spent a lot of my career fighting a desk.
3:19
So fighting behind a desk. So that's what I did.
3:23
We're talking to Steve Brohall. He's a retired Colonel, United
3:27
States Army. So Steve, back up to the
3:29
Acquisition Corps, right. So the Acquisition Corps, how
3:33
many times did you did you hear the $600.00 toilet seat joke?
3:39
Yeah. I mean that's, that was, that
3:41
was kind of our, our, our heritage, I guess.
3:45
I mean that was point out that was an Air Force toilet seat,
3:47
not an Army toilet seat. But the that was the idea behind
3:52
the acquisition Corps. Congress was was unhappy,
3:56
understandably so with the way money was being spent and need
4:00
to be spent more efficiently. And so we created this
4:06
acquisition Corps and all the services.
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And I think, you know, obviously I'm biased, but I think we did a
4:11
pretty professional job of trying to deliver the best
4:14
equipment to our to our to our warriors and at the same time
4:19
give the taxpayers their money's.
4:21
Worth, absolutely. We're talking to Steve Brohall,
4:24
retired Colonel, United States Army.
4:26
And so you retired out of as a, as a Department of Defense
4:32
employee out of the Pentagon, right?
4:35
Yes, yes, I was back in Washington both working as
4:40
Pentagon and the Defence Threat Reduction Agency, which is the
4:44
arms, basically the Arms Control Agency, and I was the chief
4:47
information officer there. And so go ahead, sorry.
4:52
Yeah, and then and then, you know, but being a good New
4:55
Englander, I wanted to get back to Maine as soon as I could, and
4:59
here I am. Well, that was the question I
5:02
was going to ask is how do you, so you're originally from Maine?
5:06
Originally from I claimed Massachusetts and New Hampshire
5:10
is my ancestral homeland, but my my wife wanted to be in Maine.
5:15
I want to be in Maine too. And I'm you know my answer.
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I got here as soon as I could so.
5:22
Well, I mean, you've been here long enough.
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I didn't. No one's going to know the
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difference, right? We're talking to Steve.
5:29
Might be surprised. I did.
5:33
That's a thing. We won't get into that.
5:35
We're talking to Steve Brohall. He's a retired Colonel, United
5:37
States Army. So you get out of government
5:42
service, you make a home here in the beautiful state of Maine,
5:47
and then you become what I like to refer to as a serial
5:51
volunteer. So you're in, you're the
5:53
president of the AUSA Association of the United States
5:59
Army. Joshua Chamberlain chapter for
6:04
for AUSA also, and I forget your title with MOAA, so talk about
6:10
those organization and how you got involved.
6:14
Well, yeah, I mean, I'm just one of those people that can't say
6:18
no when people ask me to do something, I guess.
6:20
So anyway, including you, Jeff. So anyway, I appreciate that.
6:23
So anyway, Association of the US Army, Nonprofit Educational,
6:29
actually a nonprofit educational entity is basically the voice of
6:36
the Army. We are not, we are not
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affiliated with the US Army or U.S. government at all.
6:43
I say we are a nonprofit and we basically want to tell the Army
6:48
story. That's especially important in
6:50
Maine because there isn't a lot of Army presence here, as most
6:54
people would know. I mean, if you ask people, Maine
6:57
was primarily a Navy and and to a slightly lesser extent Air
7:00
Force Town. Now sadly, Navy and the, and the
7:05
Air Force have also reduced their presence here.
7:09
So it's important, you know, less than 1% of the US
7:12
population, adult population has served in the military or has
7:17
any kind of direct connection with military, less than 1%.
7:21
So, you know, we don't have a draft anymore and we, it's
7:27
important to, for people to realize, you know, what their,
7:31
what their armed forces do, what their men and women in uniform
7:33
do. So AUSA is primarily an advocate
7:37
for the Army and, and, and, and that, and provides educational
7:42
opportunities. There's all kinds of things,
7:43
scholarships, you know, professional development
7:48
opportunities, you name it. The other hat that I wear, I'm
7:52
on the board of the Military Officers Association main
7:56
chapter, which is a until a few years ago, it was known as it
8:04
was the the Retired Officers Association, another, another
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nonprofit, and the Retired Officers Association was
8:13
primarily an advocacy lobbying group for for all veterans, not
8:17
just officers. The membership is composed of
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officers, active, retired. You don't have to be a retired.
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You could be a could have. As long as you were an officer,
8:27
you had a Commission. You're eligible for membership
8:30
in the association. And Maine has a pretty robust
8:33
chapter and we had two chapters now consolidated into one and we
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provide scholarships. One thing that MOA Maine chapter
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does is we provide scholarships to ROTC cadets in Maine.
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You have to be you have to be a main resident.
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And we run it through the Navy program at the Main Maritime
8:56
Academy and the Army program at U Main Orono.
9:00
So yeah, I think they're probably, and I know the Navy is
9:04
something somewhere with the Navy League and there's an Air
9:06
Force Association, but I think the you'll find the AUSA Joshua
9:11
Chamberlain chapter and the main MOA chapter are very active in
9:16
advocating things for veterans with the legislature in Augusta
9:21
and through the national headquarters on national.
9:24
Issues So AUSA Association of the United States Army.
9:28
We're talking to Steve Brohall, retired Colonel, United States
9:32
Army and President of the Joshua Chamberlain Chapter of AUSA.
9:37
What are the requirements to be a member of AUSA?
9:41
There none other than you have to have an interest in the in
9:46
the US Army and that includes Army Reserve and National Guard
9:49
in Maine. Most of our members are National
9:51
Guardsmen and we have a great relationship with the Adjutant
9:54
General and and her team. In fact, you can join for free
10:00
if you go to ausa.org. The basic membership is free.
10:06
And because it's the sesquicentennial of the country
10:12
and last year was the sesquicentennial of the United
10:15
States Army, the regular, what they call premium membership
10:20
rates have been greatly reduced. They're pretty modest.
10:22
Basically you get quite a few benefits if you pay the minimum
10:26
amount. But we just want people to, to
10:29
join. That's why we've opened it up
10:31
for free for the basic membership where you get all the
10:33
online access and so forth. But you get some more perks if
10:36
you, if you, you know, come across with a 20 or 40 bucks, I
10:40
forget what it, what it is, but it's, it's open to anybody.
10:44
You don't have to admit it. You don't have to have been in
10:46
the Army. You it's it's just wide open I
10:50
think my other group military Officers Association of America
10:54
the requirement is that you had been a commissioned or Warrant
10:58
Officer in any of the armed force or any of the uniformed
11:00
services and much more of an advocacy group.
11:06
But also there's a lot of things socially orderly lunches, things
11:09
like that, interesting guest speakers, including people like
11:13
you, Jeff. And so anyway, we, we, we try to
11:17
reach out to the community with scholarships and so forth.
11:19
Both, both organizations are great sources for scholarships.
11:23
So any, any manners that are looking for that kind of thing,
11:27
I definitely urge you to look at the website soitsausa.org and
11:32
moaa.org. And you can find the local
11:36
chapters on those websites. We're talking to Steve Brohall,
11:41
retired Colonel, United States Army board member for MOAA,
11:45
Military Officers Association of America, and chapter president
11:49
for the Joshua Chamberlain Chapter of AUSA, the Association
11:54
of the United States Army. Steve, I appreciate the time and
11:59
sharing a little bit of your story with us.
12:02
I reserve the right to invite you back on for a future
12:04
episode. Is that OK?
12:07
Well, absolutely Jeff, I was, you know, you're, you're part of
12:09
a great organization, great main organization that's had a great
12:13
national impact. And I know a lot of people talk
12:17
about what you do, and it was my pleasure to be with you today.
12:22
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Learn more in Sponsor A Wreath today at
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wreathsacrossamerica.org. Welcome to The Maine Veteran
13:01
Spotlight, a collaborative effort with The Maine
13:03
Association of Broadcasters, Reitz Across America, Portland
13:06
Media Group, the University of Maine System, Bennett Radio
13:09
Group and Rangeley Community Radio.
13:11
I'm Jeff Pierce, director of media and military partnerships
13:14
for Wreaths Across America, and it is my honor today to be
13:17
talking to Kevin Campbell. Kevin, thank you so much for
13:21
joining us. Of course.
13:25
So Kevin, we're going to skip to the end really quick.
13:28
You are a, a Mason. You have a variety of of hats
13:34
that you wear with the Masons. And we do want to mention, and I
13:38
know you guys are really looking forward to this event coming up
13:41
on June 19th and 20th at the Acton Fairgrounds, the 2026
13:47
Maine State Moose Lottery permit drawing.
13:50
That's two full days of activities, right?
13:53
Yes, it is. So this is a big event for you
13:55
guys. It really is first time we've
13:58
ever done anything like this. Thank you for saying that
14:01
because I wasn't sure if it was the first time you've done this.
14:04
I thought for some reason you guys were involved.
14:06
So just we'll talk about this more later, but folks should
14:10
know this is happening at the Acton Fairgrounds.
14:13
June 19th and June 20th. That's Friday and Saturday, a
14:17
full day of activities kicks off with a breakfast.
14:20
Then you've got some vendors and some other stuff, right?
14:24
Right. I'm not involved in the planning
14:27
of any of that. So you know, I have little
14:31
little knowledge. But you'll be there.
14:33
I hope to be there, yes. All right.
14:36
And so they've got vendors and all kinds of stuff going on.
14:38
And then, of course, Saturday, the big day where they pull the
14:41
moose hunt lottery numbers because getting a moose permits
14:45
a big deal. You can fill your freezer with a
14:47
moose, Kevin. Yes you can.
14:50
Kevin, let's talk a little bit about you.
14:53
You know you are United States Marine Corps veteran, so I'd
14:57
like to take you back a couple of years and have you tell us
15:01
why young Kevin decided he wanted to join the United States
15:05
Marine Corps. Well, I'm not completely sure
15:10
because I started out trying to go into the Navy and all of a
15:14
sudden this Marine Corps recruiter kind of took over.
15:17
And yeah, that's where it went from there.
15:20
I I actually joined when I was still in high school.
15:23
I was still 17. That was back in 1972.
15:28
And I went on the delayed entry program.
15:31
So I didn't actually go in until September of 72 after I had
15:35
graduated and turned 18. And myself and two others from
15:41
from the main area got picked to go to San Diego rather than
15:46
Paris Island for boot camp. Not sure why, quotas, whatever,
15:51
I don't know, but I got to go to San Diego.
15:55
We're talking to Kevin Campbell, United States Marine Corps
15:58
veteran. So Hollywood Marine, as they
16:00
like to say. So, so unpack a little bit,
16:06
Unpack a little bit of what you did in the Marine Corps.
16:08
Obviously Vietnam War is going on, but you didn't go to
16:12
Vietnam, So what did you? Do.
16:13
I did not. I did not.
16:15
After boot camp I was assigned to the Navy base in Memphis, TN
16:22
for schooling. I went to for aviation
16:25
electronics. I I learned basic electronics
16:28
and while I was there I extended my enlistment for two more years
16:31
in order to in order to go to an advanced aviation electronics
16:36
school. When I graduated from that, I
16:40
was promoted to Co Corporal and was then transferred to Marine
16:45
Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, NC, where I spent really most of
16:49
the rest of the time that I was in.
16:51
I was in for six years. We got deployed to Fallon, NV
16:57
for bomb training and you know, for the pilots and them, I was
17:02
in an A6 Intruder squadron. My job was to maintain the fire
17:08
control systems, the radar, the inertial navigation system, the
17:12
computer system on the airplane and that was, that was primarily
17:15
my job. We did get deployed overseas to
17:20
Iwakuni, Japan and from there to Bangju, Korea for a short time.
17:26
Winter training was cold over there.
17:28
January and then to the Philippines for a couple of
17:34
months before we went back to Iwakuni and then back to Cherry
17:37
Point. So six years in the United
17:40
States Marine Corps sounds like you got to see some things, see
17:43
the world. Do things, yes.
17:45
We're talking to Kevin Campbell, United States Marine Corps
17:48
veterans. So you do your six years in the
17:50
Marine Corps, what you do when you got out.
17:52
And when I get out, I, I, I, I traveled back home.
17:56
On the way I stopped outside of Washington, DC to interview with
18:00
a company there for a job. And then I came back home to
18:05
Maine and was there about maybe a month and a half.
18:09
I got a call and I did a few other interviews with places,
18:14
but I got a call from the company and outside of DC
18:17
company called Vitro Corporation.
18:20
They wanted to hire me. So I went and moved down there
18:24
to they were, they were in Silver Spring, MD and at the
18:29
time and then we, I lived in Gaithersburg, MD while I was
18:36
down there. And what was funny is I was
18:38
doing electrical drawings for submarines.
18:42
I've never seen a submarine in my life, never been on one.
18:45
But I was doing the electronics, electric electrical drawings for
18:49
the systems on, on ballistic missile submarines.
18:53
And I do want to say one of the one of the interesting things
18:57
that we did while I was down there, we got a contract with
19:00
the General Services Administration to map out the
19:04
steam tunnels underneath DC. So I spent about nine months in
19:09
the tunnels underneath DC, the steam tunnels mopping all out,
19:14
where the valves were, where the, where the pipes went, what
19:17
streets they crossed and all that stuff.
19:19
Because they, they heat, they send steam from 2 plants to 115
19:25
federal buildings around DC. So that was an interesting, it
19:28
was an interesting time. We're talking to Kevin Campbell.
19:32
He's United States Marine Corps veteran.
19:33
We're talking about his post service life.
19:36
So back to the electrical drawings, right?
19:38
So all of that directly related to your training in the Marine
19:42
Corps? Yes, it was yes, it was, it was
19:45
because I was AI was not a an electronics, you know, like in
19:50
the in the guts of a piece of equipment.
19:52
I was more between the equipment, how this equipment
19:56
talks to that equipment and and making sure that, you know,
20:00
everything worked. And that's what they needed.
20:01
They needed to go from point A to point B in the submarine and
20:05
where were where were all the electrical wires and everything
20:07
going throughout the submarine. So that's where that's where
20:10
that went. And the steam no relation to
20:13
your. No relation, just an ancillary
20:16
contract that we got happened to get and because we were doing
20:19
you know that kind of system wide putting together things, it
20:24
kind of let us to be able to do that.
20:27
It was. It was fun.
20:30
And so you were talking to Kevin Campbell, United States Marine
20:33
Corps veteran post service life. And you know, our goal, these
20:35
interviews on the main veteran spotlight, Kevin, is to is to
20:41
portray service and success, right.
20:43
So you, you, you laid your foundation in the United States
20:46
Marine Corps and then you had a successful career working for
20:50
the, the federal government. How long did you end up working
20:54
in government service? Well, it was, you know, it's a
20:57
government contractor. You know, we were a private
20:59
company. Actually, that's fine.
21:02
In, in, in 81. I transferred up to Bath, Maine,
21:07
my wife and I and we, I went to the same company, had a field
21:12
office here in Bath and started doing similar kinds of record
21:16
keeping type drawings up here. Basically, I've been in the same
21:22
job for, I was in the same job for like 30 years, different
21:27
companies, basically sitting at the same desk doing the same
21:31
work, but government contracting.
21:33
Every three or four years there's a contract that comes
21:35
out and you either get it or you don't.
21:37
And if you don't, you usually get transferred over to the new
21:39
company. So that happened.
21:41
I spent the last 27 years doing programming for the Navy.
21:48
Again, private company, but we did programming for the Navy
21:52
here in Bath and I, I retired in 2016.
21:57
We're talking to Kevin Campbell, United States Marine Corps
22:00
veteran and, and so Kevin, you know, we obviously want to talk
22:05
about the Masons, right? So, and how you found the
22:09
Masons. Do want to mention that The
22:11
Maine State Moose lottery permit drawing coming up Friday, June
22:15
19th and Saturday, June 20th at the Acton Fairgrounds.
22:19
And so how did you find the Masons and and get involved?
22:26
Well, actually, I can thank my wife for that.
22:31
I got a back there around 2003. I had never really thought about
22:36
the Mason, never knew anything about him.
22:38
Whatever got a letter from the, from the Masonic Lodge here in,
22:43
in the town that I live in. Look, they were having a Pope
22:47
fellowship night where they just were inviting people they
22:50
thought might be a, you know, possible good Mason and inviting
22:55
them to come to dinner and listen to them talk and
22:58
whatever. And my wife said, you know, you
23:01
ought to go to that. And so we did got interested and
23:07
I joined and I've been a member, well, now almost 25 years
23:11
almost. And I've, I've had a pretty
23:15
successful career, I think in, in the Masons.
23:18
I've been master of my lodge for three years.
23:21
I've been a district deputy Grand Master for, for my
23:27
district here. I was an assistant grand
23:30
lecturer for four districts where I taught Masonic ritual.
23:36
And then I became the one of the one year I I ran for and, and
23:41
was elected senior grand warden for the Grand Lodge of Maine.
23:46
And right now I'm currently secretary of my lodge here in in
23:49
Dresden. And so, Kevin, you know, you're
23:53
obviously 25 years almost in the in the Masons, right?
23:58
What do you tell people to encourage them to get involved?
24:02
It's. It's Masonry is really what you
24:05
make of it yourself. I mean, we're there to you know,
24:08
the saying is you know, where where Masons make take good men
24:12
and make them better. That's true to a degree, but
24:15
it's really up to the person to want to be better for one thing.
24:19
But I, I tell them that it's, it's fellowship, it's, it's
24:23
meeting new people all the time. I have gone all over the state
24:27
and I've gone all in other states as well.
24:30
And, and I've met all these great people, both men and
24:34
women. I mean, you know, Masonry is
24:36
primarily, you know, men, some men's fraternity, but you meet
24:42
all the wives and the girlfriends and whatever your
24:44
family, it's family oriented. It is just, it's just such a joy
24:49
to, to, to meet with all these, these great men and, and, and
24:54
have, we have something in common and, and a lot of them
24:57
are, are veterans. A lot of them are veterans.
25:01
It's that service, right? You continue to serve the
25:04
community after serving our nation.
25:06
The the main state moose lottery permit drawing coming up at the
25:11
Acton Fairgrounds June 19 and 22 full days of events and we get
25:17
to find out who gets the permit to bag of moose.
25:21
We're talking to Kevin Campbell, United States Marine Corps
25:24
veteran and Mason. And so we got a few things to
25:28
unpack with with respect to the Masons.
25:31
So I want you to, if you could hang on through the break.
25:35
You OK with that? Certainly no problem.
25:38
All right, so we'll come back and we'll talk more than Kevin
25:41
Campbell on the main Veteran spotlight.
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To learn more and to find a squadron near you to explore,
26:34
visit gocivilairpatrol.com. That's gocivilairpatrol.com.
26:42
Welcome back to The Maine Veteran Spotlight, a
26:44
collaborative effort with The Maine Association of
26:46
Broadcasters, Reads Across America, Portland Media Group,
26:49
the University of Maine System, Bennett Radio Group and Rangeley
26:53
Community Radio. I'm Jeff Pierce, director of
26:55
media and military partnerships for Reads Across America, and
26:58
we're talking to Kevin Campbell, United States Marine Corps
27:01
veteran and Mason. So Kevin, we want to make sure
27:06
to remind people about the moose hunt lottery drawing that's
27:09
coming up June 19th and 20th, Acton Fairgrounds, 2 full days
27:15
of events where people probably going to be able to learn more
27:18
about the Masons and the shrine there, right, Kevin?
27:20
I would I would assume so, yes. And then we get to find out who
27:24
gets a moose permit to bag of moose this this upcoming moose
27:29
hunting season. So when we left off, we were
27:33
talking about Masons and and how to get involved with the Masons.
27:38
Can you kind of explain the different parts of Masonry's as
27:46
far as, is that the right word, Masonry as far as as far as
27:51
you've got the shrine, you've got the Masons, you've got the
27:54
Scottish Rite Masons, you have some special veterans programs.
27:59
So top line, explain to people what the Masons are.
28:02
OK, the Masons, the, the, the lodges that you see around towns
28:08
are the, the, the foundation of Masonry is, is that the first
28:11
three degrees, inter apprentice, fellowcraft and master Mason.
28:16
After that, if somebody so desires, they can go into what
28:21
we call the appendant bodies. There is York Rite, Scottish
28:25
Rite Shriners. Those are, well, I wouldn't say
28:28
higher parts of Masonry. They are more, just more
28:32
learning, more exposure to all the elements of, of Masonry.
28:36
I belong to the Scottish Rite, a pendant body and I, and I've
28:40
been there for almost as long as I've been a Mason.
28:43
I just got my 33rd degree two years ago, which is the highest,
28:48
I say highest degree in Scottish Rite that you can get.
28:52
It's it's by invitation. As far as other parts within the
28:57
the we call it the Blue Lodge, the foundation of Masonry.
29:01
We have a, a program here called the Armed Forces Degree team
29:06
where we have a group of Masons who are veterans of their and
29:12
some are a couple of them are still active duty of the armed
29:15
forces. And we all get together.
29:18
If there's a, a, a Mason at one of the lodges in, in the state
29:22
that is going to be become a master Mason and has to go
29:27
through his master Mason degree, we will by invitation, we will
29:31
come in and we will take over the chairs for the, for the
29:35
evening. And we, he will raise him to the
29:37
degree of Master Mason. So all of the people that that
29:40
are, are part of that team are all veterans.
29:44
And we're reaching out to that veteran who wants to become a
29:47
Mason and helping him become that Mason.
29:50
That's something that we've done now for I think there's been a,
29:53
we've done it about almost 70 times.
29:55
I think I haven't, but the team has.
29:59
It was started a while ago by a Mason who is a great Mason who
30:02
has passed, since passed away, but has been taken over by a
30:07
good friend of mine and he's doing an excellent job with it.
30:10
So we, we, we really enjoy doing it.
30:13
We'll go almost anywhere in the state to do that if it's
30:16
possible. The other part of it is we have
30:20
a, a charitable foundation that's a separate corporation
30:24
from the Grand Lodge of Maine. It's The Maine Masonic
30:27
Charitable Foundation. I was a trustee on that board
30:30
for about 6 years and we do all sorts of charitable work.
30:34
We, we help, we help the lodges with, with grant money to, to do
30:39
local projects, local, you know, buying yearbooks for the
30:43
elementary school in our town, buying heating oil for, you
30:48
know, mate widows of, of Masons or even, and plus we do all
30:52
sorts of things for other other, you know, non Mason people as
30:56
well around the state. We're talking to Kevin Campbell.
31:00
He is a United States Marine Corps veteran and a Mason and as
31:05
you can hear heavily involved in the Masons in the in the great
31:09
state of Maine. So that's a good point that you
31:11
raise Kevin, you do the Masons are doing a lot of work in the
31:15
community and the and a lot of that is kind of quietly
31:19
happening, right And folks don't really realize what what the
31:24
Masons are doing for non Masons, right.
31:28
And you started to talk about that a little bit where you're,
31:31
you know, you're helping people with, with basic needs
31:34
assistance with the money that you're raising, right?
31:38
Yes, absolutely. I mean, we'll, we'll do you
31:41
know, we'll, we'll help. We can help.
31:43
We have grants where we can actually help.
31:45
You know, somebody put a new roof on their house if they need
31:48
to, you know, say oil in the tank if they need that, you
31:52
know, plus we can we at local lodges will actually go out to,
31:58
you know, especially our widows places and you know, help bring
32:02
in wood or, you know, fix a door or, you know, a window or
32:07
something like that. I mean just little things a lot
32:10
of a lot of times and we just won't do it.
32:12
I mean, we don't advertise it. It's, you know, it's just what
32:15
we do. That true sense of community,
32:18
right, where you're helping your neighbors do do these things.
32:22
And so and so when folks are looking at organizations like
32:27
the Masons to get involved, it really is about building that
32:31
community support, right? Absolutely, absolutely.
32:34
It's it really is all about community, both internal to to
32:38
the organization and outward to the outward community as well.
32:43
We're talking to Kevin Campbell, United States Marine Corps
32:46
veteran and also Mason. And as you can hear a lot of
32:51
great work happening in local communities with the Masons and
32:57
also also Shriners Hospitals, right, You, you do work with
33:02
that. Can you tell us a little bit
33:04
about how that works? The Shriners are a wonderful
33:08
organization. I've got many friends who are,
33:10
are Shriners and, you know, all the money that that they raise
33:14
goes to the the Shriners hospitals all over the country
33:18
and they do great work. I have a friend of mine that
33:21
that spent a year when he was a kid, just spent a year in the
33:24
Shriners Hospital. And so I know, you know, I know
33:28
what they can do. They, they are just a fabulous
33:31
organization and, and, but I like I said, I've not joined
33:35
that I, I've got enough to do. Talking to Kevin Campbell, he is
33:41
a United States Marine Corps veteran and a Mason and a
33:45
variety of other things in his community.
33:47
So coming up on June 19th and 20th at the Acton Fairgrounds,
33:53
it is the main state moose lot of loose permit drawing is
33:58
hosted by the York County Shrine Club and the Masons of Southern
34:01
Maine. 2 full days of activities and they'll be drawing moose
34:05
permits throughout throughout the day on June 20th to see.
34:11
And this is a worldwide thing, right?
34:13
I mean people all over well, I should say nationwide.
34:18
Did you apply for one? I have not yet, but I I usually
34:22
do. I have for the last 20.
34:23
I've been on three moose hunts myself so.
34:25
OK. Well, hopefully you get 1.
34:28
Thank you, Kevin Campbell, for your service to this nation.
34:32
Thank you for continuing to serve your local community with
34:36
the work that you're doing with the Masons and thank you for
34:40
being on the show well. Thank you for having me I I
34:43
enjoyed it. They had names, they had
34:46
families, they had dreams. We often honor our service
34:50
members as a group, but each one was an individual with a story
34:54
that helped shape the freedoms we cherish today.
34:57
At Wreaths Across America, it's our mission to remember the
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deeply personal. And as we approach America's
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35:54
Welcome back. To The Maine Veteran Spotlight,
35:56
a collaborative effort with The Maine Association of
35:58
Broadcasters, Wreaths Across America, Portland Media Group,
36:02
the University of Maine System, Bennett Radio Group and Rangeley
36:05
Community Radio. I'm Jeff Pierce, Director of
36:07
media and Military Partnerships for Wreaths Across America.
36:11
And it is my honor today to be talking to Brian Ellis, AUS,
36:16
this Navy veteran. Brian, thank you for joining us.
36:18
Thank you for having me. So, Brian?
36:19
As part of. Our series Talking to Masons.
36:22
We are promoting the Moose Hunt lottery in Beautiful Acton, ME
36:26
which is a 2 day event June 19th and 20th and on June 20th
36:31
everybody who put in for a moose hunting permit is going to know
36:34
whether they got it or not, which is the most important
36:37
thing. Right.
36:39
Are you going to fill your? Freezer or not, that's right.
36:42
That's right. Are you going to be making?
36:44
A lot of friends with moose meat, so that's coming up.
36:48
And of course, the Masons are putting that on with the York
36:53
County Shriners as well. It's a statewide event and we're
36:58
going to talk more about that later.
37:00
But a lot of veterans are involved in in the Masons.
37:04
And I'm looking to you, Brian, to help clarify what the Masons
37:09
are and what the Masons do. But we're going to take you back
37:12
a couple of years and ask why, since the name of the show is
37:16
the main veteran Spotlight, why young Brian decided he wanted to
37:19
enlist in the United States Navy.
37:21
Oh jeez, let me go back. In the way back machine and do
37:24
some thinking here, but no, it actually was really, really
37:26
simple Jeff, you know, 18 my parents and I not not did not
37:32
have a lot of money. We lived in central Maine, you
37:34
know, and money wasn't really there for college.
37:37
So I thought, well, let me try the military and see how that
37:40
goes. Of course, I went through the,
37:43
you know, four major branches, wasn't really into the Army or
37:46
Marines. Don't tell anybody that, you
37:47
know, but so I tried the Navy and I was like, you know, I'll
37:51
do four years and, and get the most I can out of it and try and
37:55
get some college under my wing from there and, and see how that
37:58
goes. So enlisted in the service, went
38:00
to boot camp right right after graduating was a Yeoman, which
38:05
is for all those it's, it's paperwork.
38:06
So I got the lighter, you know, part of the military, which, you
38:09
know, I won't argue about that, but it was a great opportunity.
38:12
And you know, through that four years turned into eight, I re
38:16
enlisted and you know, 8 turned into 10.
38:18
And before I know it, I was at the halfway mark and I looked in
38:20
the mirror. I was like, well, I survived the
38:22
1st 10 and seemed to do OK, let's see if we can do the
38:24
second 10. And that's how I ended up
38:26
retiring and and doing 20 talking to Brian Ellis.
38:28
United States Navy veteran. And so there's an expression
38:32
it's a yeoman's work, right. And you said it's paperwork.
38:35
Can you explain to the regular people what the job is of a
38:41
Yeoman? Yeah, no, absolutely so.
38:43
Anybody that knows the administrative assistant world
38:45
or the executive assistant world, that was my job.
38:48
I was responsible for taking care of the.
38:51
For example, I was on the board the USS Abraham Lincoln and I
38:54
took care of, he was the air department officer.
38:57
He was in charge of all the airplanes and the pilots and
38:59
things like that. So I took care of him, which
39:01
meant taking care of, you know, all the pilots.
39:03
But through my career, I worked for various bosses, if you will,
39:07
from that, you know, and health worked for the executive officer
39:11
of the USS John C Stennis, for example, it's an aircraft
39:14
carrier. So that was the nature of of my
39:16
job was I was the administrative guy that make sure all the
39:19
paperwork was good, all the meetings were held, you know,
39:23
things of that nature. We're talking to Brian.
39:26
Ellis, United States Navy veteran and so in part of this
39:31
right is talking to Masons that that have served in the
39:33
military. And I do want to mention that
39:35
the moose hunt lottery coming up in Acton ME June 19th and 20th
39:40
huge event to learn more about masonry, which we'll talk about
39:44
that more coming up. But, but after your 20 years in
39:49
the United States Navy, obviously you're 30, 839 years
39:54
old, you've got to do something else.
39:56
So what did you do? Post service?
39:58
Yeah. So after I got out of the
39:59
service. Came came back to Maine just
40:01
because that's where my home was, family was made made the
40:03
sense to come back. You know, it's funny.
40:05
I played two weeks of golf and I realized I still need a job.
40:08
You know, retirement was only good for for so long.
40:12
So I worked at Inland Hospital in Waterville for a little bit
40:15
because it was just the first job that called saying hey, do
40:18
you want, would you like to do some?
40:19
Administrative work, answer phones, you know, and I was
40:22
like, yeah, sure, I can do that. And then the opportunity to work
40:26
at the University of Maine, Farmington was where I work out
40:28
now. A rose.
40:28
It was there was an advertisement there closer to
40:31
home. So I applied, met with the
40:34
president, President McDonnell, who is here now, had an
40:36
interview with him. You know, you know, asked me,
40:39
you know, what I've done because I did military and things like
40:41
that. And the the only asked me two
40:44
questions. He asked me what I could do and
40:46
I told him, what do you need? And then the other one wasn't
40:48
really questioned. I just told, you know, Sir, I'm
40:50
20 years military. I'm going to yell at you, you'll
40:51
yell at me. But at the end of the day, you
40:53
know, we're going to do what what you know your agenda is.
40:55
And apparently that was good enough because 5 minutes later I
40:58
got a call saying would you like to come work for me?
40:59
And I've, I've been there ever since.
41:01
So that's what I do. Now we're talking.
41:04
To Brian Ellis, United States Navy veteran and So what is your
41:09
job title? University of Maine farming, so
41:12
I'm the administrative. Assistant supervisor to the
41:14
President, you know, the office of the President here at UMF.
41:16
So really that is. Yeoman's work translated into
41:20
the civilian world, and that's where your military experience
41:23
pays off, right? Yeah, absolutely.
41:25
I I. What I loved about the military
41:27
itself, you know, instead of is the work ethic.
41:32
The military taught me very much work ethic and really from the
41:36
simple things, from showing up on time, dressing appropriately,
41:39
listening to your boss, you know, attention to detail,
41:43
communication skills that all that along the military really,
41:46
really carries with you after you get out.
41:49
And and I and I realized that as I was getting out and applying
41:51
for jobs, I was like, you know, those ethics carry with you and
41:55
they establish you into a working environment.
41:58
And I'm very blessed that that was the thing I learned and got
42:00
from the most in the service. Well, that is fantastic.
42:03
And thank you for coming back to Maine, right?
42:05
Because a lot of folks leave Maine and they, and they don't
42:08
come back. And, and, and, and the goal of
42:11
these interviews, Brian, is to portray service and success,
42:15
right? All those fundamentals that you
42:17
learned in the United States Navy are helping you succeed in
42:21
your civilian career. But beyond your day job, you're
42:26
also you also volunteer and are a member of the Masons.
42:32
So for for people who don't know what the Masons are, give your
42:37
top line elevator pitch on the organization masonry.
42:43
Helps the community. We are a bunch of, you know,
42:47
gentlemen, you know, it's, it's a, it's a male fraternity, if
42:49
you will. But we joined Maesry to go out
42:52
and help make the community better and help, you know, maybe
42:56
men become better as they will there to me there we're
43:00
gentlemen that have already a part of the community and want
43:02
to do something more. And it's interesting because I
43:05
feel Masonry and the military connect very hand in hand.
43:08
Military has core values. They have structure, if you
43:11
will, and they have this sense of belonging because we're with
43:13
our brethren and sisters too, if you will, all the time when we
43:18
leave that, I think it creates a little bit of a void that I feel
43:20
Masonry fills. And it is that brotherhood, that
43:23
togetherness, doing something for the community.
43:26
And to me that that's what Masonry is, is about in my
43:29
opinion. And so.
43:31
As a Mason, what types of things are you involved in?
43:35
Yeah, so right. Now we are in various things in
43:39
my in my lives. We have done a couple benefit
43:42
dinners for those that have had some tragedy in the community.
43:45
We're about to do what's called a yoga retreat for our
43:48
community, you know, for those who like yoga and want to do
43:51
something in the summer. We are doing a vet for hire
43:56
event at our lodge here in May because we see the need of
44:01
veterans and needing to get employed.
44:02
Like myself. I went through that same
44:04
transaction of trying to get a job, you know, and, and trying
44:07
to get those networks, if you will.
44:10
We're going to try and help that out.
44:11
Also, we went to the churches about a week ago and dropped off
44:15
some food for them because we know food is needed in this
44:17
community. And you know, we, again, we live
44:20
in a rural place where finances are not so rarely available.
44:22
We've done that. Also talking to you, Brian.
44:25
Ellis, United States Navy veteran and also a Mason.
44:30
So different types of Masons, right?
44:32
Brian, can you kind of break out what the different, different
44:36
subsets are? Yeah, there's so.
44:38
There's a main, there's a main hub of Masonry, we'll call it
44:42
blue Lodge, if you will. And and that's kind of the term
44:44
it's, it's where if you go to your towns, you see the famous
44:47
square and compass, which I think a lot of people know
44:48
about. That's our, our blue Lodge and
44:51
that's where any Mason who goes anytime, that's where we can
44:54
operate out of, if you will. Then there's other ones, there's
44:57
other branches if you would like the Shrine, you talked about
45:00
that, the shrine. Everybody knows those from the
45:02
fezzes, the parades, the funny cars, if you will.
45:05
That's a branch of Masonry also. There's other ones, Scottish
45:10
Rite, York, right? But there's different bodies of
45:14
Masonry that Masons can be a part of as well.
45:17
There's one called the Widow Suns, which is actually a, a
45:20
bike, or is it motorcycles? They ride bikes, but they're
45:23
still Masons. We're talking to Brian Ellis
45:24
United. States Navy veteran Mason and
45:29
and servant community servant, we'll call it call you that that
45:32
new title today today only. So Brian, what's your what?
45:39
Hey, I use this this the second time I've used this elevator
45:41
pitch. Somebody interested in learning
45:43
more about the Masons. What's your elevator pitch as to
45:46
why to join the organization is an opportunity to be?
45:50
With like minded individuals and someone who wants to serve their
45:54
community has the ability to do so.
45:56
It's good men, it's good people. And I think in a world today
45:59
where you know that's a little bit clouded, an opportunity to
46:02
be around good people is a good thing.
46:04
OK, well and if people want. To learn more about joining the
46:07
Masons, what do they do? So there's a couple ways they
46:09
can. Do it.
46:11
There is a website and but you think just go on Google and say
46:15
be a freemason.org. I think that's what it is.
46:18
That will get you to the right place and we'll give you
46:21
directions on how to be a Mason. Honestly too, if you just Google
46:24
Masonry near me, there will be lodges that kind of pop up and
46:29
they could probably go in there and get some information, maybe
46:31
a secretary phone number or AG e-mail connection of some way.
46:35
You know, there's a ways to do that.
46:37
Or if you're, you know, we're talking about the moose lottery,
46:39
which I know you're going to pitch a little bit later.
46:40
If you go to that, there will be Masons there.
46:43
They will give you the an opportunity of how to become
46:45
one. It's like they're reading off
46:47
my. My script I wasn't trying to
46:48
take your position I really. Wasn't I felt that was a good
46:50
plug, but you're. Absolutely right for a 2 day
46:54
indoctrination. Everything Masons June 19th and
46:57
20th 2 full days in Acton, ME at the Acton Fairgrounds and on on
47:03
Saturday, June 20th will be the day that they will announce the
47:08
folks that do receive a moose permit for moose season this
47:13
year. So kind of a big deal and a good
47:15
way to learn more and meet, meet you folks in person to decide if
47:20
you want to be a part of the Masons.
47:21
And we'll be there taking autographs.
47:23
Yeah, so I mean, no, I'm just there, but no, it's just like,
47:26
just kidding. Brian, thank you for your time
47:30
today. Thank you for your service to
47:32
this nation, and thank you for continuing to serve our
47:34
community in a variety of ways. Yeah, that's my my pleasure.
47:37
And. And again, the moose slaughter
47:38
will be a great opportunity for not just just not just to
47:42
brother to join Masonry if you knew man, but really for the
47:44
whole community. Masonry is really a whole
47:46
community event. Wives, ladies, kids, everybody.
47:49
It's it's a great opportunity for everyone to see what
47:52
Freemasonry is absolutely. And we hope.
47:54
They'll stop by and learn more.