When my parents divorced my third grade year, I changed schools four times in less than nine months. It felt
impossible for me to adjust, to make friends, or to find any sort of groove with my schoolwork. Once I settled into
the fifth grade, it was discovered that I am severely dyslexic. Fortunately for me, I had several wonderful teachers
like Daniel Stevens, Kathy Partin, Laurie “Honey” Deveraux, and Coach Bob Emmerson, that mentored me, showed
me compassion, grace, kindness, and they gave me the structure that I needed to succeed through junior high and
graduate high school in only three years.

I joined the Army at seventeen directly out of high school. As an Infantryman, I learned discipline(s) that I never
knew existed. I took my body to new extremes, I defended my country overseas, I met brothers and sisters that I
am still remarkably close to today, I had countless top tier mentors, and I forever became a veteran. I am beyond
grateful to have had the honor and privilege to serve our great nation.

Upon exiting the military, with a spouse and toddler son in tow, I moved back to my hometown unemployed, and
though I was on sixty days of paid leave, I was without direction, and essentially homeless. While my wonderful
parents took me and my young family in, you can imagine what a failure I felt like moving back into their home in
my earlier twenties. It was not the fairytale ending to my military career that I had envisioned.

After “faxing,” yes, I said faxing, my resume to over 200 companies, I finally had three interviews. Fortunately for
me, I landed a job with Enterprise Rent-A-Car as a management trainee. I still recall to this day the overwhelming
feeling of relief that I felt by simply having gainful employment. I did not realize at the time how much of my
identity as a provider, and as a man, was directly tied to having a job and my ability to generate income. Though I
got my first job when I was 14, cleaning 32 horse stalls a day, and have always has at least one job, if not often two
jobs at the same time, this was the first time in my life that I felt the pressure of not only providing for my own
financial needs and desires, but now that of a wife and children. I distinctly remember a facing a number of
challenges during that crucial transition period, and in hindsight I can say the top three greatest challenges for me
were: lacking direction, longing for quality mentorship, and overcoming grave concern that the skillset I had
acquired in the military had any real transferable value to the civilian marketplace. Fast forward a few years,
having climbed the corporate latter rung by rung, I was leading an $88 million dollar division of their $19.2 billion
dollar operation for Enterprise. In retrospect, I thank John Landsbaum for his patience and mentorship, and I
attribute much of my corporate successes to the skills and attributes I acquired as an Army soldier despite my
earlier concerns.

I have since moved on from Enterprise, whose owner Jack Taylor served on the USS Enterprise by the way, and I
am the proud owner of three companies in the healthcare/Alzheimer’s space, real estate, and medical grade CBD
arena.

Now that you know my life’s story, you are probably wondering what in the world this history lesson has to do with
the VEL Institute? The unfortunate answer for that particular season in my life…. absolutely nothing. I, like so
many others who had to figure it out as they went, did not have a VEL Institute to turn to for guidance,
mentorship, encouragement, direction, or support. My God how I wish I did. Every single time I attend a VEL event,
Zoom call, Leadership course, or the like, I am richer for it. Not only the content of the courses and events, but the
caliber of the people is unparalleled. I never learned entrepreneurialism in school, the military, corporate America,
or even my own family. The VEL Institute is changing lives every single day by helping veterans’ transition back into
the civilian world, by helping them prepare for careers or entrepreneurial ventures that both provide for their
financial needs as well as feed their purpose, and by giving veterans a place to connect and be understood. If you
want to make a difference in our communities, in our world, and to our veterans…. the VEL Institute is the exact
right place to start. If you did not have a something like a VEL Institute to help you on your journey, and you most
likely did not, then now is your chance to give back to the next generation. Our future lies in their hands. Let us pull
together and give them the tools, resources, encouragement, guidance, and mentorship needed to be the success
they were called to be.