1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,640 All across America and around the world, this is Veterans Radio. 2 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:15,920 This is Veterans Radio. 3 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:17,840 Welcome to Veterans Radio. 4 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:20,560 I am Jim Fossone. 5 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:22,880 I'm the officer of the deck today. 6 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:24,760 We've got some great programs for you. 7 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:27,760 I think you'll find very interesting. 8 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:34,640 We always want to remind you you can find more about Veterans Radio at its Facebook site 9 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:36,680 or at the web. 10 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:43,120 VeteransRadio.org is our new URL, VeteransRadio.org. 11 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:48,520 Where we're on the web 24-7, you can find a lot of our podcasts there as well. 12 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:55,080 We post new ones every Tuesday, so you can get a new story, a new interview, 13 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:59,960 something you didn't know before by going to VeteransRadio.org. 14 00:00:59,960 --> 00:01:04,240 And before we get started, we want to thank our sponsors. 15 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:13,680 First up, we want to thank National Veteran Business Development Council, NVBDC.org. 16 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:19,360 It was established to certify both service disabled and veteran-owned businesses. 17 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:25,920 You'll find out how they can help your business by going to NVBDC.org. 18 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:29,360 We want to thank Legal Help for Veterans. 19 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:35,000 Legal Help for Veterans fights for veterans disability rights all across the nation. 20 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:46,720 You can reach them at 800-693-4800 or on the web at LegalHelpForVeterans.com. 21 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:50,360 We want to welcome to VeteransRadio today Will Bowden. 22 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:52,360 He's got an interesting story. 23 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:57,440 It's part Coast Guard, part business, part marijuana growing. 24 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:02,320 So this is not your normal business entrepreneur here. 25 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:05,640 So Will, welcome to VeteransRadio. 26 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:07,680 Thanks, gentlemen. It's really, really nice to be here. 27 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:08,920 I appreciate the invite. 28 00:02:08,920 --> 00:02:11,480 Well, it's always great to talk to a coastie. 29 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:18,000 And we do, on VeteransRadio, we talk to a lot of veteran entrepreneurs and businessmen. 30 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:21,920 I think sometimes the image of us veterans is that, you know, we're all kind of broken 31 00:02:21,920 --> 00:02:24,160 down guys and we're not. 32 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:28,040 Generally, we take our skills that we learned in the service and turn them to really interesting 33 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:32,680 and positive life outside of the military service. 34 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:36,800 But let's talk first how a nice kid like you end up in the Navy and move to the Coast Guard 35 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:38,520 and have the career that you had. 36 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:42,600 You know, the irony has not been lost on anybody for Surgeon. 37 00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:45,840 So I was born and raised in Santa Cruz, California. 38 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:51,000 And the only reason I go back that far is because, you know, this was an area that was 39 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:52,440 very accepting of cannabis. 40 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:57,840 But my choices in life, law enforcement and military, did not allow me to participate 41 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:00,640 either from a work or use perspective. 42 00:03:00,640 --> 00:03:01,640 Right? 43 00:03:01,640 --> 00:03:09,200 So I joined the Navy shortly after high school and I went into military law enforcement, 44 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:14,600 did a couple of things there pre-911 and had a really, really good time there. 45 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:21,000 And as I transitioned off of active duty to reserve, I went into the Coast Guard Reserve. 46 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:26,040 And what's funny about that is I thought that that was actually going to keep me in some 47 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:28,560 geographical areas within the United States. 48 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:33,360 I ended up in a unit in the Coast Guard that actually does not deploy in the United States. 49 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:36,320 It only deploys overseas, right? 50 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:40,040 Ended up being just a really rewarding tour in the Coast Guard and it's a nice way to 51 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:41,040 start the Coast Guard. 52 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:44,000 It's called a port security unit. 53 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:49,240 And then 911 happens and I become more active in my time in the reserve time than I was 54 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:51,680 my, the whole time I was on active duty. 55 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:55,920 So it was just, you know, everybody appreciates that no matter who you were in the military, 56 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:58,360 very, very active time since then. 57 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:03,520 So all along that time, so when I transitioned from active duty to reserve, I also joined 58 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:07,920 on as a police officer down in Naples, Florida in Collier County. 59 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:12,880 And I had an amazing time at the police department there as well, serving from road patrol all 60 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:16,320 the way till I actually did when I was on the SWAT team. 61 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:22,360 The reason why I left the police department was because I went to school to get my MBA. 62 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:27,160 And while I was going to get my MBA, I thought it would be neat to work in corporate America 63 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:32,200 and Florida has a nice way of allowing people with their active law enforcement license to 64 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:37,600 leave and do other things and come back within a five year period and maintain that licensure. 65 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:41,920 So when I went to my administration and I said, hey, I'd like to go do this, they were completely 66 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:45,480 supportive of it, amazing mentors and leaders there. 67 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:47,000 And so I went and did that. 68 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:51,440 That's what took me to a pharmaceutical company, Merck. 69 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:54,040 And I'm still at Coast Guard Reserve at that time too. 70 00:04:54,040 --> 00:05:00,880 So I go there, I finished my MBA program and Merck ends up offering me a pretty cool position. 71 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:03,120 They said, hey, why don't you come up to headquarters? 72 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:06,240 We're about to change our US commercial model. 73 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:09,360 And I was really excited about that because I just got done doing my MBA program. 74 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:11,880 This was stuff that was totally going to make sense. 75 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:14,800 So I went back to my same administration and they're like, oh, it sounds like an amazing 76 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:15,800 opportunity. 77 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:17,040 It's only supposed to be about a year. 78 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:23,760 So I go up to Pennsylvania from Florida and I start to work with Merck. 79 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:28,920 And basically what ends up happening over the next 14 years was I really enjoyed the 80 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:33,040 work that Merck was throwing me from an intellectual perspective and I was still getting my sense 81 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:36,920 of duty and service from doing all the stuff I was doing in the Coast Guard. 82 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:40,640 And again, I was being deployed all the time and not even Conest, I was being deployed 83 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:41,640 overseas. 84 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:44,880 So doing really interesting work with the Coast Guard too. 85 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:49,720 So I just never went back to law enforcement, which is funny because now my cop buddies 86 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:52,160 will call me and laugh at the fact that I'm in the canons. 87 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:55,240 Yeah, right, you've gone to the other end of the spectrum. 88 00:05:55,240 --> 00:06:02,320 But because we so rarely get to talk to Coast Guard folks, and I should say, well, Bon retired 89 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:06,560 as a Lieutenant Commander, tell us about some of those overseas assignments. 90 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:14,320 I don't think folks really appreciate the depth and breadth of tasks that the Coast 91 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:15,960 Guard gets pulled into. 92 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:16,960 Yeah. 93 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:20,320 So first of all, the Coast Guard has stations all over the world and that's something that 94 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:21,720 we all don't appreciate. 95 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:24,600 The things that we appreciate is the things we tend to see. 96 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:29,440 So you see things like search and rescue, you see things like drug interdiction, you 97 00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:33,600 see things like hazardous materials cleanups and stuff like that. 98 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:39,480 What we don't see is some of the units that were actually developed before and during Vietnam, 99 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:44,800 the river impetrels and a lot of the support that was happening during those days. 100 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:50,480 So Coast Guard has been long standing of being small boat experts and small boats can be 101 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:56,480 like your 24 foot boats, it also can mean your small cutters compared to the larger ships 102 00:06:56,480 --> 00:06:58,360 that the Navy would have. 103 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:04,320 So being very small and agile, being a smaller specialized organization afforded the Coast 104 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:08,160 Guard to develop those skills and be very complimentary when working with the Marine 105 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:12,880 Corps, United States Navy, Air Force in some cases too, and definitely with the Army at 106 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:13,880 times too. 107 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:17,640 So one of my first deployments with the Coast Guard was actually to Guantanamo. 108 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:21,760 We went down there and we were part of the initial detainee ops of when they were bringing 109 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:27,280 detainees right after 9-11 to Guantanamo and we were part of the initial efforts to stand 110 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:32,480 up that operation, establish good security protocols, working very closely again with 111 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:35,000 the different entities that were already down there. 112 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:38,360 I don't think a lot of people understand that that's one of the places that we would deploy 113 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:40,200 to and operate in. 114 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:43,960 We were also active the entire time and continue to be active the entire time in the Middle 115 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:46,920 East and all the Middle East operations that were going on. 116 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:50,200 So everybody understands that we have a presence over there in what we do. 117 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:53,520 I think when you think about the Coast Guard deploying overseas, what you want to think 118 00:07:53,520 --> 00:08:00,320 about is land or structure scenarios that touch water that need to establish normalization 119 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:01,320 and security. 120 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:05,080 So that could be the oil platforms in the Middle East, that could be Guantanamo Bay having 121 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:10,560 a high threat security zone and a bay down there and everything in between. 122 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:13,560 One of the sweet spots that the Coast Guard does very well. 123 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:20,160 Well, and we've had some guests on on Veterans Radio and we're talking to Lieutenant Commander 124 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:24,400 Will Bowden of the United States Coast Guard retired. 125 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:30,920 We've talked to guests about the Coast Guard being deployed in the Pacific over concerns 126 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:32,240 with Taiwan and China. 127 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:38,000 Again, those are things I think in general, people don't know that the Coast Guard's 128 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:43,800 out doing that, but just sort of summarized it, the phrase of small boat experts really 129 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:47,920 kind of helps you visualize where they are and what they can do. 130 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:48,920 It is. 131 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:53,480 And, you know, there's a combined effort out there and sometimes we forget. 132 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:59,520 So one of my final assignments was at the time it was called PAKOM, the Combatant Command, 133 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:03,800 Pacific Command, but it's been censoried, renamed Indo-Pacific Command. 134 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:10,240 And in that Combatant Command, they have jurisdiction for 52% of the world, like the Pacific Ocean 135 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:14,480 and all of the continents and countries that touch that Pacific Ocean. 136 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:19,440 And so I got to work in a really neat policy group that really focused on Northeast Asia 137 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:23,580 with more of a focus on North Korea and China. 138 00:09:23,580 --> 00:09:27,280 So when you think about that kind of work, you don't automatically think of Coast Guard 139 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:32,320 there, but at the end of the day, what you are talking about is the United States military 140 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:37,040 working together to accomplish the goals that we need to accomplish both operationally and 141 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:38,840 policy-wise in the world today. 142 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:40,080 And that requires everybody. 143 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:43,960 That requires non-government entities as well as government entities. 144 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:49,080 We had non-military entities at PAKOM as well as your military partners as well. 145 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:52,040 And it is a bigger picture than I think most of us see. 146 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:55,280 But again, we tend to believe in the things that we see. 147 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:58,920 So there's movies, there's television, there's my uncle was in whatever. 148 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:01,600 And that's the stuff that we formulate our opinions on, right? 149 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:02,600 It is. 150 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:08,080 And that's why we do these shows on Veterans Radio to tell real-life stories that broaden 151 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:09,480 out those pictures. 152 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:16,000 And we always kind of end up asking the same question, which is, based on your experiences 153 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:22,600 in the Coast Guard, if your niece, nephew, family member, friend, son of a friend came 154 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:27,120 in and said, you know, I'm thinking I should do something like this, what do you think 155 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:29,120 about an opportunity in the Coast Guard? 156 00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:31,200 Where does it take you? 157 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:36,760 So Jim, this is so great because one of the things that I take very seriously is coaching 158 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:43,000 people in general, but coaching kids who aspire to explore something in the military. 159 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:47,840 My favorite example of this is somebody might come to me and say, hey, I want to go fly 160 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:50,480 jets, so I'm going to join the Air Force. 161 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:52,920 And I don't throw them the obvious thing of where else jets are. 162 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:54,880 I say, well, that's awesome. 163 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:59,080 But do you know that the Army has more aircraft than the Air Force has? 164 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:02,240 And that usually stops them in their tracks and then said, I'm not asking you to join 165 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:03,240 the Army. 166 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:08,840 What I'm asking you to do is just do more digging, be more curious, because you're going 167 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:13,920 to join an organization that has a bunch of different jobs that are in that organization. 168 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:17,360 And chances are you might want to try a few of those jobs in there. 169 00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:20,920 So make sure that you understand not just the job you're going in for and you want to 170 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:27,000 join, but also what are the other jobs that you would maybe want to see or try or work 171 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:29,320 alongside as well. 172 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:34,400 And it's really just getting people to do a bit more diligence, especially our youth, 173 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:36,720 to say there's a lot of amazing jobs. 174 00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:40,120 There's amazing jobs in the Coast Guard and the Navy that never see the water. 175 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:43,160 There's amazing jobs in the Air Force that never see aircraft. 176 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:47,400 So you just have to understand that it's a bigger world out there than the thing that's 177 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:53,680 tending to motivate you, which usually is that father, that uncle, that movie, the thing 178 00:11:53,680 --> 00:11:56,760 that grabs your attention when you're a kid, as it should when you're a kid. 179 00:11:56,760 --> 00:12:01,040 But as we get older and we're graduating high school and we're considering military service, 180 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:04,000 there is more diligence that usually can benefit people for sure. 181 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:07,080 Well, I want to congratulate you on doing that sort of mentoring because I think we 182 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:12,760 all have a responsibility who've served to be talking to the younger generation about 183 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:19,000 the value of it, the skill sets you're going to receive, the crazy places you're going 184 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:23,400 to get sent to and see the world, even though you thought you'd only be deployed in the 185 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:24,400 US. 186 00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:27,480 Yeah, all of those are positive things, but I want to transition. 187 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:35,720 As I said, we like talking to veteran business entrepreneurs and you move from law enforcement 188 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:37,160 to the corporate world. 189 00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:42,680 We're doing really well and it's successful with a huge company there. 190 00:12:42,680 --> 00:12:48,200 What in the world made you transfer those skill sets that you had learned along the way? 191 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:56,160 And Will is the CEO of Grasshopper Farms, which is a marijuana growing operation in multiple 192 00:12:56,160 --> 00:12:58,160 states all outdoors. 193 00:12:58,160 --> 00:13:02,640 But we'll talk about Grasshopper Farms in a minute, but I want to start with like the 194 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:09,280 mental process going on as you as you transferred your skill sets into this being this vetropinur. 195 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:14,440 Well, you couldn't have labeled it better than the mental process because that's exactly 196 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:15,440 what happened. 197 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:20,960 So really what happens here is I retired October of 2018. 198 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:24,840 So that was the moment when I exited the military. 199 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:31,200 But before that, good 10, 12 years ago, I was watching the cannabis industry and I was 200 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:35,760 appreciating it for the business perspective of what it's doing and then for the medical 201 00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:37,280 perspective of what it's doing too. 202 00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:42,320 There's amazing things going on that go way beyond the Narcos, Mexico and reefer madness 203 00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:44,680 that we really need to understand better. 204 00:13:44,680 --> 00:13:48,480 But so I was already appreciating it, but it was always from afar because it was not 205 00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:52,480 something that I was allowed to do simply because of my military service. 206 00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:53,600 And I was really enjoying that. 207 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:58,520 So the same month I retire, I end up meeting another guy who was also former military and 208 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:00,000 we're just getting to know each other. 209 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:04,480 But when he learned that I had prior law enforcement experience, the things I had done in the Coast 210 00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:08,120 Guard and then my pharmaceutical experience, he said, Hey, I want to offer you a job. 211 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:09,120 I go, what's that? 212 00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:13,720 He goes, well, he's starting what we call an industry in MSL, multi-state operator. 213 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:18,320 And he wanted me to help him go operationalize licenses in other states. 214 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:19,440 And so I go home to my wife. 215 00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:21,080 I'm like, is this really happening? 216 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:22,080 You can't make this up. 217 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:23,920 I mean, it's just like, it's crazy. 218 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:26,360 It's the same exact month I retired. 219 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:30,960 So that was a bit of a jarring moment mentally speaking, right? 220 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:33,960 But at the end of the day, I talked to her with my wife. 221 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:38,720 I was really excited about a new opportunity, almost in the same way of like being excited 222 00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:42,240 for a new command as we rotate through military service, right? 223 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:45,000 And so I sat down with my wife and we said, yes. 224 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:49,040 So I started and I went to work for him learning the industry. 225 00:14:49,040 --> 00:14:51,480 First I was sent to Michigan to operationalize licenses. 226 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:56,720 I got three retail locations up and running and got indoor grow up and running, manufacturing 227 00:14:56,720 --> 00:14:58,600 was in the pipeline. 228 00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:04,200 But all along that time, I developed an appreciation for the outdoor farming aspect of the industry. 229 00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:07,720 So that's kind of what broke me into this. 230 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:12,220 There's not a lot of farmland in Santa Cruz, California that you're relating to here. 231 00:15:12,220 --> 00:15:13,220 This isn't a family. 232 00:15:13,220 --> 00:15:15,960 I want to grow up to be a farmer thing. 233 00:15:15,960 --> 00:15:24,120 How did you say, well, that's the, I like this field because it's brand new and a lot 234 00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:25,680 of opportunity. 235 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:29,400 How did you decide outdoor grows my niche? 236 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:33,480 So as I was going through all of this, it's really important as you enter any business 237 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:36,320 that you really understand what your operating costs. 238 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:41,840 And when you do that analysis on indoor cultivation, you start to realize that energy in the form 239 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:47,760 of power is going to be one of the main drivers of your operating costs. 240 00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:52,800 And so as I was looking at that, I was like, okay, so why aren't more people growing outside? 241 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:56,800 And at the same time, I came across a study that was done back in 2011. 242 00:15:56,800 --> 00:16:03,520 We're talking 12 years ago now that basically said that indoor cannabis cultivation was 243 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:06,160 occupying 1% of the US power grid. 244 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:08,440 And I was like, ooh, not sustainable. 245 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:11,640 And it's not that indoor grow is bad and needs to be demonized or anything. 246 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:12,640 That's not the case. 247 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:17,600 It's just we haven't realized our balance yet of indoor greenhouse and outdoor grows. 248 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:18,880 That's what it comes down to. 249 00:16:18,880 --> 00:16:23,040 So I got really curious and I started doing the research and I started trying to figure 250 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:25,800 out so why aren't more people doing the outdoor farm? 251 00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:29,080 Well, long story short, it's because farming is really, really hard. 252 00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:31,040 I will tell you that right now. 253 00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:34,040 So but I started looking at the business model of it. 254 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:38,360 And the other on the business side of it is, is when a person would go into a retail cannabis 255 00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:42,800 store, they would see different grades of indoor flower that they could select from. 256 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:45,520 But usually there was only one grade of outdoor flower. 257 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:47,920 Usually it's discounted and considered to be lesser quality. 258 00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:49,840 And I said, well, that's just not right. 259 00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:50,840 This plant was outside. 260 00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:54,520 And the only reason why it even went inside was because it came in illegal and people 261 00:16:54,520 --> 00:16:56,000 went into basements and pole barns. 262 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:58,000 And that's just where it kind of evolved into. 263 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:01,440 And people then not surprisingly have stuck with that discipline because not just over 264 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:05,520 decades but generations, they've learned how to do that well. 265 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:08,320 So now it's time to come back outside and do it well though, because there's plenty of 266 00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:10,360 people who have done it well and can do it well. 267 00:17:10,360 --> 00:17:11,360 So let's do it. 268 00:17:11,360 --> 00:17:12,360 So that's what I did. 269 00:17:12,360 --> 00:17:13,360 I formed the team. 270 00:17:13,360 --> 00:17:16,120 I left that last company and started this company. 271 00:17:16,120 --> 00:17:21,240 And we, we went to market saying that I think that what we can do is provide a higher quality 272 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:24,920 of outdoor flower than is available in the market today in Michigan. 273 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:26,040 It ended up working out. 274 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:28,400 So we expanded to Colorado now in New Jersey too. 275 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:32,480 And we're, we're working our way into Minnesota and Massachusetts. 276 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:38,040 And I want to try to build a collective of 10 farms is kind of the goal here. 277 00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:41,160 10 different teams as we continue the mission. 278 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:48,160 Well, you've just identified a number of states, including Michigan, which are not warm weather 279 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:49,160 states. 280 00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:53,000 They have a specific grow season. 281 00:17:53,000 --> 00:18:00,040 How does that factor into all this analysis that you're doing, which is probably pretty 282 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:01,040 deep. 283 00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:07,440 And thus the MBA, thus the role, operational role at the Coast Guard where you were doing 284 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:08,440 a lot of planning. 285 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:14,360 But, but how do you look at this from outdoor grow operations and the seasonality of it 286 00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:15,360 all? 287 00:18:15,360 --> 00:18:20,160 Well, first and foremost, if you're going to pick to do outdoor farming, you better operate 288 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:22,400 where other outdoor farms exist. 289 00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:26,400 And then you got to pay attention to what exists as far as an outdoor farm goes as well. 290 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:30,420 So where we're set up in Michigan, we're surrounded by blueberry farms. 291 00:18:30,420 --> 00:18:34,760 And if you can grow blueberries, grapes or tomatoes, you're probably in the right vicinity, 292 00:18:34,760 --> 00:18:38,720 geographically speaking, to do an outdoor cannabis farm there too. 293 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:41,000 So location, location, location, right? 294 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:44,120 It's just, you got to know what state are you going into, what kind of seasonality. 295 00:18:44,120 --> 00:18:46,360 You also mentioned there is a season. 296 00:18:46,360 --> 00:18:47,360 You're absolutely right. 297 00:18:47,360 --> 00:18:51,840 We are a single season outdoor grow, which means we produce a crop once a year. 298 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:56,600 So we have to be very deliberate in what we do throughout that year to support being able 299 00:18:56,600 --> 00:19:00,040 to produce the amount that we need to to run a business. 300 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:01,040 Right? 301 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:03,600 So there's, there's a lot of math that goes into that for sure. 302 00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:08,000 But when it comes down to picking the state or where in the state, because Michigan, much 303 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:11,880 like California is much different at the bottom of Michigan from a growing perspective 304 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:15,800 than it is up to what they call the UP or the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. 305 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:21,200 And I would recommend you probably don't want to do an outdoor grow for retail flower in 306 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:22,200 the Upper Peninsula. 307 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:27,400 You might do it for a smaller scale and for biomass, but you just, you just have to be 308 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:28,600 careful on these things. 309 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:33,360 There's ways to do them in a lot of different locations, but you got to be very deliberate 310 00:19:33,360 --> 00:19:36,640 in knowing what's going to work in that location and then go after that. 311 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:41,120 So when did grasshopper farms get started, Will? 312 00:19:41,120 --> 00:19:42,120 Yep. 313 00:19:42,120 --> 00:19:44,360 So we started in 2020. 314 00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:47,900 The name grasshopper farms, grasshopper represents two things for us. 315 00:19:47,900 --> 00:19:50,880 One is that we are on a journey of always learning. 316 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:54,640 And the second one is the grasshopper hops from season to season because we are a single 317 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:56,000 season outdoor grow. 318 00:19:56,000 --> 00:20:00,320 We don't benefit from things that like vines for grapes and blueberries that we can revive. 319 00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:03,560 We literally have to start over with new plants every single year. 320 00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:10,440 And in those three years now going, you've opened up in Colorado, Michigan and New Jersey. 321 00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:12,880 How many acres do you have? 322 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:18,040 So in Michigan, we bought 160 acres, but it's important to say out loud that we only developed 323 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:19,800 40 of those acres. 324 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:24,840 And the reason why is because we were bringing a new type of flower to the market. 325 00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:28,840 And so to do that, that means that we have to have a lot of focus and discipline. 326 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:33,480 So we started by building out 40 acres because we knew that we could logistically operate 327 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:35,880 that with a high degree of precision. 328 00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:39,400 And we would not expand until we honed in our practices. 329 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:43,280 And then also the market dictated that it would be appropriate to expand. 330 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:44,400 So we've done that. 331 00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:47,560 We're ready now to expand in Michigan to an appropriate level, which will probably be 332 00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:48,560 just another 40 acres. 333 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:50,200 And we'll probably stop there. 334 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:52,920 That will probably be what grasshopper farms is in Michigan. 335 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:57,600 So for each state, what we're going to do is we're going to always have that focus and 336 00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:00,960 discipline so that we don't get distracted with shiny objects. 337 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:05,840 We really stick to the mission and we're able then to provide that quality and consistency. 338 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:09,720 And you're probably going to say, well, we could just substitute some of the names and 339 00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:11,840 call it a military operation and you're absolutely right. 340 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:12,840 That's exactly what it is. 341 00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:18,880 I was laughing at the focus and getting away from the shiny objects. 342 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:23,800 It is, as I say, a new kind of niche business, right? 343 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:30,440 That there's not a lot of folks who can look to and talk to and say, well, how did you 344 00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:31,840 do it? 345 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:35,720 But how much of this becomes then a marketing and outlet? 346 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:38,560 Because, okay, you grew it. 347 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:42,600 You picked those flowers once a year. 348 00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:43,640 It's now got to be processed. 349 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:46,800 This is not a retail. 350 00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:51,000 There's a more integrated part of the industry. 351 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:53,320 Talk to us a little bit about how you approach that. 352 00:21:53,320 --> 00:21:55,560 Yeah, Jim, you're absolutely right there. 353 00:21:55,560 --> 00:22:01,160 So look, when we came to market, we told everybody, hey, we're grass upper farms and you're going 354 00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:04,360 to know us because we're going to produce premium sungrown flower. 355 00:22:04,360 --> 00:22:07,560 And everybody kind of gave us that virtual pat on the back and said, sure, you're going 356 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:08,560 to, buddy. 357 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:09,560 You go out there and do your thing. 358 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:10,560 Yeah, good luck. 359 00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:11,560 It's really hard to do. 360 00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:12,560 Yeah, that's right. 361 00:22:12,560 --> 00:22:17,000 The reason why most of the outdoor flower out there is in a discounted lower quality 362 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:18,480 status, and that's because it's really hard to do. 363 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:22,800 And those farms also focus on biomass for making things like edible, topical, sublinguals 364 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:25,400 and before. 365 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:29,480 So when we came to market, we had to be deliberate about what we were saying about who we are 366 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:31,080 and how we're doing it. 367 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:34,680 So we were building a brand at that point too. 368 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:36,000 And so this is really important. 369 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:39,520 When you're running a business, you not only have to know what product or service are you 370 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:43,200 selling, but how are you going to communicate that to people as well? 371 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:44,680 And that's the marketing aspect of that. 372 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:49,040 So we initially started out there when we had no product to sell by going around and 373 00:22:49,040 --> 00:22:50,040 telling our story. 374 00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:51,200 We went around to retailers. 375 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:54,280 We started talking about it on Facebook and Instagram. 376 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:58,320 We went to a couple of conventions and we just told our story. 377 00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:01,840 And then we just said, I know what you guys all think this is going to be hard to do. 378 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:05,320 It may be impossible, but just give us a try when we come out. 379 00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:11,160 And then what that did was it let the onus fall on us to produce what we knew we could. 380 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:16,200 So we produced a product that ended up being a higher quality outdoor flower than was typically 381 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:17,640 available. 382 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:21,400 And retailers and consumers did accept us for that. 383 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:25,880 And because we did all that marketing work and continue to do all that marketing work, 384 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:29,560 it's now developed a conversation with people in the United States and even outside the 385 00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:33,240 United States where they're paying attention to what we're doing and we've built a name 386 00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:34,240 for ourselves. 387 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:37,000 I think that's really important in any industry that you do that. 388 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:41,320 You've got to build a name for yourself so that when other folks try to do what you're 389 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:45,840 doing, it's fine that they do, but you've already solidified your name in this too. 390 00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:49,920 Much in the way that in early days of Sam Adams, they never try to compete with your 391 00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:51,680 cores and Budweisers, right? 392 00:23:51,680 --> 00:23:55,720 They just made a solid craft beer is what they did. 393 00:23:55,720 --> 00:24:00,560 And I know they're a lot bigger now, but eventually in our industry, you're going to have some 394 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:02,680 legalization changes occur. 395 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:05,040 You're going to have some bigger companies come in. 396 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:08,880 And if you haven't made your name for yourself as a smaller company, you run the risk of 397 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:12,760 possibly getting just run over by those larger companies. 398 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:13,920 So how do we do that? 399 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:17,920 You spend the time, you tell your story, you make a name for yourself, and let's not forget, 400 00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:21,240 you've got to have that quality and consistency of whatever the product or service. 401 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:22,240 You've got to produce. 402 00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:25,240 You've got to mission accomplished. 403 00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:30,040 You know, one of the reasons besides being a Coast Guard alum and we love talking to 404 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:37,880 you guys because you're hard to find, but veterans in particular are very interested 405 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:45,640 in the cannabis world, the use of cannabis, the medicinal use of cannabis. 406 00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:51,280 They run a file at times, you know, because it's still a federally scheduled drug. 407 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:54,680 They run a file with VA sometimes, although that's loosening up. 408 00:24:54,680 --> 00:25:02,360 There's some legislation to do more VA research on the benefits of cannabis, but by and large, 409 00:25:02,360 --> 00:25:08,440 a lot of interest in veterans in the use of cannabis because of the quality of life that 410 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:10,320 it provides to them. 411 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:16,960 I'm wondering as with your background and with the Weirgrass hopper farms are located 412 00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:22,440 and what you plan on doing, how do you see the veteran world intersecting with what you're 413 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:23,520 doing in the business? 414 00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:25,880 And even in the employee world of yours? 415 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:29,520 Yeah, so a few different layers there. 416 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:34,520 So I think a lot of folks when they were getting to know the medicinal benefits of cannabis, 417 00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:38,720 there was I think a lot of references to things like glaucoma and cancer. 418 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:41,240 And definitely those things exist for sure. 419 00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:47,760 For me, it was more so on the side of talking to men and women who had served and we're 420 00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:52,160 now benefiting from cannabis from either combat injuries or PTSD. 421 00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:57,160 It's just at this point, I've lost track of how many I've talked to who benefit from that 422 00:25:57,160 --> 00:25:59,080 specific angle. 423 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:04,000 And it's really important to understand that cannabis has incredible medicinal value. 424 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:05,640 I wouldn't be doing it otherwise. 425 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:10,240 It is a strong medicinal candidate for so many things out there, but we're just scratching 426 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:14,600 the surface right now because we're in a phase right now where it was illegal for so long 427 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:19,560 and the Reagan and Nixon administrations were so good at their anti-drug campaigns and 428 00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:21,640 including cannabis in it. 429 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:25,120 So now what we're learning is that cannabis probably shouldn't have been in it. 430 00:26:25,120 --> 00:26:27,960 It probably is definitely is not a gateway drug. 431 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:32,160 In fact, I've been calling it a reverse gateway drug because it has been helping people to 432 00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:36,160 have a healthier relationship with things like pain medication and alcohol. 433 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:41,480 And so when you start to see this used appropriately or just used for sleep, there's so many people 434 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:45,400 who are sleep deprived today that are not diagnosed as a medical condition and they 435 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:48,680 use it for sleep and they don't even think they're using it medically. 436 00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:52,200 They take the stigma of using it recreationally when in fact they're not. 437 00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:56,160 They're using it to get something that's one of the most important factors that you need 438 00:26:56,160 --> 00:27:00,760 in the world, which is a good night's sleep of both quantity and quality. 439 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:06,440 So I think that the implications federally certainly are they need to be contemplated 440 00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:12,080 and understood the severity of the scheduling and how that impacts men and women who might 441 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:14,400 be able to benefit from this in the service. 442 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:19,720 I think that that will start to ease up as the federal changes happen, as the VA learns 443 00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:22,760 more and as more research becomes available too. 444 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:28,800 As far as our position right now and how we're trying to help, we actually just had a former 445 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:34,600 Marine come and visit our farm with three of his friends and he benefits from a program 446 00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:42,400 in Michigan that actually affords him to have free access to cannabis products to help him 447 00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:46,120 with the combat injuries that he sustained from his service. 448 00:27:46,120 --> 00:27:50,080 And we were introduced to that program and now we're going to contribute product to that 449 00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:54,720 program as well to make sure that we're contributing to that free access that he can obtain in 450 00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:55,720 the state of Michigan. 451 00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:59,760 And I'm glad the state of Michigan has actually stepped up in doing something for military 452 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:04,320 veterans who need this product to basically just have quality of life. 453 00:28:04,320 --> 00:28:10,080 And then as far as veterans go, listen, anytime I can grab a veteran and put him on the team, 454 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:15,800 it's going to happen because we already come from a foundation that we can understand together. 455 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:18,680 And I know what I'm already working with when I hire a veteran. 456 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:23,360 So I'll hire a veteran every day of the week for whatever positions that we have within 457 00:28:23,360 --> 00:28:24,640 our organization for sure. 458 00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:31,280 Well, that's why we're talking to Will Bowden, CEO of Grasshopper Farms, which grows outdoor 459 00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:34,440 cannabis in three states. 460 00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:38,880 He's a lieutenant commander from the United States Coast Guard Reserve, retired now. 461 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:47,360 And Will, I think getting the message out to more folk is part of what's necessary to 462 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:48,680 do. 463 00:28:48,680 --> 00:28:53,560 There are a lot of people in that industry and you can probably pick your industry and 464 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:56,840 say, eh, there's some sketchy folks. 465 00:28:56,840 --> 00:29:03,000 But I think it's important to, as you say, get out, talk about what you're going to do, 466 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:05,560 and then follow through and do it. 467 00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:08,520 And that's what you're in the process of now. 468 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:11,240 Just quickly because we're running a little long. 469 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:15,200 Are you growing yet in Colorado or New Jersey? 470 00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:18,560 Yeah, so we had a full season this year in Colorado. 471 00:29:18,560 --> 00:29:22,360 They're in the middle of Michigan and Colorado are both in the midst right now of an outdoor 472 00:29:22,360 --> 00:29:23,480 harvest. 473 00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:27,240 In New Jersey, we've received all of our state licensure and we're just waiting for 474 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:30,800 the final licensure from Galloway Township. 475 00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:34,680 And then we'll be what I would call plant touching at that point and operational. 476 00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:39,120 So I would expect that within 90 days or less, we'll be plant touching within New Jersey 477 00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:40,120 as well. 478 00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:42,320 Well, that's great. 479 00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:43,320 That's great expansion. 480 00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:48,160 It's got to be exciting to be in the middle of harvest and we appreciate you taking some 481 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:54,000 time to talk to Veterans Radio and educate us about cannabis, outdoor cannabis growing 482 00:29:54,000 --> 00:30:01,560 in particular and that transition from military to law enforcement to veteran entrepreneur 483 00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:02,720 in the cannabis space. 484 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:05,080 So we really do appreciate the time today. 485 00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:06,600 Well, thanks Jim. 486 00:30:06,600 --> 00:30:07,600 It's not just an honor. 487 00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:09,000 I also consider it a duty. 488 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:10,000 We've got to help each other out. 489 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:14,200 The way we do that is we support each other through communication and helping each other 490 00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:17,400 to discover paths that work and then support each other to success. 491 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:19,840 So my honor, thank you very much. 492 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:22,760 And I want to thank everybody for listening to Veterans Radio today. 493 00:30:22,760 --> 00:30:24,240 I am Jim Fossown. 494 00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:26,640 It's been a pleasure to be your host. 495 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:31,360 I'm a Veterans Disability Lawyer at Legal Help for Veterans and you can reach us at 496 00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:38,920 800-6934800 or legalhelpforveterans.com on the web. 497 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:43,800 You can follow Veterans Radio on Facebook and listen to its podcasts and internet radio 498 00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:48,440 shows by visiting us at veteransradio.org. 499 00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:51,160 That's veteransradio.org. 500 00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:54,360 And until next time, you are dismissed. 501 00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:58,840 If you have a VA claim denied by the Board of Veterans Appeals, contact Legal Help for 502 00:30:58,840 --> 00:31:03,080 Veterans at 1-800-6934800. 503 00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:07,120 They're experts in handling cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. 504 00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:11,040 Their number again, 1-800-6934800. 505 00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:16,680 We again want to thank our national sponsors, the National Veterans Business Development 506 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:25,560 Council, NVBDC.org, VA Ann Arbor Health Care System, the Vietnam Veterans of America, 507 00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:34,560 Charles S. Kells Chapter, Ann Arbor, Michigan, VFW Graf O'Hara Post 423 in Ann Arbor, and 508 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:40,500 the American Legion Press Corn Post 46 also in Ann Arbor. 509 00:31:40,500 --> 00:31:41,960 We appreciate all your support. 510 00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:49,000 You can go to veteransradio.net, click on the sponsor level and continue to support 511 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:52,000 keeping Veterans Radio on the air. 512 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:56,480 And until next time, you are dismissed. 513 00:31:56,480 --> 00:32:01,040 With the Lucky Land Sluts, you can get lucky just about anywhere. 514 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:02,680 This is your captain speaking. 515 00:32:02,680 --> 00:32:06,000 We've got clear runway and the weather's fine, but we're just going to circle up here a while 516 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:07,000 and get lucky. 517 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:09,000 No, no, nothing like that. 518 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:10,920 It's just these cash prizes add up quick. 519 00:32:10,920 --> 00:32:15,120 So I suggest you sit back, keep your tray table upright and start getting lucky. 520 00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:18,280 Play for free at LuckyLandSluts.com. 521 00:32:18,280 --> 00:32:19,880 Are you feeling lucky? 522 00:32:19,880 --> 00:32:20,880 No purchase necessary. 523 00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:22,560 Boyd were prohibited by law. 524 00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:24,680 18 plus terms and conditions apply. 525 00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:51,080 Check out the website for details.