Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Speaker A: Welcome to Vet Voices, a podcast produced by Warner Enterprises, where average is for other people.
Army, Marines, Navy, Air force, coast guard. Let your voice be heard on Warner's veteran podcast.
Now buckle up and get ready for the host of vet voices, Johnny and Adam.
[00:00:32] Speaker B: All right, awesome. Today in the studio with us, we have Jay Morales, founder of the 50 Miles march. Jay, welcome to Werner.
[00:00:40] Speaker A: Thank you for having us. We appreciate this. I'm really excited to share a lot today.
[00:00:44] Speaker B: Heck, yeah. We're excited to ask some questions and just hear more about the march and the foundation in general. Why don't you start us off with a quick introduction? Who's Jay? What's the 50 miles March foundation all about? All that good stuff.
[00:00:59] Speaker A: So Jay Morales is 53 years old, living in Omaha, Nebraska. Now. I was born in San Francisco, joined the military when I was 1810. Years served, had to make a decision on whether I wanted to continue or get out. I was like, I'm going to get out. So it was good.
[00:01:16] Speaker B: Air Force, right?
[00:01:17] Speaker A: Air Force, yes. Ten years of the air Force e four senior airman, right. Probably the lowest ranking that you can leave military, right? But it was fun. I'll say this, I miss the clowns. I do not miss the circus. So I'll say that. I miss the clowns. I do not miss the circus.
[00:01:34] Speaker B: He's talking about you, Greg.
[00:01:35] Speaker A: I know, right? And so I grew up here in Omaha, I should say. And I lost my way for a little while again. Hence, that's why the 50 miles march was born. It was born out of an action very close and near and dear to my heart and married family here. Four children.
I still feel like they're four children, although they're grown, but, yeah, that's the gist of it.
[00:02:03] Speaker B: When you were in, what'd you do?
[00:02:04] Speaker A: So I was one of those guys, as you can tell Adam and Greg, from knowing me, I've always wanted to raise my hand to do something more than what I was called for. I always wanted to do something different. So when I started in the military, because of my color vision, they brought me in as security police at the time. And they're like, oh, you're color deficient. You can't got to. My first duty station was going to cross train into logistics, which is supply. And then I said, this is boring. So I joined mobile command and control squadron, which we talked about earlier. So I drove a truck, still was able to augment the security police. It was a special duty assignment, let's call it that. So you know what Air Force one does in the air, we do on the ground. So, yeah, that's what I did in the air force.
[00:02:56] Speaker B: Good deal.
[00:02:56] Speaker A: Yeah. Just a whole hodgepodge of things. Right. At the e 410 years, you do everything. I mean, you scrub toilets and all, too. Right. Deployed to Saudi Arabia a couple times.
Operation Desert Shield storm.
Well, it was provide comfort by then. Operation provide comfort. But what's funny is I can remember doing a bunch of things, not just one thing.
[00:03:23] Speaker B: Right. It's also the e four e five rank.
That time of service is just awesome. I was prior enlisted before I crossed over the dark side and commissioned after about six years. And it's literally you're at the ground level, the tactical level, and you're doing the jobs that you're trained to do before you get into management, before you get into leadership, before you get into writing reports and all that fun stuff. And it's just. It's. If I could go back to any one point of time in my military career and relive some of it, yes, I certainly don't want to relive all of it, but that would be the time that I go back.
[00:03:58] Speaker C: I was just going to say that that was probably my. My favorite time. That was the time when you were learning all those really valuable leadership skills.
[00:04:06] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:04:06] Speaker C: Person to person.
[00:04:07] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:04:08] Speaker C: You still had that opportunity where a lot of your responsibility, a lot of your jobs, it was person to person. And I, you know, the ability or learning the ability to add a peer to peer level lead people, for sure. I found that to be, you know, some of those skills are those translatable skills for later on in life.
[00:04:27] Speaker A: I think that's important. And if you let me add to that, the thing about being that frontline technician is you were put into many things. I was able to participate in things that were multimillion dollar projects, and they were taking my expertise or my frontline experience and saying, how would this affect someone like you in the trenches? How would this affect your level of thinking? And to sit with Sandia national labs and Raytheon and design a weapons trailer like, wow. And I never really understood what that meant till I left the military. I mean, how many times do you get to form a multimillion dollar project.
[00:05:08] Speaker C: Especially at that level?
[00:05:09] Speaker A: Right?
[00:05:09] Speaker C: I mean, that's the great thing about, you know, the armed services, is that you're giving so much responsibility in this and so much responsibility for equipment and monetary value at such a low level in your career.
[00:05:22] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:05:23] Speaker C: Where you learn to manage all that stuff. And when you look at your peer group you know, after you maybe leave the service or whatever, you know, they've never had that opportunity or that experience. And so I feel like, you know, when we especially, you know, here at Warner, when we hire veterans, it's such a valuable resource for us to tap into because they come with a skill set that, you know, just your general Joe population doesn't have.
[00:05:45] Speaker A: Yes. The pressure. And I will say that we were talking before this, and I'm sure this will have a chance to talk about this, but the relatable skills as a military member who has either operated a government owned vehicle of any type will probably serve you well if you wanted a career as a truck driver, a professional truck driver, and I'm sure we'll get into that later, but I drove a truck. I'm probably one of the best people to back up one of these 48 footers. 50 footers, right?
[00:06:17] Speaker B: Like, challenge accepted.
[00:06:18] Speaker A: Challenge.
[00:06:18] Speaker B: Challenge accepted.
[00:06:19] Speaker A: No, careful what you say. Listen, I know the trick. The trick is to hold the bottom of the steering wheel. I mean, right, you. You go left, the trailer goes left, you go right. It's not hard, my friends, but it.
[00:06:31] Speaker B: Is a challenge accepted.
[00:06:32] Speaker A: All right. All right, good.
[00:06:33] Speaker C: All right. Tell us about the inspiration behind starting the 50 miles March foundation and why you chose to focus on ending veteran homelessness.
[00:06:41] Speaker A: So what's funny is, you know, some people have grandiose visions to say, we're going to start a non profit. We're going to start an organization to eradicate. I'm going to do this. We're going to create a business. That wasn't the intention originally. The inspiration for why it started was truly the darkest point of my life. Going through a divorce right after getting out of the military or as I'm leaving the military, my whole thing was, I lost my way going through a bad divorce. I lost my self worth. I lost my, you know, just everything I was comfortable with. And so I went to a dark place, and I started couchsurfing. And then I started sleeping, you know, in different churches and in Papillion in Bellevue, thanksgiving Lutheran was one of them. I started showering at the y. I started sleeping on my friend's couches, saying, hey, could I just. Couple days? And a couple days turned into a week. And then their spouse was like, hey, when's he leaving?
So it was the hardest time in my life. It was a life that I didn't find any more worth. I felt like a burden. I was like, it'd be easier to kill myself. Like, you don't. I mean, people don't realize how easy that is to say when your back is against the wall, when you feel like you're a burden to people, and then you feel like you let your parents down, then you feel like you let your family down. And it was just like, man, I just wish this pain would go away. And, you know, and I've talked about this before. I know what the taste of gun oil is like, right? I know what it's like to just be at that moment. And why I didn't follow through with it, I don't know and doesn't really matter now, but I never reached out for help. So a friend of mine said, you know what? We're gonna get you, right?
I know that if I ask you for help, you're not gonna. You're gonna. I said, do you think I'm crazy or something? I don't need your help. And he basically said, you're gonna move into my basement, you're gonna mow my grass, you're gonna wash my cars, you're gonna bring my kids around wherever they need to go. You're gonna walk my dog, you're gonna do all that stuff. You're gonna do chores. And I thought, man, this is humiliating. This is really humiliating. But guess what? It gave me purpose. It gave me something to latch onto. It distracted me from. I was so busy.
I was. I don't want to say I was treated like some.
Some house boy or whatever, right? Like, what did they call house mouse in the military in basic training. But it brought me back to a place where there was rigidity, there was a routine. So got back on my feet, told God, hey, God, if I ever get back on my feet, man, I'm just going to help others. Promise you, I'm going to help others. I said that for ten years. Well, a battle wounded friend of mine said, you know, jay, you just talk way too much. You just. You're always saying these grandiose ideas. You're always saying you're going to help. You're always going to say you're, you know, you're going to do. Pay it back. Why don't you do it? So, came up with a whole lot of other things, but I said, one day I'm going to walk. I'm going to walk from Lincoln to Omaha. Don't even know how I picked this out. I just said, I'm going to do it because the Capitol meant something to me and I don't know why. And walking to Omaha, and I was like, oh, it's 50 miles. And then I googled 50 miles, and it was the JFK, you know, thing back in the day where John F. Kennedy had the military do 50 miles if you wanted to be an officer or whatever.
I asked a whole bunch of people. Everyone was excited about it. Yeah, Jay, we can do this. And then we walked. So it was just supposed to be one walk for $2,500. So when you say inspiration for a foundation. No, no inspiration for foundation. Just so I can get $2,500 and hopefully give it to Ron Hernandez or guitars for vets. That's all it was for.
Six of us walked that first year, and we raised $25,000.
[00:10:29] Speaker B: Who's Ron Hernandez with?
[00:10:31] Speaker A: Ron Hernandez is moving veterans forward. Thank you. Ron Hernandez is moving veterans forward. And Taylor is. Taylor Olam is with guitars for vets. Yeah, you're right. I should have clarified that. But that's all the intent was. Do what you say you were gonna do, get it done and over with, and then the rest is history.
[00:10:51] Speaker B: How'd that first year turn out?
[00:10:55] Speaker A: First year was gonna happen in March. Cause I was gonna march, and I was gonna be 50 years old in April. I'm gonna do 50 miles, and I'm gonna raise $2,500.
[00:11:04] Speaker B: And March is way better than August.
[00:11:06] Speaker A: Yeah. To be honest. Oh, bro. No, I'll take April. And that was 2020, right? Oh, COVID.
Oh, COVID. Right. And a whole lot of people are interested in what you do, especially if it's tough like that. Right? 30 to 50 people were like, we're gonna do this with you, Jay.
[00:11:25] Speaker C: And you got how many?
[00:11:26] Speaker A: Six. Six the day of. And that was in September because we had delayed it. Delayed it. Delayed it, delayed it. And my friend said, why do you keep delaying? I said, oh, this. This monkeypox thing, this. This COVID thing, this flu, like. And we didn't know what it was, right.
[00:11:41] Speaker C: So nobody knew.
[00:11:41] Speaker A: It was a great excuse for me to say, I can't do it. I'm gonna infect people. He goes, well, if you do it by yourself and you write the check for 2500, you won't infect anybody.
And so we did in September, and I'll remember the day of. It was only supposed to be me and John boddy. Right? The original two. And then Jamie said, I'm gonna go with you. I can't let you do this by yourself. And then Ashley joined us, and Tim joined Tim Sons joined us. And, yeah, it was just crazy. No map, no plan, no nothing. So the inspiration, we just walked. And then a few months later, someone said, are you guys doing this again?
And dumb j was like, yes, yes. And then next, the next year was born, and that was with 39 people. And that's when it became a thing, because there was no 50 miles march foundation. It was just, I think, something march. And if you look back at the old eventbrite, it was just like, something to march.
We didn't have an operation name. We didn't even have a plan.
And, yeah, so it was crazy where we are today.
[00:12:53] Speaker C: So let's bring the listeners forward.
[00:12:55] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:12:56] Speaker C: Where are we today? Describe, you know, let's describe the foundation a little bit. Let's describe the goals. Let's describe, you know, kind of what's the mission statement for 50 miles march today?
[00:13:07] Speaker A: So our entire embodiment now is we empower veterans, you know, who face homelessness and mental health issues. Like, we're raising a community of hope.
That is our mantra. That's what we're focused on. And the word that I want everyone to concentrate on there is empower. We're not here to help. We're not here to just get things moving. We're here to empower. Which means you have to equip, educate, and you have to give them the tools so that it's not just sticking them in some box and saying, you're good now. Right? Or it's not just saying, here's a meal, you're good. Right? Or it's not just a job. It is. It is everything that they deserve. To re equip them, to reconnect them with who they were. To give them purpose again so that they can move through life. So where are we today? We're at 180 registered applicants for a qualifier. We were at 260 plus applications just to apply to walk. We have over 300 volunteers of either for, you know, events or landing party or drivers or just a whole bunch of moving pieces.
We have great sponsors. Like Werner.
I'd call you more than a sponsor. You're a partner. And I don't know, I use that lightly from our part. I don't know how you guys view it, but it's an alliance for sure. So what are we doing today? We are now building, intending to build a community of hope. And what does that look like? It's a community of tiny homes where we can empower these people to go through an 18 month program so that we're just not sticking them in a box or just giving them a meal or just giving them a job. And we're putting them together so that they can feel the camaraderie that they felt when they were in the military. See, that's something different. There's a lot of programs like ours outside of, you know, to help transitional and homeless and shelters. But what's unique about us is we've already been through a rite of passage where I know what it's like to fold a four inch t shirt and a square. I know you guys do, too. And what's funny is this bonds us, right?
[00:15:23] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:15:24] Speaker C: I know how to boat roll myself.
[00:15:25] Speaker B: I never, ever got good at the underwear piece, bro.
[00:15:28] Speaker A: Bro. Everyone asked me to do it, and they paid me to do it, right. I shined shoes, all that stuff. But my point is this. Common bonds, we can all say that we've been through a gauntlet of some kind. We've been through pressure. We've done some of the most ridiculous things that translate into lifelong skills. That's what makes this whole community unique.
[00:15:48] Speaker B: So, 2020 1st March 6 walkers.
[00:15:50] Speaker A: Six walkers.
[00:15:51] Speaker B: 2023 Greg and I marched. I think we had 87.
[00:15:56] Speaker A: 87 this year. Yes, sir.
[00:15:58] Speaker B: So certainly some impressive growth and then growth. And then 24, 260 have applied to walk 180 plus. That number is still climbing up a little bit. Our qualifiers here in a couple of weeks. It'll probably be passed by the time we post this.
Greg and I plan again to walk this year. This year, our team has grown from three Warner walkers last year to now we have eight Warner Walkers.
[00:16:24] Speaker A: That's incredible.
[00:16:26] Speaker B: It's certainly something that's easy to get behind. And it's been awesome to be part of the journey, and we've only been a part of the journey now for.
[00:16:32] Speaker C: It's our second year.
[00:16:33] Speaker B: Yeah, second year. Call it. Call it a year and a half since we had the first conversation where Greg was on the phone with somebody. I think it was you. Jay and I got pulled in.
[00:16:42] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:16:42] Speaker B: Walking by in the hallway, and I got pulled in. Hey, Adam, you wanna walk 50 miles?
[00:16:48] Speaker C: Yes is the correct answer.
[00:16:49] Speaker B: Correct?
[00:16:50] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:16:50] Speaker B: The answer we settled on, so.
[00:16:52] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:16:54] Speaker B: Yeah. Certainly has been a motivating thing to be a part of.
[00:16:57] Speaker A: I wanna recognize something, though. Just going from three walkers to eight. We're not talking about some walk that we're gonna register for and just show up. Right. And this is not some five k, ten k. And those are all great causes. But I'm talking about you're developing, over a year, 30 to 90 days of dedicated training outside of what you're doing. That's hours and hours. Right. Then you're fundraising, then you're telling the story. So I want people to know when one person is involved, of the magnitude of their involvement, they are committed. They are not interested. And to do it two years back to back, like, that's even more masochistic.
[00:17:42] Speaker B: It's March 28, and I just got one of my toenails back, fully grown, like it's a thing.
[00:17:47] Speaker C: I lost two toenails. They came back. I'm a much higher human than you are, so mine came back in a couple of months.
[00:17:54] Speaker B: You joined the army. How is that even a thing?
[00:17:57] Speaker C: The only smart one in the room.
[00:17:58] Speaker A: Oh, my. Well, he's the one that can read the pictures the best.
But, no, you're right. Think of the injuries you sustain. Think of the self imposed stress that you're putting on your body. I mean, this is not normal.
[00:18:12] Speaker C: I like what you said about the commitment that's required to execute this plan and to do this. And when you do think about it a little more holistically, you think about all the hours you spend out on the pavement, you know, kind of beating up your feet.
[00:18:25] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:18:25] Speaker C: All the hours that are required to do that. The time that's required to, you know, the fundraising pieces. You know, it's. You have to work it, and you have to be committed to it, and you have to dedicate yourself to, you know, being comfortable with saying, hey, I'm raising money for a great cause. Help support me. You know, a lot of people aren't comfortable with that, and so that's a journey for some.
[00:18:44] Speaker A: Well, let me ask you, on April 19 or April 13, I mean, if it's snowing and sleeting, are you still gonna show up? Absolutely. I'm just asking. Right? Some people will not.
[00:18:54] Speaker C: I remember last year in the qualifier, it was sleeting on us. We were doing the exercises.
[00:18:58] Speaker B: We got sleet, we got rain, we got snow, we had wind.
[00:19:02] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:19:02] Speaker C: And I was thinking, this is full value. This is outstanding.
[00:19:07] Speaker A: You are not going to quit after that.
[00:19:09] Speaker B: It was something special.
[00:19:10] Speaker C: Yeah, Adam had tears, but, you know, we got. We got.
[00:19:13] Speaker B: It's hard not to have tears in the rain.
[00:19:16] Speaker C: This is the first time I've done any exercise in the rain.
[00:19:18] Speaker A: My eyes are wet.
[00:19:20] Speaker B: Some of us made responsible choices at the age of 18.
[00:19:23] Speaker C: Okay, so let's get back on track. So here we are. 2021. We've. Or 2020. It's 620. 21. It's 18.
[00:19:35] Speaker A: Sorry, it's what? Sorry, what was the question?
[00:19:38] Speaker C: The first year, it was six walkers. It was. Second year, it was 39. 39.
[00:19:43] Speaker A: Yes. Okay, next was 50.
Call it 59.
87.
[00:19:50] Speaker C: And now here's our year five.
[00:19:52] Speaker A: Yeah, we'll approve. 150 is what we think, you know.
[00:19:55] Speaker C: I mean, overall goal, from a monetary.
[00:19:58] Speaker A: Standpoint, to raise $1.5 million. Wow.
[00:20:02] Speaker C: Let that sink in for a minute.
[00:20:03] Speaker A: I mean, I was scared to raise $2,500. I said, becky, you know, like, if I don't make this right, we've got to write the check. She goes, that's fine. We'll do it. You know, and we didn't know what was the world was going through, and it wasn't about the money, but it was about the commitment. She says, we'll make it work.
And, man, people came out of nowhere. Nowhere.
[00:20:27] Speaker C: It is amazing. You know, I think back just to the, you know, as we're walking up the hill at the end of the.
[00:20:33] Speaker B: March final hill is a doozy, and it's a doozy. It never ends.
[00:20:37] Speaker C: But you crest the hill and you see the people. And I remember the feeling of not just personal accomplishment, but I remember the feeling of, these are the things that restore my faith in humanity and restores my faith in the american dream. And it just restored my internal compass, just gave me just a kick in the you know what.
And I felt really great about seeing everybody there to support us and to understand that everybody is there behind a common cause.
[00:21:15] Speaker A: Well, my question to you guys is, okay, Werner is very veteran, focused beyond just saying.
You have programs in place, you support other organizations. You've done so much. You guys have both served yourself. I mean, you walk the walk, but what was your so cresting that hill, like you just said?
Did it bring you back to your kind of your military service in a bit? Your purpose, your not that you don't experience that every day.
[00:21:45] Speaker C: Yeah, I'll go first. Yeah, please. I just remember thinking, and I felt this way at Lenoma Beach. I felt this way at high Vee when we were coming in. And then I felt this way as we were kind of walking up the hill at the last mile.
It hearkened me back to. I remember all of the time spent and these, like, events where you're just getting through it, you're grinding.
There's some suffering and pain involved, and it's a shared pain. It's a shared suffering, and it's a commitment to doing something and then executing it to perfection and then accomplishing the mission. And I remember thinking about.
We were very fortunate, Adam, Alec and I, you know, to be walking together. And I felt proud of our team, our little three person team for finishing. Even though, you know, Alec's feet look like hamburger. Adam was hunched over like a 90 year old man, suffering.
[00:22:46] Speaker B: Still am today.
[00:22:47] Speaker C: You know, I was going strong. No problem.
[00:22:50] Speaker A: Right, right.
[00:22:50] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:22:51] Speaker A: So strong. Your wife is going to show you how to do it.
[00:22:53] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, she's correct.
[00:22:55] Speaker C: Yeah, she'll crush us all.
But I feel like, you know, I just. I remember that feeling of accomplishment and feeling just the camaraderie, and that is something. And you mentioned it before. It's that shared feeling of the group that we don't have in today's society.
[00:23:11] Speaker A: Right, right.
[00:23:12] Speaker C: You know, in our professional lives today, yes. It's not the same. We have some of that, but it's just not the same that you felt, you know, when you were, you know, five to nine people in a squad, and you're, you know, they're your brothers and arms, brothers and sisters in arms, and you were locked in step doing things. So I'll pass to you.
[00:23:29] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:23:29] Speaker B: So I love the ending. I. By the end, we'd all been up for 24 plus hours. Right. And hadn't had any remarkable amount of rest in the last 24 plus hours.
For me, I think it was the overnight we left Lenoma, it was pitch black. It was 02:00 in the morning, 03:00 in the morning between.
In the middle, between Lincoln and Omaha, and just having the realization that, hey, I'm through half of this now.
The rest of it's going to happen. Right. The halfway point is that, oh, man, are we going to get to the halfway point? And then it was the can do attitude of, hey, we've all, collectively, at least the Warner team is 100% veteran. Last year, Alec was in the Marines. Craig was in the army or something, I think the continental Republic army.
We'd all been there and tough things before, and I remember doing some of the things in service of. This is an idiotic thing that we just got asked to do. Not idiotic from unsafe or anything along those lines. But no, there's no reason this group should be able to do this. There's no reason that we should be able to take 87 people and walk them safely from Lincoln to Omaha. And it was middle of the night. It was. I mean, it wasn't secure yet that we were all going to finish, but we were more than halfway, so felt much stronger about it going in. That's the big takeaway from me.
The landing party was awesome. Several thousand people this year will be arguably, at least, I mean, at least twice as big.
Just certainly a sight. And I think it's really. It's a super easy cause to support in a world where we have polarizing causes, you can turn the tv on and find ten examples of any cause. This is not a polarizing cause. It is a very easy cause to support. The march is obviously a fundraiser for the community of hope that you mentioned that. Ten acres with tiny homes with wraparound services.
But it's not polarizing. It's really easy to get behind from a personal standpoint. Not only because we just finished 20 years of enduring combat. There's a lot of Americans right now that have veteran experience, that have combat experience. Certainly easy for those of us with that to get behind. But also, name one community that doesn't want to get behind something like this.
It's not polarizing, which it makes it even easier to support.
[00:26:02] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:26:03] Speaker B: So I completely lost my train of thought.
[00:26:09] Speaker C: Nice apologies.
[00:26:09] Speaker B: There's always at least one time that's.
[00:26:12] Speaker C: That air force training kicking in. Well, let's talk about motivation, Jay. Let's talk about what you know. We talked a little bit about your personal experience that kind of motivated you to start this cause. Let's talk a little bit about the support mechanisms behind that. Let's talk about maybe some of the other co founders that are involved, and then let's kind of transition that to.
We haven't talked really in depth about the community of hope. Maybe let's explain, you know, that a little more and kind of, you know, tell everybody where we're at in terms of, you know, state of the project.
[00:26:48] Speaker A: Yeah. So let's start at the support mechanism. So there's two other co founders, Matt Bills. His father was a three star general, but Matt Bills himself is just a stand up, hardworking entrepreneur. He probably works 33 hours per day, which I don't know how that happens. Right. Per week there for a second. That's what Greg does.
Well, there's always great part time positions in this company, but.
I'm kidding. I don't even know I said that. Greg, you can hit me later.
[00:27:19] Speaker C: You are within range.
[00:27:20] Speaker A: Exactly.
And then doctor Jamie Seaman. She is a board certified obstetrician, gynecologist. I hope I said that right. She's an Ob GYN, and she founded it with me as, again, one of the original walkers, one of the people who really believed in me. We are really good friends. She's got military ties in all of her family. She is a great spokesperson. She's got a great platform. She has an influence. So those are the founders. And then now we have a board. We have an amazing board of. And I'm going to get the number right. Seven board members. Adam Cassidy is our board president. Now, which one of the best moves as we grow? You know, there have been others that have stood up this organization, but getting things to the next level, you know, growing and seeing what the appetite was. So our board is amazing. Brianne Schuller is our executive director. She comes with a plethora of years of experience. She's owned a consulting company herself on just being in a nonprofit space. But her relationship and her ability to build bridges is very, very strong.
I've known her for over ten years, just watching her grow. And then Leon is our operations director, 34 year combat veteran.
This guy, man, if you can't guess his profession by just looking at him, man, but Leon. Leon's heart is probably. I mean, you couldn't fit in the back of one of your trailers. It's just for him, it's purpose for him, it's duty for him, it's. He bleeds the 50 miles march. He bleeds our mission. He bleeds veteran support. The guy.
He's humble, and he's a get stuff done guy. You want to safely move now, almost 225 people from Lincoln, 22 hours later, to arrive safely in La Vista. Knock on wood. With the high safety standards, accident free logistical planning, he's your guy.
[00:29:32] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:29:33] Speaker A: So I hope I at least painted that out there.
[00:29:37] Speaker B: Let's talk about some of those. Actually, let's go back real quick to community of hope.
[00:29:41] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:29:42] Speaker B: Walk us through current status of that project, where we're at, what the next 18 to 24 months looks like. Walk us through your vision there.
[00:29:51] Speaker A: So, as you grow in an organization, there are many bright and shiny objects that will appear in front of you. There are things that people will want to jump on, and there are things that I think we've learned a lot of good lessons on how to stay focused. Right. I mean, we've gotten close to, you know, other projects or other initiatives, but I think there's a consensus now to say we are locked and loaded on this piece of land. We are locked and loaded on creating this community of hope. We know the location of the proximity, where we want it. We need land. Ten acres, I'd say now, right? Ten acres. And we've put that out in different channels, but we need to educate the public. We need ten acres, and then we need to build 22 houses on there. A community center. Right. And which do we do? Do we do the community center first? Do we do a warehouse for moving veterans forward first? Do we do this? So many things that we have the capability.
We are great stewards of our money, and we're fully transparent. So we are in position, I'd say, probably end of this year or 2025, to have told the story, to have had enough people interested or committed to say, oh, here's what we have, and then to make a decision, because I think if we hastily do it now, we just. We haven't exhausted all resources yet. So that's where we're at with that part. And our strategic plan has been done and redone, and we're still working on the strategic plan from a 18 month. What's the 18 month going to look like? We're going to do a study.
We're going to work with outside entities to.
What is it called? What's the study called again? It's just a community outreach. Yeah, community outreach, yeah. There's a study, though, and there's a formal name for it. But anyhow, we're going to see what organizations are out there. We don't want to overstep. Who can we collaborate with? Who's already doing what? Who are all the players? Who are all the stakeholders? Feasibility study. That's what it's called. Feasibility study. Thank you. Bree just jumped into my head there, but there's a lot of things that I want to do right now that the word I is not good for large projects like this. It's got to be a we thing.
[00:32:08] Speaker C: Yeah, I think you said the right word. I think you said collaborate. That is the approach that I think, you know, would be the most. Have the most positive impacts on what your overall capabilities are.
[00:32:19] Speaker A: Yeah. And with the least amount of waste. With the least amount of. We gotta get it right.
[00:32:24] Speaker C: Well, you know, and I'll tell you, you know, as we looked at this, you know, from not only our corporate perspective, but from our personal perspectives, you know, on whether this is somebody or this group is something that we want and cause is something that we wanna support. You know, I think you mentioned, you know, the managing of the money is always top of mind, especially for organizations that have a corporate giving structure. And then personally, too, I want to know that my money, the money that I raise or the money that I donate goes to the cause and to affect the outcome of the cause. And let's talk about a little bit about who manages the money for 50 miles. March.
[00:32:59] Speaker A: I know you have a great partner. Yeah, absolutely. The papillion Community foundation overseas, that's where our money is housed. The money goes into a mechanism, straight into the bank. So there's really no pass through our hands. Unless it's checks or cash, that all goes to the papillion community foundation, which they have their own board, as well. We have our own board. We have a treasurer, Kim Kavilak.
We have regular, documented board meetings. There's a lot of nonprofits out there, and I really want to share with this with them. You need structure.
Having a noble cause is one thing, but having rigid structure will create a path of success for you. And if you need help, reach out and get it. If you need to spend a little bit for help, spend it, because just having a good heart today is not enough. That's just a piece of the puzzle. Having a good business model. And I am proud that 10% of our raised money actually goes to help smaller nonprofits in either getting to their next level. That follows with our mission. Right. We're not a line item on anyone's budget. We are recognizing that, hey, moving veterans forward, somebody like them, we've supported. We want them to grow. We want them to be stable, because we believe in that. There's a grant process. They apply, they are vetted, and they're voted on by our board members. Guitars for vets, same way. Right. These are the two staples. We've helped others. But what's important is that we are good stewards and that we're not just giving out. We're not just taking money to give it out. We have a very specific mission. 90% of our funds, you know, and I'm just paraphrasing. Is going to this community of hope. And all our members know it, our walkers know it, and even those who don't know it, trust, because I think you can feel when there's a structure in organization.
[00:34:49] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:34:50] Speaker A: And Greg and Adam, you guys came to me when there was no structure. I was like, oh, my God, honey, Werner called us. This is crazy.
[00:34:59] Speaker B: Thanks, Greg.
[00:35:00] Speaker A: Yeah. Yes, for sure, Greg. And I do want to credit you, because you were just at some VA event, and somebody had mentioned it to you, and you followed up, and you made the phone calls, and you called me on a Saturday, I believe, or something like that. Or I replied back to you, and then we talked on Monday, where you pulled Adam and, hey, come here.
And it means a lot to me. And then you guys showed up on a Saturday to one of our mission briefings, not knowing what you're getting into at Nebraska brewing company. You're like, well, what is this? So I'm grateful. It's organizations like yours that have slingshotted. You know, there's been milestones of growth. When we met, that was a slingshot. That was a milestone of growth. That was like, we better get our stuff in a group.
[00:35:44] Speaker B: And, yeah, I really like the community of hope concept that the actual acreage. Right. With the homes.
[00:35:50] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:35:50] Speaker B: But then larger. The community of hope as a whole. Right. The organizations that 50 miles march foundation is involved with. I love that the community of walkers that we have that support the foundation, that tribe of people are awesome to a t, and they're dedicated. Right. There's a team chat, and that chat. Not a single day goes by that doesn't blow up my phone on notifications.
[00:36:18] Speaker A: I had to mute mine sometimes, but I check it every day after people.
[00:36:22] Speaker B: Posting their walks, pictures of deers that they see.
[00:36:26] Speaker C: I love the pictures.
[00:36:27] Speaker B: It's phenomenal. There's just a ton of, hey, this is what I did today. What'd you do today? That community within the walking group, I think, is also something that our society desperately needs, especially coming out of the COVID years. Let's talk safety on March. So a lot of the board's time is spent ensuring that we can safely execute that 50 miles.
[00:36:55] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:36:55] Speaker B: Talk to me about how we do that.
[00:36:57] Speaker A: First of all, Lieutenant Colonel Martin apprich, retired. This guy. Lieutenant Colonel Martin apprich. Golly. This guy spends the second year out of the kindness of his heart. Created a nine page operations order, an op order, and I looked at it and I got it right away. Jamie Seaman, you know, my co founder, looked at it. She goes, what is this? And I kind of had to interpret and read it to her. But let me tell you what the safety starts with. It starts with proper planning. It starts with simulation. It starts with documentation. It starts on a table much like this before it goes into the field. And then you've got four, five, six others that battle. Test it. They meet on a weekly or every two weeks, I believe, basis. They are dedicated to this. So let's talk about the safety, the order, the precision in which we move, the identification of volunteers. If you are on the ground, this is how crazy. If you are on the ground, you have a vest. If you're not a walker, and if you don't have a vest and you're not a walker, you're not around. Right? That's. That's how tight it is. Number two is radio, you know, radio discipline. We're getting better at that. But I think the number one part about safety is this is not a place where we're just going to show up next, you know, this year, August 24. And just march by the time we have stepped on that line, every walker, like I said, has probably had 90 full days of training. Right. And just. At least you have a qualifier ahead of time. You have your platoon leaders, which are hand selected, nominated, and then vetted and then voted on by the operation committee.
[00:38:41] Speaker B: Platoon leader each. The 100 and 5200 people is broken up into smaller groups.
[00:38:46] Speaker A: Yes, yes. Yeah. Correct. So there's groups of people that we refer to as platoons. So let's call it 25, five to 34 people, depending on what size it's going to be. That's a lot of people to be in charge of. Not one person in charge of that, but two per platoon. And then on top of that, you have the. You have the commander, then you have a first sergeant, and then you have a couple floaters, I'd call it, or almost like road guards, but then you have me. Right. Just running back and forth. But it is that serious. And people say, Jay, where do you find the time? You make the time to do this? Because if one person gets hurt, I don't care if it's a slip and fall or if it's an injury or if it's exhaustion or if it's an accident. Knock on wood.
Which. That's a whole. The convoy itself is a whole nother. Just separate element within itself that is well integrated. We have a five ton truck in the back, so that's the first thing that's going to get hit.
[00:39:48] Speaker B: The Bluetooth speaker on the front of that five ton truck was something. I've never in my life seen a speaker so big.
[00:39:56] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:39:57] Speaker B: And it was. They had that thing wired up and I still don't understand completely how they took. I mean, that's a 1970s era military truck that the driver bought himself.
[00:40:07] Speaker A: 24 volts system that they used to have a converter on.
[00:40:10] Speaker B: Right. And it's.
And then the bluetooth speaker was as big as the front of the truck.
[00:40:17] Speaker A: A 1500 watt floss contained system. It's a JBL 1500 w is what it's called. I know this because I have one.
But it goes to morale. The safety goes to morale, keeping people focused. It goes to a hospitality crew. I didn't even talk about them. These people are up 30 hours.
[00:40:38] Speaker B: So when you say hospitality crew, they.
[00:40:39] Speaker C: Are the unsung heroes of this whole thing.
[00:40:41] Speaker B: We need them 50 miles every ten to 15 miles. Let's call it eight to twelve.
[00:40:47] Speaker A: Yeah, eight to twelve.
[00:40:48] Speaker B: We're stopping for a 45 minutes. 30 to 45 minutes break, to change socks, to use the facilities, to refuel on food and water to get your head right. Right. And that whole hospitality crew, we've got rvs that you can go have some private space. If you need some private space, you get check in with a foot doctor.
[00:41:09] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:41:09] Speaker B: Which I would. It's a special job for people that are walking 50 miles, especially when you get to the landing site, dealing with 87 people that just walked 50 miles. I don't think you could pay me enough. But there's some people that are dedicated and specialize in that, in their civilian professions that it's just awesome to see.
Yeah. The safety in the hospitality crew throughout.
[00:41:40] Speaker A: Is stellar hospitality in itself. Right. There's a symbolism there. When you ask Greg today. Hey, Greg, do you need help with anything? He could be knee deep in whatever he's doing. He'll say, no, I got it, I got it, I got it. You could be hurting in your chair. Hey, do you need anything? No, I got it. You can't ask people, do you need anything or do you need help? So let me tell you, my wife, right, she's the boots on the ground commander in the hospitality realm. She said to her people, after seconds, stop. Stop asking them if they need help. Bring them things. And this makes me choke up, bro.
I remember, cuz being on the phone, she goes, we're gonna get this right. We're gonna stop asking, people need help. I said, yes. I don't even know what you're talking about right now. And I was Becky's always, yep.
[00:42:29] Speaker B: Or two ahead.
[00:42:30] Speaker A: Yes. And we got in. Volunteers now have, like, cookies and water. That was. See, the second stop was different.
And it's not like, Greg, do you need something, Greg, which of this do you need?
[00:42:42] Speaker C: Take your choice.
[00:42:43] Speaker A: That's how you should help people in life. Stop asking them for help and do it. Oh, well, I don't know if I should deliver a meal or not, because they might have been fed already. They can freeze it. Hey, stop asking people, can I mow your lawn? Show up with a lawn mower.
[00:42:57] Speaker B: Well, it was the second stop they had. I was assigned to. I was in the blue platoon, right? So, last year's march organized into four platoons. Each of them had a color to identify. So, yes. And I, we had one of four rvs dedicated to us to have a restroom and have some quiet space.
It was to the point where the second stop in the people that were helping the blue platoon had realized all I had, the first stop was a thing of beef jerky. And they picked up on that, so they brought me the same thing of beef jerky. And they were like, do you want this? Yes, I do. And then the third stop, they just brought it over to me without me. Before I sat down, they'd already handed me what I wanted.
[00:43:35] Speaker A: Cool.
[00:43:36] Speaker B: And then they took my bag. I was like, no, don't take my bag. That's my water. No, no, come back with my bag. I'd like it now. Oh, no, but we're going to fill it. And they came back and I. By the third march, I couldn't. Or by the third break, I couldn't.
My water bladder had, it has a weird clasp on top of it, which is challenging for me, baseline before I walk 30 miles.
And so by the time I got to 30 miles, I was like, yeah, I can't functionally even open this thing anymore. So they just take it, put whatever electrolytes that I need and then bring it back and then re put it into my system, which is a whole nother thing with some of the water bladders. So just a phenomenal community, and I really think that we need to hit that again. The community that this 50 miles has built, not only with the walkers, but the hospitality crew and all associated people.
[00:44:27] Speaker A: Is really something special that's symbolic because you need everyone. You need the driver, you need the person cleaning up the trash.
So what, they weren't on the front lines firing a sniper fire, but, yeah.
[00:44:38] Speaker C: Let's talk a little bit about, for the listeners benefit, the brakes in between the walk after the group leaves out again and walks another six to 8 miles before the next rest area. They completely break down all of the equipment, all of the gear, they load it back on a truck, and then they drive to the next brake site, set it all back up again, ready for you guys to come in. And I'll tell you, you know, it was the professionalism with which they executed the plan last year was noticeable.
[00:45:08] Speaker A: First time walkers last year we enthusiastic.
[00:45:11] Speaker C: And they were enthusiastic about your personal safety. I can't give enough credit to the doctors that were there and the nurses on the foot care team. I mean, they were in everybody's feet. Whether you wanted them to be looking at your feet or not, you know, they, they didn't take your opinion. They went in there and got in your feet and checked it out. And I can't imagine, you know, what that's like, right?
[00:45:35] Speaker A: I mean, yes.
[00:45:36] Speaker C: You know, and they, they were, they were exceptionally skilled. They had all the appropriate equipment to make the walk as comfortable as it can be. After your feet started to suffer a little bit and that just happens after you're walking, you know, 25 or 30 miles, your feet just don't look the same. And so, you know, they had all the skill and all the training to get in there and really to, you know, clean it up and take care of it.
[00:46:02] Speaker B: Funny feet conversation before the march. Feet last year.
[00:46:07] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:46:07] Speaker B: Somebody mentioned toe socks.
My immediate response was, no, this foundation's not for me. I'm good. If we're talking about toe socks, this is not for me. I'm good. This is dumb. It's time to move on. These people are weird. We're gonna, we're gonna. But we don't.
[00:46:25] Speaker C: We're not sponsored. But in Gingi.
Let's cut the greatest invention I wish I would have known about in gingy socks.
[00:46:32] Speaker B: So 30 years ago, that was probably April of 23 when I first heard about toe socks.
[00:46:38] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:46:39] Speaker B: I didn't know they were a thing, especially for men.
[00:46:42] Speaker A: Right.
[00:46:42] Speaker B: They are for sure a thing.
[00:46:44] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:46:44] Speaker B: And they are for sure a life saving thing. So I stupidly.
Something I'm changing for this year's march. I stupidly said, hey, I'll just buy three pairs.
Right. Well, you're changing your socks every 10 miles.
[00:46:59] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:46:59] Speaker B: My dumb ass couldn't figure out how many pairs of socks I needed air force training, so 30 miles in, my last pair of toe socks, which I was vehemently anti, is now completely soaked with sweat and blood, and I can't, like, not put them back on. They're not in a state where I can put them back on. So I switched to normal socks, which, by the way, normal socks are a heck of a lot easier to put on. Toe socks are an entire thing to put on.
[00:47:25] Speaker A: Especially when you're hurting.
[00:47:27] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:47:27] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:47:28] Speaker B: Correct.
But that's when my feet trouble really started. That's when I lost my big toenail.
[00:47:34] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:47:35] Speaker B: Is after I stopped wearing toe socks, which I swore I would never wear.
[00:47:39] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, I'm telling you right now.
Get you some more. They're on sale right now at fleet feet. You better get you some.
[00:47:46] Speaker B: For us in particular. I'm sure that they timed that sale for us in particular.
[00:47:50] Speaker A: And, you know, veterans get 5% there anyway, all the time. Okay. Yeah.
[00:47:53] Speaker C: All right, so let's. Let's talk a little bit more about networking and community involvement. You know, it's. It's crucial for veterans, you know, especially transitioning veterans back into the civilian world. Let's talk a little bit about, you know, the goals for the foundation to help kind of support those opportunities.
[00:48:10] Speaker A: So, you know, as we grow as we expand, we're finding out things. So I want people to know, even behind the scenes today, even before the infrastructure is set up, while we're getting all this program going, we're doing a lot of ad hoc kind of things. You know, as of right now, I'm probably actively helping three veterans. One, find moving from the bottom of this one building. Two, truly, we got him hud Vash vouchers. He's a Vietnam vet. We'll get him on his feet. He'll start going. But I only learned of him because I'm in the real estate community, and they were evicting him from this, and he didn't know that he was allowed some kind of allowance from the government because of his service. And he's going to take full advantage of this. But no one ever brought him. Well, I probably have accompanied three, four appointments just for this one gentleman because he didn't trust the system. Let's just call it that. Right?
Hey, Jay, I'm here in the parking lot. Could you meet me down here and go to my appointment with me?
And I'm just gonna make up his name. Daryl, Darrell. Go, go. You gotta get inside.
I'm not gonna go inside. So I would go all the way down there and I'd meet with him, but these are the things helping people get to where they're at. There was a news story just last Sunday where we helped a veteran. This has nothing to do with what we're doing. We're so entrenched in this veteran community, people are looking at the 50 Miles March foundation and saying they're problem solvers. So this one veteran, Vietnam, died of cancer, Chuck way. And he was on the news, and his family didn't know what to do, didn't know anything. They just. These are everyday able people who just don't know what's available in this system. And they just wanted military honors for him cremated. We were able to hook up with the VFW 2503 and Benson and get him a great.
Have you ever had a 21 gun volley in a neighborhood? Have you ever seen it done in a neighborhood? Like, in a neighborhood? Oh, my gosh, it was great. All the neighbors came out and everything like that. And tell you what it was, it was gut wrenching. But some of the other things, you know, networking with the other nonprofits, getting to know them, and we can't be the one. I don't want to be the one. I want to be one of the right. There's a difference. I don't want to be the community.
[00:50:33] Speaker B: Part s, part s community.
[00:50:34] Speaker A: Yes. That's the key. And I'll say this. Some people just need to go into lockstep with us. Some people need to collaborate with us. We need to collaborate with other people. We do not know what we do not know. What we do is noble, for sure. But is it always intelligent? Is it always smart? So those are the things that we move through. And our outreach team. I mean, Bree, our executive director, has a lot of these existing connections where today I'm going to another organization.
We have never sat with an organization yet and said, hello, Corporation X. We would like for you to give us this amount of money. We're just figuring out what that's like. And we're fortunate to have built the allies and the partners and the sponsors that we have today. So I hope that at least encapsulates the opportunities that we're in front of. We've never really out.
We don't even know how to pitch ourselves, guys, you know what I mean? But we figure with the right work, with the right people, our fundraising mechanism is primarily peer to peer, which means it's people like you who say, I'm gonna raise $2,500. We didn't even talk about that.
[00:51:45] Speaker B: Yeah. So how does that fundraising for the marcher work?
[00:51:48] Speaker A: Okay, so, symbolically, you know, when. When I said to myself, I'm gonna raise $2,500, I committed that. I said, this is what we're gonna do. If we raise $2,100, I'm writing the check for a difference. If we don't raise anything, I'm writing it. So while this is cool thing, 50 miles, it's hard. It's like an Ironman. It's like this. I've heard so many things. The part that scares the people the most is the fundraising, which is.
[00:52:18] Speaker B: Which is really crazy, if you think about it.
[00:52:20] Speaker A: I know.
[00:52:21] Speaker C: Going back to it's not everybody's forte, though.
[00:52:24] Speaker B: I mean, it's a tough thing to do. But, yes, the cause is not polarizing like we talked about earlier. It's super simple to fundraise for noble. Absolutely. And, yeah, it's. It's a fun thing to see happen.
[00:52:38] Speaker A: You didn't even have social media last year when you did it, right?
[00:52:41] Speaker B: Yep. So my. My fundraising for the 2023 march, I wrote a couple of letters, sent a couple of text messages. I mean, legitimately contacted less than ten.
[00:52:51] Speaker A: People, and you raised your.
[00:52:53] Speaker B: Within less than 24 hours of those less than ten people.
I was fully funded at my 2500. I didn't stop there.
But it was incredibly easy because it's a non polarizing cause and it's a worthwhile, it's a noble thing to support.
[00:53:11] Speaker A: It doesn't take a lot of explanation. But here's the thing. I don't want people to concentrate on that $2,500. What I want them to concentrate on is what is that really going towards? I want every walker to understand fiduciary responsibility, transparency.
You have a say in, you know, in our mission of, we want you to know what you're getting into. I'm not recruiting people. I'm not like, hey, Greg, you should come out with us. Right? Like, you should have your friends. But I'm honored when people like you have your spouse on board who, everyone's busy these days, but now you're putting yourself on hook for two people in the house. Right? And I'm not saying you're better than anybody else. I'm just saying it's an impact to say, how can both of us do this? That's, you know what I mean? If my wife and I had to both walk, it'd be a whole different thing. But my point is, the $2,500 is a must do, or you write the difference of the check. But some people raise 45678 on their own. Jody Jefferson is one busy bee b baking company over the last couple years. I mean, Greg, you're doing okay this year. It's number one on the individual leaderboard, I guess.
[00:54:25] Speaker B: But he had a lot of help with that fundraising butter.
[00:54:29] Speaker A: But I'm saying, but here's my point.
I don't care about just the money. I care about the time and the talent. Not everyone has the treasure. It's not everyone's forte. It's not everyone's easy. But I'm not out there trying to sling chocolate for $3 a stick. I'm saying our veterans are suffering. They're under the bob Carey bridge. You do understand that. Here's what our organization does. Here's what we're going to do. Here's who is overseeing it. Now, are you in or out? And some people say, hey, I can only do. I said, hey, listen, don't ever say that. The word only is minimizing. Your $2 is better than zero. Your $2,000 is better than zero. Your time, your $0 and all of your time is worth way more than that. So I want people to remember, when you give an organization, it's time, talent, and treasure. The three t's. We all can't stroke a check.
[00:55:24] Speaker B: Guys, again, going back to the community side of this, what I love is the teamwork that's going into building this thing. Right. The foundation is awesome. The board is great.
However, it's not going to be done without the community involvement. And once we get the community of hope, the physical acreage built, that community that got that acreage built isn't going to go away.
[00:55:49] Speaker A: No.
[00:55:50] Speaker B: And it's not going to be behind a closed door for that community. It's somewhere where we want the community to be for all the right reasons.
[00:55:59] Speaker A: I want them to brag. Sorry.
[00:56:00] Speaker C: Yeah, I was just going to say that I think for me personally, when I first learned about this mission and what this was all about, it's the idea that not only can I give my time, talent, and treasure to this organization, but then I can go and I can physically put my hands on it. When you can physically put your hands on something, you become instantly connected to it in a much more meaningful way. And so when I think about the community of hope and I think about what that opportunity for homeless vets or struggling vets, what that opportunity looks like, the ability to come to a safe and secure place where I don't have to worry about my next meal, I don't have to worry about shelter. I don't have to worry about, you know, my current status in my life. You know, I can. I can be focused. I can have some regiment. I can think about, you know, I can get some retraining. I can get some new skills. And over that course of, you know, zero to 18 months, I can come out of this program.
I am physically secure. I am mentally secure. I've been taught a new skill or possible trade. I have community partners that have opportunities for, you know, upskilling jobs, immediate openings, things of that nature. Now I'm on a whole different path, and it's all contained in this one small living space. And then for people that want to give time, talent, and especially treasure, I can go there and I can put my hands on it and I can say I am connected to this space that is something bigger than myself. And I think that's, you know, when we talk about purpose in life and we talk about, you know, we're all striving for that bigger purpose or trying to find a new purpose in our lives. For me, you know, that purpose is, you know, when I can put my hands on it and I can feel it and I can touch it, and then it just becomes so much more real. And so I'm super excited and I was super excited, you know, two years ago. I'm super excited this year to be walking again with. With our team. I'm super excited about what the future of this organization looks like.
[00:57:58] Speaker A: And you just said it, right. So back to when you said, you don't have to worry about this. You don't have to worry about. Think of your regular job. When do you make the best decisions? When you're calm and you're rational. Not when you're fight or flight. Right? Not when there's a crisis. Can you make game changing decisions? I'm sure. But when you take someone out of the fight or flight mode, man, their life gets better instantaneously. And then your purpose. Right. You can't see a purpose if you're always in fight or flight. You're just trying to get to your next meal again. There's a lot of symbolism and, you know, talking here today, guys, I just. I didn't realize how much symbolism is in here. I don't get to talk about this all the time with, you know, the people that, you know, can connect, and I have to share the story one way, and people go, ah. And I'm grateful for that. But, guys, we know what this means to us. We know what this does for our jobs. Like, we are better at our jobs, I think, some days because of the commitment we have made to outside of ourselves. And tell me it hasn't led to greater opportunities for yourself individually. Not that that's the, you know, it's.
[00:59:05] Speaker B: Not what we're doing at all.
[00:59:06] Speaker A: No, but. No, it's.
[00:59:07] Speaker B: It's a. I mean, if there's an added benefit, right. I think that service to other humans. Service is important. I think there's a part of each of us that has a need for that, and this is a heck of a way to do it. So we're coming up on an hour.
[00:59:25] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:59:26] Speaker B: Let's. Let's do two quick things. So, first, tell us a success story that you're most proud of and then to close us out. If I am somebody that has no idea about the 50 Miles March foundation, how do I connect with the foundation?
[00:59:43] Speaker A: So, you know, there's many things. And I read, you know, the outline before we started today, and that was. I was afraid of that question of, tell me, the most successful, you know, because there's a lot of little, tiny wins, and there's a lot of losses, too, right. There's ideas that fall on the floor that don't get executed.
There's disagreements, you know, sometimes there's. This is a real organization. There's no utopia rainbow that we just open some treasure chest and stuff pops out. Right? This is not just, we're solving the issue today. We are working. Here's the biggest success that I think it has already pulled a community of people together. Right.
[01:00:27] Speaker B: That community is not small. It's, I mean, in excess of, in excess of 1000 people easily in the.
[01:00:33] Speaker A: Omaha metro and other states have taken notice and other people are coming from other states. The success is this. We have a working operation that can figure out anything.
We may not be able to go as fast as I wanted to as an individual, but I know that we can all go further and that the ideas that I might have thought up, people are now bolting on their ideas and they're inspecting it from all angles. And while it could feel like an attack, the success for me personally is, Jay, you don't have all the good ideas. Shut your mouth. That has been one of the best successes for me. But the success of this is, and this moves me to emotion is, I know if that I died today, this thing would still go. I know, I know. It's not about one person. It's not about one project. It's not about, oh, remember that one time we walked 87 people? Like, no.
That's why I'm afraid of that question is because I can't name one thing. They're all successful. They're all successful. And I don't want to be altruistic and, and be like, oh, this is amazing. And this is all hunky dory. This is hard stuff, guys. And this gets me out of bed and this helps me solve problems and it puts added pressure that I need to create my purpose. So that's, that's the success.
And then how can people get involved in this?
[01:01:57] Speaker B: Or connected.
[01:01:58] Speaker C: Or connected.
[01:01:58] Speaker A: So obviously there's the, on Facebook or the 50 miles march.org. And I know that we'll have all of the great links and everything like that, but I guess here's how I want to say get involved. Let us share the story with you. I don't care if it's a quick phone call. Let us present to your board. Let us do a lunch and learn at your business. All we want is not a pitch. We want an opportunity to share our story, the mission, and if it's for you, it's for you. And if it's not cool, but I have not been told no yet, bro, you know, so, so that's what it is. That's how you can get involved. Reach out to us, 50 milemarch.org. Get on our facebook. 50 miles. March.
If you're listening and you're compelled. Like, I'm just. I'm just a little. No, you might lead, like, Greg. The person that introduced Greg to this led me to Adam, and Adam is our board president now. Werner is now a great ally. I mean, I can't encapsulate all the good stuff. We can do a seven part series, 1 hour each episode on just the good that Werner has brought. And I'm not saying that because you're some superhero or anything. I say it because I trust that you will take our veterans that need your help and your services and your employment opportunities.
God, you walk the walk, and that's all I can say about that. I mean, I can't wait to make phone calls when I leave here and be like, hey, daniel, I need to talk to you so, so much, man. Just. Just so much. Reach out to me personally, and I never will not have time. I will always have time.
[01:03:46] Speaker B: Jay, thanks for coming today.
[01:03:47] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[01:03:48] Speaker B: Greatly appreciated, guys.
[01:03:50] Speaker A: You have no idea what this does for me. This is my therapy.
This is my reason to wake up. This is my. This is important to me.
The impact, if one person, we saved their life today just listening to this saying there's hope. Come on, man. This is great. So I'm grateful, Greg, one, to have met you, to be introduced to Adam, to be so entrenched with your organization. I know how you were, Greg, when you first met us. You're like, okay, let's be. Be careful. Let's. Right. You're a smart person. Right? And the trust that we've built, I mean, every now and then, at probably 1040 at night, I'm like, oh, I see some of these messages. I'm a text craig. I'm like, nope, you don't text people at 1040 at night. But I want you to know, sometimes I just want to randomly reach out to you.
[01:04:35] Speaker C: You can text me anytime.
[01:04:36] Speaker A: I appreciate it.
[01:04:36] Speaker C: Anytime.
[01:04:37] Speaker B: You do. Text me anytime.
[01:04:38] Speaker A: I do. Yeah, you. Yeah.
Because I need. I need a lot of help, and sometimes Adam is there for it. No, but I'm saying you text me anytime. I'm grateful for you guys. I'm so excited to have been on here today, and this makes me want.
[01:04:51] Speaker C: To work harder again, you know, for us. You know, we're proud of you personally. I'm proud of you. I'm proud of the things that you've gone through. I'm proud of where you are today with this. And I am extremely proud of our organization, willing to support this, this, you know, noble cause. And for me personally, you know, it is, it is a, it's a, it's a no brainer for me. It's a no brainer for my family.
We're in this to the end. We're going to time, talent, treasure, all the above. And so again, we're proud of you. We're proud of the organization. We're proud of the growth that we've seen in this last year and a half. And we're excited about the future. Again, the ability to put our hands on something and be connected is where it's all at. We got to keep that as, that's the goal. And so we're just, we're just very excited.
[01:05:40] Speaker A: Thank you.
[01:05:40] Speaker C: Thank you for being here today.
[01:05:41] Speaker A: Thank you, Adam. Appreciate you guys.
[01:05:43] Speaker B: Craig, you should look at the camera and give an awkward transition out. Thanking our drivers for listening.
[01:05:50] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[01:05:50] Speaker C: Thank you very much for all that you do. Thank you, team blue, for driving. Be safe out on the road. We appreciate you. We couldn't do what we do here in Omaha without you driving every single day, every safe mile. So appreciate that.
[01:06:05] Speaker B: Awesome.
[01:06:07] Speaker A: Your time is worth way more than that. So I want people to remember, when you give an organization, it's time, talent and treasure. The three t's. We all can't stroke a check. Guys.
[01:06:18] Speaker B: Again, going back to the community side of this, what I love is the teamwork that's going into building this thing. The foundation is awesome. The board is great.
However, it's not going to. It's not going to be done without the community involvement. And once we get the community of hope, the physical acreage built, that community that got that acreage built isn't going to go away.
[01:06:42] Speaker A: No.
[01:06:43] Speaker B: And it's not going to be behind a closed door for that community. It's somewhere where we want the community to be for all the right reasons.
[01:06:51] Speaker A: I want them to brag.
[01:06:53] Speaker C: Sorry, I was just going to say that I think for me personally, when I first learned about this mission and what this was all about, it's the idea that not only can I give my time, talent and treasure to this organization, but then I can go and I can physically put my hands on it. When you can physically put your hands on something, you become instantly connected to it in a much more meaningful way. And so when I think about the community of hope and I think about what that opportunity for homeless vets or struggling vets, what that opportunity looks like, the ability to come to a safe and secure place where I don't have to worry about my next meal. I don't have to worry about Shelter. I don't have to worry about my current status in my life.
I can be focused. I can have some regiment I can think about.
I can get some retraining. I can get some new skills. Over that course of zero to 18 months, I can come out of this program.
I am physically secure. I am mentally secure. I have been taught a new skill or possible trade. I have community partners that have opportunities for upskilling jobs, immediate openings, things of that nature. Now I'm on a whole different path, and it's all contained in this one small living space. And then for people that want to give time, talent, and especially treasure, I can go there and I can put my hands on it, and I can say I am connected to this space that is something bigger than myself. And I think that's when we talk about purpose in life and we talk about we're all striving for that bigger purpose or trying to find a new purpose in our lives. For me, that purpose is when I can put my hands on it and I can feel it and I can touch it, and then it just becomes so much more real. And so I'm super excited, and I was super excited two years ago. I'm super excited this year to be walking again with. With our team. I'm super excited about what the future of this organization looks like.
[01:08:52] Speaker A: And you just said it, right? So, back to when you said, you don't have to worry about this. You don't have to worry about this. Think of your regular job. When do you make the best decisions? When you're calm and you're rational. Not when you're fight or flight, right? Not when there's a crisis. Can you make game changing decisions? I'm sure. But when you take someone out of the fight or flight mode, man, their life gets better instantaneously. And then your purpose, right? You can't see a purpose if you're always in fight or flight. You're just trying to get to your next meal. So, again, there's a lot of symbolism and, you know, talking here today, guys, I just. I didn't realize how much symbolism is in here. I don't get to talk about this all the time with, you know, the people that, you know, can connect, and I have to share the story one way, and people go, ah. And I'm grateful for that. But, guys, we know what this means to us. We know what this does for our jobs. Like, we are better at our jobs, I think some days because of the commitment we have made to outside of ourselves. And tell me it hasn't led to greater opportunities for yourself individually. Not that that's the, you know, it's.
[01:09:58] Speaker B: Not what we're doing. No, but no, it's a, I mean, if there's an added benefit, right. I think that service to other humans, service is important. I think there's a part of each of us that has a need for that, and this is a heck of a way to do it. So we're coming up on an hour. Let's do two quick things. So first, tell us a success story that you're most proud of and then to close us out. If I am somebody that has no idea about the foundation, how do I connect with the foundation?
[01:10:36] Speaker A: So, you know, there's many things, and I read, you know, the outline before we started today, and that was, I was afraid of that question of, tell me the most successful, you know, because there's a lot of little tiny wins and there's a lot of losses, too, right? There's. There's ideas that fall on the floor that don't get executed.
There's disagreements, you know, sometimes there's, this is a real organization. There's no utopia rainbow that we just open some treasure chest and stuff pops out. Right? This is not just, we're solving the issue today. We are working. Here's the biggest success that, I think it has already pulled a community of people together. Right.
[01:11:20] Speaker B: That community is not small. It's, I mean, in excess of, in excess of a thousand people easily in.
[01:11:26] Speaker A: The Omaha metro and other states have taken notice, and other people are coming from other states. The success is this. We have a working operation that can figure out anything.
We may not be able to go as fast as I wanted to as an individual, but I know that we can all go further and that the ideas that I might have thought up, people are now bolting on their ideas and they're inspecting it from all angles. And while it could feel like an attack, the success for me personally is, Jay, you don't have all the good ideas. Shut your mouth. That has been one of the best successes for me. But the success of this is, and this moves me to emotion is I know that I died today.
This thing would still go. I know, I know. It's not about one person. It's not about one project. It's not about, oh, remember that one time we walked 87 people? Like, no.
That's why I'm afraid of that question is because I can't name one thing. They're all successful. They're all successful. And I don't want to be altruistic and be like, oh, this is amazing. And this is all hunky dory. This is hard stuff, guys. And this gets me out of bed, and this helps me solve problems. And it puts added pressure that I need to create my purpose. So that's the success.
And then how can people get involved in this?
[01:12:50] Speaker B: Or connected.
[01:12:50] Speaker C: Or connected.
[01:12:51] Speaker A: So, obviously, there's on Facebook or the 50 milemarch.org. And I know that we'll have all of the great links and everything like that, but I guess here's how I want to say get involved. Let us share the story with you. I don't care if it's a quick phone call. Let us present to your board. Let us do a lunch and learn at your business. All we want is not a pitch. We want an opportunity to share our story and the mission. And if it's for you, it's for you. And if it's not cool. But I have not been told no yet, bro. You know, so. So that's what it is. That's how you can get involved. Reach out to us, 50 milemarch.org. Get on our facebook. 50 miles. March.
If you're listening and you're compelled, like, I'm just a little. No. You might lead. Like Greg. The person that introduced Greg to this led me to Adam, and Adam is our board president now. Werner is now a great ally. I mean, I can't encapsulate all the good stuff. We can do a seven part series, 1 hour each episode on just the good that Werner has brought. And I'm not saying that because you're some superhero or anything. I say it because I trust that you will take our veterans that need your help and your services and your employment opportunities. God, you walk the walk, and that's all I can say about that.
[01:14:23] Speaker B: Jay, thanks for coming today. Greatly appreciated. Craig, you should look at the camera and give an awkward transition out. Thanking our drivers for listening.
[01:14:33] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[01:14:33] Speaker C: Thank you very much for all that you do. Thank you, team blue, for driving. Be safe out on the road. We appreciate you. We couldn't do what we do here in Omaha without you driving every single day, every safe mile. So appreciate that.
