Behind every WWIA event are countless individuals on the local level who go above and beyond to show their gratitude and appreciation to our Heroes for their tremendous service and sacrifice. They put in countless preparation hours throughout the year to ensure each event has everything it needs, pooling community resources and engaging others in the process to provide a world-class experience our Heroes will carry with them long after they return home. They do all this without fanfare, contributing their time and talents all in support of our mission to bring Honor, Connection, and Healing to our Heroes.

On this latest episode of the WWIA Podcast, WWIA Founder and CEO, John McDaniel welcomes Brook Sparks, of the North Carolina OBX Fins and Feathers event. Each year, the community of Currituck, North Carolina rolls out the red carpet for our Heroes, showing them the honor and appreciation they deserve.

Brook is a shining example of the many selfless volunteers around North America who make our WWIA events not just special, but life changing. Brook and her husband Brad are lifelong residents of Currituck and are deeply rooted in the community.

Brook grew up in the county when there was no grocery store, only two lanes, and small-town living meant everyone knew everyone. Currituck has grown and changed in many ways, but that sense of community has never faded.

The North Carolina OBX Fins and Feathers event is a perfect reflection of Currituck’s patriotism and love for our Veterans, and it’s the heart of why this event is truly remarkable.

For over fifteen years, Brook has worked in real estate and property management, gaining experience in nearly every corner of the industry. Today, she is the owner of a boutique real estate sales and property management firm in Nags Head, assisting domestic and international buyers and sellers in finding their forever homes or securing strong-performing investment properties.

When she isn’t working, you can usually find her and her husband on the baseball field with their two sons, Bradley and Jonathan. Their family is immersed in the outdoors, from hunting to fishing and Brook has been involved with the OBX annual event for well over a decade.

She explains that giving back through WWIA is deeply meaningful as it allows her to support an incredible cause, and creates a way for her friends, neighbors, and community to come together and make an impact where it matters most.

We are honored to spend some time talking with Brook and showing you how everyone can play an important part in the mission of WWIA, and in making a real difference in the lives of our Purple Heart Heroes.

Takeaways:

1. The mission of the Wounded Warriors in Action Foundation is to bring honor, connection, and healing to America's combat wounded heroes.
2. Community involvement is essential for the success of the WWIA events, as volunteers contribute significant time and resources to support the heroes.
3. Brook Sparks exemplifies the dedication of volunteers who create life-changing experiences for veterans through selfless acts of service.
4. The North Carolina OBX Fins and Feathers event showcases the patriotism and gratitude of the local community towards veterans and their sacrifices.

Companies mentioned in this episode:

1. North Carolina OBX Fins and Feathers
2. NC Coast
3. Red Sky
4. Currituck Sports
5. Wounded Warriors in Action Foundation

ABLEnow

This episode of the WWIA Podcast is sponsored by ABLEnow. ABLEnow is a national ABLE savings program designed specifically for people with disabilities. It allows eligible individuals to save and invest money in a tax-advantaged account without risking certain means-tested benefits, such as SSI or Medicaid. ABLEnow is available nationwide and serves eligible individuals in all 50 states. Learn more about ABLEnow: https://t.co/r5071ltB0G

ABLEnow

Mentioned in this episode:

ABLEnow

This episode of the WWIA Podcast is sponsored by ABLEnow. ABLEnow is a national ABLE savings program designed specifically for people with disabilities. It allows eligible individuals to save and invest money in a tax-advantaged account without risking certain means-tested benefits, such as SSI or Medicaid. ABLEnow is available nationwide and serves eligible individuals in all 50 states. Learn more about ABLEnow: https://t.co/r5071ltB0G

ABLEnow

Hello and welcome to the WWIA Podcast. We're honored to have you join us in our mission to bring honor, connection and healing to America's combat wounded Purple Heart heroes.

If this is your first time listening to this podcast, we welcome you if you're a returning listener. Thanks for coming back. Please be sure to tell others about our podcast and leave us a review if you're enjoying what you're hearing.

Behind every WWIA event are countless individuals on the local level who go above and beyond to show their gratitude and appreciation to our heroes for their tremendous service and sacrifice.

They put in countless preparation hours throughout the year to ensure each event has everything it needs, pooling community resources and engaging others in the process to provide a world class experience our heroes will carry with them long after they return home.

They do all this without fanfare, contributing their time and talents, all in support of our mission to bring honor, connection and healing to our heroes.

On this latest episode of the WWIA Podcast, WWIA founder and CEO John McDaniel welcomes Brook Sparks of North Carolina OBX fins and feathers Event each year, Brook the community of Currituck, North Carolina rolls out the red carpet for our heroes, showing them the honor and appreciation they deserve. Brooke is a shining example of the many selfless volunteers around North America who make our WWIA events not just special, but life changing.

Brook and her husband Brad are lifelong residents of Currituck and are deeply rooted in the community. Brook grew up in the county when there was no grocery store, only two lanes and small town living meant everyone knew everyone.

Currituck has grown and changed in many ways, but that sense of community has never faded.

The North Carolina OBX Fins and Feathers event is a perfect reflection of Currituck's patriotism and love for our veterans and it's the heart of why this event is truly remarkable. For over 15 years, Brook has worked in real estate and property management, gaining experience in nearly every corner of the industry.

Today she's the owner of a boutique real estate sales and property management firm in Nags Head, assisting domestic and international buyers and sellers in finding their forever homes or securing strong performing investment properties. When she isn't working, you can usually find her and her husband on the baseball field with their two sons, Bradley and Jonathan.

Their family is immersed in the outdoors from hunting to fishing and Brook has been involved with the OBX annual event for well over a decade.

She explains that giving back through WWIA is deeply meaningful as it allows her to support an incredible cause and creates a way for her friends, neighbors and community to come together and make an impact where it matters most.

We're honored to spend some time talking with Brook and showing you how everyone can play an important part in the mission of WWIA and in making a real difference in the lives of our Purple Heart heroes. Without further ado, let's join the conversation with John and Brook now.

Welcome to the program.

Thank you so much for having me.

So you are. Geez, you've been doing this for about 12 years, is that right?

I mean, I actually think it's longer than that, but I don't. Yeah, it's a while.

Been supporting the foundation for about 12 or 13 years now. And you are a member of the North Carolina OBX Fins and Feather event, which is out of Currituck, North Carolina, is that right?

Yes, sir.

Cool. And so just, I mean, I see all your work on. I've been admiring it for years on, on Facebook. You do?

I was like, is she like a professional promoter or what is she doing? What is this person doing?

So we always joke that I have famous friends and I have like minded friends that want to give back in a way, and this is just such a great vehicle to do.

You know, I was getting familiar with your bio before the show started and, you know, it's very well written and you've, you know, you've got a great family and a great community. And, you know, I've been on the OBX event. It's hosted by Tim Spence, who's a combat wounded veteran himself, Larry Beasley and Tim Brown, of course.

And in the background, and sometimes in the foreground is, like, you and all the things that you're doing to pull this thing together and make it really as great as it is.

So without much ado, why don't you just tell us about how you got involved in the foundation and what you do that helps to bring awareness to the North Carolina OBX event.

So, so many years ago, it was before children and all of the busy things in life, but I was working for a real estate firm and I was in Kerala, which, you know, is part of Currituck county. And I got so lucky to answer the phone and the person on the other end of the line was Mr. Spence. And.

Yeah, and I think around that time they just weren't seeing the support of the event that they needed. But I hadn't heard anything about the event and I am, you know, very involved with community efforts and I hadn't heard anything about it.

So I felt like. And I, and I told Tim this, I said, I think that maybe you're just not getting to the right people.

Mr. Beasley, Larry is amazing, but he's not spending a lot of time on social, social media and getting the word out even then. I mean, that was before. That was probably 13 years ago.

And so I, I told him, I said, you know, just give me a little bit of time and we'll figure it out. But it was so close to the first event that I was involved in. I think my husband and I ended up.

We didn't have enough time to organize things the way they needed to be. But I was made sure that everybody knew next year is going to be it because we're going to get, we're going to start earlier.

We know who we're going to go to and we're going to make this super special. And I, I really begged him, don't 86 this event. It, it would mean so much to our community.

But this event has grown so much that it, it actually isn't just part of Dare or Curry Tuck anymore. It's also part of Dare County. So many of our donors are coming from the beach and that kind of organically progressed.

It wasn't that we started asking for different people to donate. We really have always had some of the beach folks that wanted to pitch in, but now they're very involved in delivering meals and delivering supplies.

And it's really.

Even if you don't have the money to donate something, you may have time to drop something off on the way to work, or you may have time to pick up something and drop it off to me so that I can drop it off. And it's. Everybody gives in their own way. And really if, if any of these people stop donating, we would feel it.

And it's their, their donations are put to work.

You know, I was there on the event. I don't know. I don't remember exactly when it was. I think it was, it was just in its, its start. It might have been like year one or.

I think it was year two or three. It was early on, you know, probably 12, 13 years. Probably about the time that you, that you got on the team. And I was just so impressed.

I. I had, you know, I'd been to North Carolina, you know, in my mil, during my military career, but I'd never been to, like, the beach. Been there, been to the Outer Banks, and I was just so impressed with it. It was such. Such a cool place.

I know. And you came in such a bad time of year to enjoy the Outer Bank.

It was raining sideways and, you know, really gnarly and. And it can get cold in North Carolina. You think it. You think. You know, I live in Florida.

Gets cold here, too, but, you know, with that wind in the ocean right there, it can get a, you know, get a little nasty out there sometimes. But I. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And.

And then, of course, I was beginning to meet some of the people that were on your team early on, and the food was tremendous, the people were great. Obviously, the setting is incredible. We caught some striped bass, we shot some ducks, and it was just a really, really super cool event.

And then it started to grow, like you said. I mean, you get like, you're the little engine that could.

And I know you and your family and husband and the community members have really gone above and beyond now. And it's like a real thing. When you see it on social media, you go, wow, it's a real thing.

And what I wanted to talk to you about is this idea of one we say, honor, connect and heal. And so when I came up with those three words years ago, I was like, that describes pretty well in a very simple way what we're trying to accomplish.

But one of the pieces of the equation that I really didn't think about a whole lot was the community's involvement and what it means to the people that are helping pull this off.

Like, this idea of meeting these combat wounded veterans that they, you know, otherwise would have never met and have come from a different, you know, state that are here to enjoy this event. And people are pouring out to help pull it off in some cases almost year round. And that's just. It's just what.

But what does it, you know, what does it mean to your community? I mean, I will tell you, patriotism. Patriotism in North Carolina is. Is high. If it was a stock, I would. I would.

I would definitely rate it as a buy for sure. What does it mean to them?

I just think that, I mean, this event has gotten larger than our annual Christmas parade.

I think that got canceled due to weather, but everybody was like, as long as the Wounded Warrior in Action escort is still going through, we still have something. Yeah, and it brings, it brings everybody together. Politics. We don't talk about politics. There's no politics really inserted in the event.

It is very much, how can I give back to someone that sacrificed so much and their family sacrificed so much? And I think I've always been very, the sacrifice has always been very evident. I've always made that a priority.

When I can give back, that's where I'm giving back. But I think it is a way for people to donate something very small, but then they see it being used.

It's not like sending $10 once a month to whatever this is. I gave red solo cups for this event and I am watching them be used. It was not, we did not give it to other people. We did not use them ourselves.

You are actually seeing your donation in work. And I believe wholeheartedly that when people can see the difference that they're making, it feels good and they want to do it again.

Yeah.

So there are times where I, you know, it is challenging when someone wants to donate water and we split it up amongst four people. But I want as many people involved and as many contributors as I can get. And sometimes that means that makes extra.

Work for us for sure.

You know, instead of stopping to get one thing of waters at one, one donation location, we're stopping at four different homes to get them or having four different people drop them off. So a lot of people don't realize the logistics of tracking those, those donations.

And we've, I mean we've really evolved with that to be just putting on an event with no budget type situation.

We have streamlined it so that people can scan a code and then they put their address in and they put their phone number in and so that we can be in compliance. But that's not, people don't, people don't think about that. They're just so excited to donate 2 gallons of milk.

Right?

Yeah, it's great.

Yeah. Because we back here at the, at the headquarters, you know, we had to hire a full time.

Well, I guess she's not full time but she's, she's part time but she's a full time part timer.

But her name is Caitlyn and she does all of the thank you stuff and the donor recognition stuff, which used to be, for many years it was a part time gig for I think three or four different people had their hands in that.

But as, as our, you know, as our enterprise grew, it became very evident that we needed to have somebody for continuity sake just doing that piece because the recognition bit is very Very important. You know, we're required by law to acknowledge your donation, whether that's an in kind contribution or a, you know, cash donation.

And so to get that right is like the, is critical, you know, to people don't. Mostly all they want. I think most donors, whether they're cash or in kind donor, all they really want. Most of them will say, I don't even want that.

But it's our duty to acknowledge what you did and say thank you. And that's so important. It's that, that thank you piece, you know, that means so much.

A little bit of a written word, you know, maybe from the boss that just said, hey, I appreciate what you did. Thanks a lot. Even if it was, you know, even if it was like you say two gallons of milk, I mean, that, that might be all somebody can give.

And the fact that they did do that is to me, you know, very impressive. And, and I think I know deserves to be acknowledged and recognized. So we try to do our best, you know, at that.

But let's go back and talk about this escort because I've seen it on video and I'm like, whoa, daddy, what's going on there?

Yes. Is a lot. That's the hardest part of, of the entire event, really. People want to give in leaps and bounds.

You know, they, there's no, no leash on that. Nobody. One problem we've never had is not having enough stuff, right? We've never had that issue. Not enough supplies, not enough meals.

It doesn't matter. And you, you know, when Tim and I first started, I would start back in September or October.

Now I just need two weeks to figure out who's still alive and can donate.

I mean, because they go there, right?

It's true.

And I love seeing, I love seeing the new restaurants, kind of whether it be a new restaurant to the area and they, they've heard about it and they want to just chip in.

Or it, it went from being like desperate and maybe we have to go to the store and buy steaks maybe to like, okay, we've got two meals for dinner on this night. What are we going to do? How are. Because I never want people to think that their donation is taken for granted.

And you mentioned the piece about acknowledgement. Sometimes I feel like I go overboard on the acknowledgement, but I want people to realize that that gallon of milk.

Yeah, I think I go overboard. I don't think you do. I'm. I have. I.

Be honest, I don't know what you do on your side other than be great, but I'm saying I'm, I'm saying on my side, I feel like sometimes the foundation goes a little bit overboard or I'm a little bit too strict on or demanding in my standards for acknowledging what people have done. But that's part of the culture of the organization. So the fact that it's okay, it's okay.

It's way better to overdo it a little bit than to underdo it or not do it at all.

Absolutely, absolutely. And you know, these are members of my community, most of them, most of them I know, but not all of them.

And it really is a situation where I want a spotlight that we can never give back what we would like to give back to these heroes that have sacrificed so much.

But if at this time I can give 2 gallons of milk and some solo cups and that makes a difference in their experience, it doesn't matter that it's just a gallon of milk. That's a big deal.

And that's the whole point, is that what we're providing is an experience to the combat wounded. And that experience is everything from the solo cup to them holding a prized duck that they shot to tell a story.

There was a guy, and I won't mention his name years ago who was pretty badly wounded, you know, he lost the use of his right arm, he lost the use of his right eye and he was right handed shooter.

So in order for him to hold a shotgun up and have to, you know, use his non dominant eye, which was the only eye he had, you know, left after his, you know, after he got wounded, but to see him and the team rally around him, we do a lot of adapt. You know, most of our work is in the adaptive sporting arena.

It just, you know, all these guys have got something going on, you know, and so we tried, they tried really hard, Timmy Spence, you know, the main force behind it, to get this guy a duck. And they worked all weekend long for him to get a duck. And I'll be darned if he didn't do it.

I think it was like on the last day, can you imagine holding a shotgun with the only one good arm, which is your left arm, your non dominant arm, that's the only one you have now, and your non dominant eye and try to swing a shotgun to hit a duck that's flying. And he, and he did it.

And so I was largely unaware of all of that until it came such time that up in Michigan, because the hero hails from Michigan, so he brought his duck home and he was going to have it Mounted because he was obviously very proud of it. So I was invited to the Michigan. I guess their National Taxidermy association event was held in Michigan that year, not far from this hero's house.

And somebody got wind of this and they mounted that. They did a full body mount of that duck for him and they were going to present it at this event.

And I showed up, you know, because I wanted to see it, you know, and that smile on his face, you know, and it was just, it was unbelievable. It was a very, very touching moment, you know, for me.

And it was, it was a duck that normally somebody wouldn't mount because it was, it was a female duck and it was fairly nondescript and it wasn't very, it wasn't very big. It was kind of a small, a bit of an ugly duck, I suppose.

But the, it wasn't ugly.

It wasn't ugly to him. And that's the point. It was a major accomplishment, a major team accomplishment. And it's that experience. Right.

And, and that's what we're looking to do is create an experience for these heroes. But in, but one of the byproducts of that is the experience that the community gets.

Absolutely. And, and you know, involving kids and churches.

I will never forget when we were doing the escort and the entire JP Knapp early college was standing out in front. And these are, these are 15 year old kids, 16. And they're out there with their hands over their hearts as we drive by.

And to hear like the school call the parents. And I got the voicemail because my kids are in school and hear them say, because we stand with our heroes. That's our school system saying that.

So basically they were saying, the escort's coming through, your kids are going to be late. But we stand with our heroes. That was my community saying that.

That's not just somebody donating, you know, something that is, that is a, that's a feeling that we all share.

So cool.

And I can't control the ducks. I did used to say that I was going to dump corn until the game warden said maybe we should stop saying that.

But, but however, to make the experience amazing. And so I know I can't bring ducks. My children try to call the ducks in.

You got two boys that are avid sportsmen, aren't they? And you're also.

Oh man, you. I think one of my favorite pictures. I'll send it to you when we're done. But I have a picture of Nick holding Bradley when he was 2 years old.

And I have a picture from last year where they're sitting in Larry's little house out there around the heater and Nick's telling him about what he killed. And like that's the same child, you know. You know, he. But literally he's been. And my youngest is just as avid and loves these guys.

Invites them to baseball tournaments and will text them. Bradley will text Nick. I hit one out. You know, it's, it really is. He grew up that being a part of his life. Jonathan's nine. He's grown up.

That's a part of his life around Christmas time. And my kids, my husband loves it. We all love it. They all hunt, so it's, there's common ground there.

But I think, you know, to speak to your point about honoring the heroes, what better way to honor them than to just create an experience that isn't just in that moment, but last. And I feel like the relationships with a lot of those guys have made here didn't just end.

You know, they, we still keep in contact when they come on vacations. We try to make sure that we take care of them on, on the beach and when they come to visit, we try to find, you know, we don't.

We want it to be a relationship. I don't want it to honor them for a week and then forget about it. It's, it really is something that we, how we live the whole, the whole year.

Well, that's important is that, that you know, consistent or semi persistent engagement. Right. I mean that's what keeps the whole thing alive.

And it's what we as humans thrive on is that idea of a connection, right, with, with people and with an event and memories and, and that place, you know, in Kurituck and all the people they met and the bonds that they form in between each other. I read a testimonial today. It was online. It's Tuesday today. So with testimonial Tuesday, David, our social media guru, cranks these things out.

And there was a, a quote today that I was just. When I read it, I was like, wow.

You know, and it was just basically a hero saying that, you know, to be amongst people that know how I feel and I know how they feel. Just that sharing of that common feeling of being safe and like minded, focusing on. Yeah, that's it. Right? I mean that's.

Yeah. And I don't know what that feels like. No one's ever shot at me. I've never lost any legs. I don't know what.

But I can, I feel the utmost respect and I, I cherish them. And I, I look forward to this event just because it's my small, tiny way of saying thank you.

Well, you're doing great. You're doing great. You really are. I mean when this thing rolls around here, you got an event coming up here. It's, it's.

This is, this is the 15th year this January and you guys are early January, aren't you?

We are. We're a little earlier this year. We, we try to find some ducks. That's what, that's the goal.

So. And there's. There's a couple of really cool restaurants and there's a chef involved in this thing and he's famous. Famous.

And, and I've eaten it as restaurant and, and that's. Can we plug him here?

Absolutely. He deserves all the plugging that. That we can give him. So. He owns NC coast and it's right there on the curry duck sound. It's beautiful.

It's so good.

It's.

He is a chef. He's like a chef chef. I mean that guy is it.

He really is. He's the real deal. He's kind of like our celebrity chef in the area. We see him on TV every now and then but you know some. I call him a friend.

I see him pretty frequently. But he gets really excited about this.

Yeah. Doesn't he have like two restaurants now?

He does. Red sky is also his restaurant. They're both delicious. They're both wonderful. Located in.

Yeah. That's really cool.

I tell you to go there but there's probably no parking and it's probably full. You probably reserve.

I'm sure that. But yeah. So it's this, it's just another, another great memory for him.

You know, this, this having that experience with a world class chef, you know and.

Absolutely. And you know with. No. I have no control over the ducks and the fish and the weather and like I can't, I can't control those things.

But what I can control is the part of the experience with the meals and the supplies and how they're made feel and the accommodations and you know, just to give another plug. The accommodations are beautiful.

I know they're like on the beach. Like I, I was, I was, I think, I think I was either on the beach or one like the street away from the beach.

But it was like really close to the beach. You could.

Oh it's beautiful. I mean I sold the owner the home several years ago and it's just stunning. It's. It is such a nice house. But more than stunning and a great House.

It is the perfect configuration for our heroes.

It's. It's.

And so we kind of don't it.

The.

The Wounded Warrior in Action house.

Yeah, well, it's, it's, it's. And thank you to the. To the owners of that property. And speaking of property, you've been in the real estate business for a long time, haven't you?

I've done everything that is associated with property management and sales. So. Yeah. Clean the toilet and sell the house and all that.

Exactly. And so you're doing. Do you have your own business now? What's that called?

Yep. Coast and Currents is a small property management firm out of Nags Head.

Where's Nags Head?

It is on the Outer Banks. It's one of the towns that's further south.

Okay. South of Currituck.

Yeah. It's about 15 minutes, 10. 15 minutes from the house where the heroes stay in Southern Shores. So it's.

We're pretty centrally located, which is, which is helpful because people can drop off donations at our office or at the house. And we also use Currituck Sports. Sybil at Curry Tuck Sports donates all the ammunition each year, and so she's also a. A donation driver.

Awesome. And how's the real estate market doing right now in North Carolina?

It's good. Everything's. Everything's good. This is a time where we see houses hitting the market because rental season's over, so things are.

What about, what about hurricanes there? I mean, for years, I'm not sure. I hope I don't jinx you guys, man, but for four years, I remember there was.

The guys went through a run where like, the Carolinas were just getting started. Smoked, you know, it was quite a few years ago, as I recall, but it was.

I was pregnant. I was giving birth during those. Michael and Matthew.

And then Florida got its. Has recently had its turn. Of course, we, we. Boy, we dodged them all this year. Thank goodness. Goodness. But last year we took two and.

But that's got to be. That's got to be on everybody's mind, you know, during the season. Right?

It is on everybody's mind. Most of it is precautionary because we, we really. Everybody sees the news with Buxton and Avalon and they, they think, Excuse me, Avon.

They think that that's where, you know, we're here and the houses are falling in around us. That's really very far south, right? Yeah, it's not a problem that we have.

Those are just older homes that were. That were built too close to the Water, right?

Yeah, well, and, and it's moving. Everything's moving. So, yeah, it's erosion and all the things.

It's just, hey, this earth is moving, you know, I mean, the, the ground that we sit, we stand on is moving. Yeah. Constantly. Yeah. So. But it's beautiful there. I mean, I just, I just loved it and, and it was really neat.

Well, you know, so tell me, I mean, is there if we missed, you know, is if we missed anybody that you want to, that you want to give. I know, I know that's a horrible thing to ask somebo. Then as soon as you say the first name, then you're going to have to say, try to say.

And you can't because it's just too many people. But I'm sure that you've got a core of people that, you know that, that have.

You've mentioned several already, but that are really helping make your event possible, you know. And to those people, I want to say thank you. Many hands make for light work and you guys are all doing just phenomenal there.

So it's.

The event could not happen at a better time because if it were to happen in September, I would not be available to give my time to the event and the attention that it needs, especially with it getting a little bit bigger and us adding things to the event, adding events to the event. So if it were to happen at any other time of the year, I would not be able to give my full attention.

But thankfully it's the off season for us and we're able to kind of rally the troops.

My GM here, Heather Cater, she contributes just as much of her time as I do, especially creating the QR code for making donations easier and the logistics behind that. But really, law enforcement, Jesse Taylor out of Currituck and then Lance Robertson, we, we all went to school together and yeah.

And so he is a Norfolk law enforcement and he works with the airport. Like the folks from the airport are not going to talk to me.

No matter what I say, I'm not going to get on the phone with the right person that can do what Lance can. And so they, you know, they put. Pull the barricade up there right to the front of the airport.

We would never be allowed to do those things if it wasn't for those connections. It's really, really helpful with law enforcement. Our county commissioners are super supportive of this.

The Jeepers, boy, they just, they just, The Jeepers just incredible. Pulled a big check out of their pocket for us. That was incredible. They really did. God bless them.

Yeah. And so we couldn't do it without them. Marie is kind of their spokesperson, or maybe unofficial, maybe just me.

But, you know, we are in constant communication. Mark this off the list. We don't need this. This person donated this.

And so a spreadsheet is what we're living by, but without her and Joe Evans, who is. She owns a local cleaning company. Her husband is a painter.

Without them being able to bring items from like an hour away from Moyach, which is in Currituck, to the home that these guys are staying in. I couldn't make daily runs like that.

Right.

It's. They're just really, really important parts of the puzzle, and there are so many parts. But those core, Core folks really do.

They do make sure that all of the pieces are received from. From the county and, and the community.

I don't mean to call attention to you here, but it just dawned on me, you know, like, Timmy Spence, who runs the event, is the primary host. It was his idea. Again, he's a Purple Heart recipient, and I've known Tim for. Geez. Coming up on 19 years or something like, it's a long time.

But he's got a North Carolina accent.

Yes, he does.

And it doesn't appear to me that you really do all that much. I just think it's. It's very interesting to me how that, how that is. I mean, you grew up there, right? That's your hometown.

Yes, it is.

Well, that's. That, that's really.

That.

That's really cool. I just always find it fascinating because the North Carolina accent, when you. When you find. When you run across folks that. That have.

It is a really interesting dialect. It's. It's. It's. It's not like. It's not like any other. I don't even know how to describe it. Not even going to begin to try.

I bet you could snap into it if you had to, though.

Yeah. And I, I think a lot of people, when I talk to clients and stuff that are from up north, they. They hear it.

But yeah, my children, it's a little heavier for them, I think. Maybe we change how we talk depending on who we're talking to. That's true for our jobs and, and things, but I'm still a curry tuck.

Curry tuck girl. Yep. So get. Getting back to your. To your. To your boys here a little bit now. Now. What, what. What ages are there? You said 9 and.

And 9 and 11.

Wow.

Mine are 9 and 11. Yeah. So. So both my boys are 9 and 11 and 6th grade and 3rd grade because Luke, the youngest, he's an October baby and that he missed that cutoff.

I always say he should be in fourth or fifth grade because he's just a brilliant kid and he's bigger than everybody. But that's quite an advantage in some cases if you're the oldest kid in the class.

That's right. Let them get a little more mature.

That's right. But they're both avid sportsmen, as we said earlier, and they're baseball players. Are they both playing ball?

They are both travel ball players, so that's good. So we play up and down the East Coast. It's.

Yeah, I saw, I saw. I was stalking your Facebook page before the program and I saw. I'm going to guess it's your oldest and what's his name again?

Bradley.

Holding a baseball and he was sticking it towards the camera and he was holding it like, like, it was like he was throwing a change up. Like, is he a pitcher? I knew it. I knew it. I had to. There's only one way to hold that change up and.

Well, there's several ways, but there's one common way of throwing it. So he was showing off, had a baseball in his hand. Warmed my heart because I was a baseball player.

And the way that he looked like he was, you know, holding it like he was throwing a circle change.

Yep. He got the game ball.

Is that where that was?

Cool.

That's so cool. And now they're, they're, they're involved and, you know, they've had the, the WWI experience and. Oh, yeah, it's part of their lives. That's so cool.

It's part of their lives.

And I have a. I just have so many pictures of when they were little and I had them in the little basket, you know, a little carrier that you put your kids in right out of the car seat. I have so many pictures of Nick and Tim just carrying them around.

Kids around.

Yeah. And now they're so big and now they're just clamoring to go, to go hunting with them.

That's all that's going to happen, you know, sooner than, than, Than you think.

I know I keep holding it over their head, but, you know, I do take them out of school for any of the. This is more important to me. This lesson to me is more important than anything the school is teaching them.

So if we can, we can reinforce this and live it, there's. I will. They will understand honor and they will understand sacrifice.

That's great that you're doing It. I think more people, you know, should do that.

There's so much I have to send you. The pictures of these, they were so little, and they were sitting there waiting for the staging at the. At the escort.

And my youngest is holding his hands in prayer, and he has an American flag sticking up. And it just like he was 4 or 5, you know, it was. But it was important to him. And we put substance behind just saying it's important.

We're going to show.

I had.

Speaking of patriotism and honor and respect this weekend and Saturday, I told my boys, you know, the Army's playing Navy, you know, the football games this weekend. They know their dad was an army guy. I wasn't a West Point officer, but I still root for the army, you know, and. But so it's getting ready.

You know, all the pre. The pre show stuff, I got it on.

I'm cooking some, you know, some chow or something, and all of a sudden, you know, the next thing you know, the President of the United States is on. You know, he's flipping the coin.

And so now it's got both boys attention, and then they go into, you know, the national anthem, and it gets to that point and both boys stand up and there's a picture because it's a military event. So instead of everybody putting their hand over their heart in the military, when the national anthem is played, we salute.

When you're in uniform, you salute.

So there's this picture of all these guys, cadets and the president and these senior officers saluting during the national anthem, which I don't know that they've ever seen before. They probably have, but not in mass. So the camera, as soon as they see that, they both stand up and they're like, boom. And I would have never.

I would have never done that. I. I mean, if I was in uniform, I would for sure, but I don't.

When I'm in a crowd, they've seen me put my hand over my heart many, many times because I'm now basically a civilian. I could salute and nobody would say boo to me. But I try to be more of a civilian than a military guy today. Well, that's hard sometimes.

But there's my boys standing in my living room at attention, saluting as this is playing on the tv. And I stood up and I saluted. The three of us stood there and I was like, wow, man, that was hitting me hard. Hitting me hard.

That's amazing. Yeah, you did good.

You taught them well. That's our job as parents and members of a community to freedom isn't free. You know, those.

These great men and women went off to foreign countries and, you know, and, And. And, you know, swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over them, you know, and.

And sometimes in that process, they get hurt. Sometimes in that process, they. They perish. And, you know, and they certainly sacrifice, you know, and they're still sacrificing in many cases.

And those that. That have never known that you can either respect it or you can, I guess, ignore it. There aren't a lot of options there.

But your community, certainly, Brooke, has done an amazing job. You've done an amazing job. And I want to thank you again for all that you've done. It's really, really impressive. And, And I'm a big fan of yours.

And I want to know, you know, what can I do for you? You know, I mean, I really. I really want to.

I want to ask you that question, and if you don't want to talk about it or mention it here, you know, when the show ends, please, by all means, let me know. But we're here to help you and make you guys, Help you guys be as successful as you can be.

Although at this stage of the game, I think it appears to me like you guys got it and a lot of people are modeling what you're doing, and it's really impressive.

I. I think the first couple of years when we were doing this, I was. I was always checking in with Tim. Did everything go like you anticipated it? There's no chance this is going to get canceled for next year, right?

Because no one in the whole county is going to speak to me again. It will be on my head if that's what happens. But no, I just appreciate you allowing us to have a vehicle to give back and honor and thank them.

And we love seeing the new group come in every year, but we also love seeing the familiar faces each year. And I think more than anything, I don't think that you. Only because you're not here each year, but I feel like you. You have created an event.

People talk about bringing people together. This has brought people together. There is zero conflict. There's zero tension. It is really about giving back. And it brings them to get.

I mean, these little kids standing in the cold, in the rain, on the side of the road, just waiting to say thank you. The signs, the.

You guys have created a culture and an environment where it's okay to say thank you and give back and understand how much sacrifice has been given. And there's only. What do they say? There's only two. Two people. That. The American soldier and Jesus were the only two people that died for me.

And that doesn't. That doesn't go without. I don't take it for granted, and I don't think my community takes it for granted.

And we just know they signed up for something that we couldn't or we didn't. And we appreciate that.

That's really powerful. Brooke, thanks for sharing that and thanks for sharing your time and. And I hope you guys have a. A tremendous event this year.

It's coming up, and I want to wish you and your family and your extended community a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year, Happy holidays, and I'm really proud of you. You know, it's just, you know, I'm just really, really am. I can't. I can't say it enough.

But to have people like yourself and your supporting community step forward and be part of the honor, connect, heal equation is very, very meaningful to me.

And I know it is mostly, you know, to the heroes, and I'm sure when they get off those planes and, you know, be part of that procession from the airport and they see these kids out there even in the rain, you know, saluting them and waving flags and, you know, honoring what they did, that. That's moving. That's going to touch every single one of them.

And it should, because there are times in our nation's history when they weren't properly recognized. And I think we've done a lot, and this country's done a lot to heal some of those wounds. And you're making a huge impact, and you're doing that.

And that's, again, part of our equation. So thank you very, very much, and I'll give you the last word.

I just want to thank you for just allowing. It's really a gift that you've given our community. It's something that brings us together in a way that really nothing else does. It's not political.

Nobody's fighting on either side.

You know, they're picking up somebody's paper plates to drop them off to Brooks so that she doesn't freak out, because there's no paper plates where they're supposed to be. It really is. You have created an environment and a foundation that has allowed all of us to give a little something back. And not in a.

Not in a crazy monetary way, because not all of us can do that, but you've allowed us. You've given us a vehicle to make a difference and our community salutes you and thanks you for that.

Because without you, you know, we'd be putting a stamp, sending it and never knowing what really happened to it. And as soon as I was introduced to this foundation, it was something I believed in, and it was.

The mission was something that I believed in wholeheartedly. And there is nobody more patriotic than me, I promise.

When the national anthem comes on at the football game and we're at the house, you better stand up. You better stand up. That's not an option when we're doing remote learning at school. You better stand up. Put the hand over your heart.

But my kids, part of what we know. But you really have given a community a gift that we could never say thank you enough for.

Thank you, Brooke. I, I, that means a lot to me. I appreciate it, you know, well, you guys are the superstars, you know, you just, you really are.

You're the ones that are making it happen. It was just an idea, you know.

It was a great one.

And, you know, it's hard. It's hard to. It's hard to defeat a good idea. That's, that's the one thing that I've. I've learned over the years, and I just.

Would you. I, I want to ask you a question.

Do you do a lot of the events, do they build on to what, you know, we've added fishing to this, which is super exciting, and I'm. Yeah, I'm thinking that's here to stay.

And, But I don't know if that's typical for your events, but it's something that allowed us to, to allow someone else to be involved.

Well, that's a great question. And the ant. The answer is yes. They. They, they. I don't want to say all of them, but the vast majority of them end up having.

They all share certain, you know, phenomenon, if you will, which is this idea that, okay, we started with this original idea. We were going to go hunt ducks, and we did that.

And, and maybe one year, the, you know, the duck hunting wasn't so great because the weather rolled in, and, and, and somebody's like, you know, why don't we take them fishing for stripers?

You know, stripers are here, and, and so then we go do that, and then the next thing you know, you know, the DNR guy gets a hold of this, and he's like, you know, what about doing a trapping event with them? You know, we. I could do an afternoon to trap, and, you know, and they go, yeah, that sounds great.

The next thing, you know, like, up at camp Hackett, our Northwoods Healing center in, In Phillips, Wisconsin. You know, we're doing, you know, we're hunting for whitetail with our bows. You know, the waterfowling goose and duck thing rolled around.

We were always hunting for woodcock and, and, and, and, and, and the rough grouse. And then we threw in the muskie. So, you know, it's yes.

The short answer is, and I'll tell you why, because great Americans have stepped up to the plate and said, I want to help you. And that's. And. And my job was. And, you know, if you looked at the foundation, you just said, it's this big bus, right?

I've always thought about it like this big bus. Well, the. Now there's more. You know, you can either say it's either the bus got bigger. You had to get more buses. That's true, too.

But at the end of the day, once upon a time, there was just me, okay, with the steering and a big bus with nobody on it and a steering wheel, and I might throw my dog in the bus, you know, and then I drive down the road and there'd be a bus stop, and I'd open the door and see if anybody wanted to get on. And, you know, people would get on the bus, and then we'd drive around a while and, you know, the bus had.

Had a flat tire, and I'd get out and I'd change it, and somebody else might help me change it, you know. And then now there's a guy that's, you know, checking the engine oil. And, you know, I'm.

I'm not even, you know, I'm still on the bus somewhere, you know, but so many other people have taken over the critical functions of the bus, the health and welfare of the bus, you know, the maintenance of it, and, and made improvements where now it's like this super magic bus, you know. Yeah. And. And we're all happy. And the, you know, the radio works, and when you get on the bus, we're, you know, we know where we're going.

You know, we like the ride, and when we get off, we go. That was a great bus ride. And that's really. That's. That's really what's happened. So to.

The short answer to your question is yes, but the, the events have morphed. They've grown. But it's also because I've given people, I think a lot, you know, this idea of, you know, purpose and intent.

I've given you a mission, I given you purpose, and I've stated my intent. And the rest is up to you guys. And you always are doing, going to do it better than I ever possibly could have imagined.

And that's how I feel about it.

I'm just very honored that, you know, you guys are carrying this mission and, and I'm, you know, four or five states away and, and you know, it has very, very little to do, you know, with me anymore, which is what I wanted in the first place.

I didn't had no idea that great people like you and this wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for Tim Spence, who's a combat wounded purple recipient himself. He's like, you know, I want to do an event, sir. He's like, I want to do an event. I was like, fill your boots, man. Let me know how I can help you.

I mean, he's one of the best sportsmen I know. And so.

And he had an idea and he came to you, God bless him, saying, you know, you know, I could, you know, I don't know if he said he could use some help, but, you know, he reached out to you and look at what you've done. Everybody's advancing the football down the field and that's right.

And when you get tired, you can lateral it off to somebody or somebody's going to steal it from you and just start running, you know, now, now we're just trying to control the, you know, the chaos. But if you step forward in my world and say, I want to help you, which is the critical piece. Right. Of volunteerism, I.

We don't pay anybody out there, like nobody in your circle of, in your, in your enterprise there, you know, in Currituck and in the extended community getting paid to do this, you're doing it all out of the goodness of heart, and that's what makes it so special. And I didn't ask you for help. I never went to you and said, brooke, will you please help me? You did it over your own accord.

And you take that and multiply it by, you know, 40 some odd events across the country, leveraging some 4,000 plus volunteers, and that's what you have. But not one time did I ask anybody to help.

They've all st. You all have stepped forward and adopted this mission as your own and advanced it far beyond what I would have ever dreamed possible.

That's so interesting that you view it that way because I, I view it similarly in my position.

So I, I guess I'm driving the Curry talk bus, but I, I'm just, I'm just picking other people up and they're bringing their pieces of the puzzle, you know, and so it is. It's really. It really is just such a beautiful thing. And the.

When I went through the list of things that were donated, if you looked at that list, you would. And didn't know what it was for. You'd be like a porta pot, right? Chapstick and sunscreen bullets.

They got shotgun bullets.

What are they doing? But it. It really does. It really does. It's a beautiful thing.

And to be able to have other people on the bus and make them just as important because of what they've given is.

That's right. And that's exactly right. I mean, I genuinely enjoy meeting people and thanking them for. For what. What they've done.

Of course I love the heroes, you know, I mean, that's why I'm. You know, that's why I've done it, you know, to. To help them.

But, you know, when other people start helping them and, you know, this thing just starts, you know, the momentum.

Somebody once, you know, recently, you know, referred to the enterprise, that is the foundation, as having achieved a condition of irreversible momentum. And I had to think about that, and I was like, how do you know he's right?

You know, he's right because, you know, the sum of all of its parts are much greater than the whole. And, like, you probably feel the same thing on a different level.

Like you say, you know, these people would be upset if I didn't do this, you know, and if they didn't have this outlet today, you know, there would be something missing. And that's when, you know, you've achieved something really great, in my opinion, because, you know, as we said earlier, it's the experience.

We're providing an experience. And it goes far beyond the heroes who are the objective of that experience.

They are the ones that are the recipients of that energy and the target audience for the experience. But the experience is bled over into the communities.

And when you get to that stage, you've really done something, and you demonstrate it every year and to the highest standard. So thank you for all of that.

Thank you for allowing me to do it. It means a lot to me. It means a lot to me, for sure.

Well, you're doing great. I've taken enough of your time, and I want to say thanks. That was a great interview. And again, Merry Christmas.

Happy New Year to you and all of yours. Keep doing it. And if you ever need anything, you just send up a star cluster from Currituck, and I'LL be. I'll be seeing it. Okay.

All right. That's perfect. Thank you for having me.

Have a great day.

You too.

Thank you for listening to to the WWIA Podcast.

To learn more about the Wounded warriors in Action foundation and how you can get involved, please visit our website@wwiaf.org or follow us on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

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