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 --> 00:00:15,680 This is Veterans Radio. 3 00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:17,840 Welcome to Veterans Radio. 4 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:20,520 I am Jim Fossone. 5 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:22,840 I'm the officer of the deck today. 6 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:24,680 We've got some great programs for you. 7 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:29,520 We always want to remind you you can find more about Veterans Radio at its Facebook 8 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:35,200 site or at the web veteransradio.org where we're on the web 24-7. 9 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:38,320 You can find a lot of our podcasts there as well. 10 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:44,960 We post new ones every Tuesday so you can get a new story, a new interview, something 11 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:49,600 you didn't know before by going to veteransradio.org. 12 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:53,000 Before we get started we want to thank our sponsors. 13 00:00:53,000 --> 00:01:00,840 First up we want to thank National Veteran Business Development Council, NVBDC.org. 14 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:06,520 It was established to certify both service disabled and veteran owned businesses. 15 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:13,040 You'll find out how they can help your business by going to NVBDC.org. 16 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:16,560 We want to thank Legal Help for Veterans. 17 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:22,080 Legal Help for Veterans fights for veterans disability rights all across the nation. 18 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:33,240 You can reach them at 800-693-4800 or on the web at legalhelpforveterans.com. 19 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:36,040 And finally, Pure Clean. 20 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:38,680 Pure Clean is the paramedics of property damage. 21 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:44,520 It provides water damage remediation, flood water removal, fire and smoke damage remediation, 22 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:48,000 mold removal, biohazard cleanup. 23 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:52,240 It also has a focus on veteran franchisees. 24 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:57,200 You can learn more about them by going to pureclean.com. 25 00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:04,000 We want to welcome to Veterans Radio today a couple of board members of Folds of Honor 26 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:06,440 Motor City chapter. 27 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:11,600 This is going to be a discussion about what Folds of Honor is and does and what they're 28 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:16,400 doing in the state of Michigan in particular with these board members in an upcoming event 29 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:18,120 that they've got. 30 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:22,160 Let me start with get some introductions here. 31 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:24,960 John Peltier is a member of the board. 32 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:31,000 He served in the Air Force for, oh, it looks like seven, eight years. 33 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:33,840 John, welcome to Veterans Radio. 34 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:34,840 Thank you very much, Jim. 35 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:35,840 I appreciate it. 36 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:36,840 And thank you for having us on. 37 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:37,840 We're glad to. 38 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:40,720 And Bill Floor is the, he's got the fancy title. 39 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:43,280 He's the regional impact officer. 40 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:46,080 And we'll have him explain what all that means later. 41 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:48,680 But Bill, welcome to Veterans Radio. 42 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:49,680 Yeah. 43 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:50,680 Thank you very much for having me. 44 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:51,680 Appreciate it. 45 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,360 Well, I'll let either one of you take this first thing. 46 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:59,280 I think most people who are listening to Veterans Radio are veterans and friends and 47 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:04,800 that probably have heard of Folds of Honor because it's a big national organization. 48 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:07,440 But why don't you tell us a little bit about it? 49 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:08,440 Yeah. 50 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:10,400 So again, thanks a lot. 51 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:18,720 But so it was started right here in Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2007, when our founder, Lieutenant 52 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:25,800 Colonel Dan Rooney was coming back from his second tour duty and was on a flight with 53 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:31,080 unfortunately a fallen soldier and decided that he wanted to do something, had a small 54 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:37,680 golf event up in Grand Haven called the Grand Haven Golf Club, raised a little bit of money, 55 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:42,640 but for the family and then decided to create Folds of Honor. 56 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:47,840 And what Folds of Honor does is provide educational scholarships to families of wounded and fallen 57 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:51,600 veterans as well as first responders. 58 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:59,560 So and then, you know, look about, you know, 15 years later or so, we now have the American 59 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:05,600 Dunes Golf Course up in Grand Haven, which all the proceeds and profit from that golf 60 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:09,840 course go right into our scholarship program. 61 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:16,720 And in this, just after this year, we have donated over 62,000 scholarships totaling 62 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:21,000 over about $296 million. 63 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:27,120 Well and Folds of Honor is a 501C3 nonprofit organization. 64 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:33,760 Tell me about the, well, let's do this because I made fun of you a bit, begin with Bill. 65 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:36,280 What is the regional impact officer? 66 00:04:36,280 --> 00:04:39,320 Are you the guys that go around and punch people if they don't contribute? 67 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:40,320 Exactly. 68 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:41,320 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 69 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:45,480 If they don't support our mission, we go around, you know, slash entire, yeah. 70 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:51,320 No, so I handle the state of Michigan for the Folds of Honor and I work closely with 71 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:57,600 the Motor City chapter as well as the Michigan chapter and American Dunes up in Grand Haven. 72 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:04,040 So I kind of, I'm just support for all of them and I'm really a conduit between them 73 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:11,840 and the context with, you know, a lot of our corporate partners and fundraising efforts 74 00:05:11,840 --> 00:05:14,080 all over the state. 75 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:19,400 It's really an amazing number of, you said it, I want to slow down and say it again because 76 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:21,400 it's so amazing. 77 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:24,440 62,000 scholarships. 78 00:05:24,440 --> 00:05:25,680 Yes. 79 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:30,760 Over $290 million in all 50 states. 80 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:32,040 Yep. 81 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:35,520 Talk to us about the students who get these scholarships. 82 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:38,000 That's a whole lot of kids. 83 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:45,320 It is an amazing amount of kids and we continue to grow really every year. 84 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:52,960 You know, so we handed out in 2024, like just the end of this past year, 11,000 scholarships, 85 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:58,240 but we still had 8,000 applicants that we could not fill. 86 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:01,760 I mean, that's how much we're growing. 87 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:06,600 And so these students are all, you know, they can be the children. 88 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:11,280 They can also be the spouses of a fallen or wounded vet or first responders. 89 00:06:11,280 --> 00:06:16,800 So it's really, you know, there's no better way than to help a family than just to provide 90 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:18,680 an educational experience. 91 00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:22,160 And that's exactly what we do. 92 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:30,880 And tell us a little bit maybe about the, this is a scholarship educational support 93 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:32,280 in a whole lot of directions. 94 00:06:32,280 --> 00:06:37,520 We're not just talking, hey, if you go to an Ivy League college, we'll help fund it, 95 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:38,520 is it? 96 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:39,520 No, definitely not. 97 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:42,400 No, it's, it's trade schools. 98 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:46,440 It's, it's a private education for elementary elementary. 99 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:47,440 Yep. 100 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:49,600 All the way down Michigan, Michigan state. 101 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:50,680 It's Lawrence Tech. 102 00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:58,760 It's, you know, it's really any school that the child or spouse chooses. 103 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:05,440 One of the other things that I was sort of surprised at is the makeup of the scholarship 104 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:09,040 recipients, which I think something to brag a little bit about. 105 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:12,040 So can you talk about that some? 106 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:13,040 Yeah. 107 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:21,600 So like you said, there's 45% of our recipients are minority based. 108 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:26,720 So you know, we're very diverse just like the country we live in, right? 109 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:33,280 And you know, out of every dollar, 91 cents goes into that scholarship program. 110 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:39,880 So we're very high rated as far as the charity is concerned, but we're incredibly diverse. 111 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:45,160 You know, when you look at, you know, the military, the first responders, there's not 112 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:52,120 a single person that, that talk about, you know, race or anything like that, but we're 113 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:56,200 so diverse inside of all those units. 114 00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:58,120 That's exactly the way our country is. 115 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:01,240 And that's exactly we are organization is as well. 116 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:02,240 Exactly. 117 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:09,120 It mirrors what the society is and what the, our, our base is with the military. 118 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:15,280 And you know, I think it's a, John mentioned, I think at the outset that he spent about 119 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:19,040 eight years in the Air Force and Air National Guard. 120 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:23,760 So I kind of know where you're coming from maybe in getting involved in this, but explain 121 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:26,520 to us, why did you get involved? 122 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:27,520 Sure. 123 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:32,280 As I'd mentioned to you prior to the call, I had worked at a company in Canton and we 124 00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:37,600 have a gentleman who is our president, Russ Brunner, who is, he's a great patriot and he 125 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:40,080 just felt there was a need to do something around here. 126 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:44,720 There really wasn't that much presence for this type of organization. 127 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:50,360 So he had rounded up a few friends and kind of was kicking around the idea, made a few 128 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:52,160 calls to folds of honor. 129 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:56,520 They had said, well, here, just have a golf outing for us, which is, which is a very 130 00:08:56,520 --> 00:08:58,720 common thing. 131 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:01,320 And maybe you'll raise $5,000 or such. 132 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:05,520 Well, we ended up raising about $35,000 at first year. 133 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:11,400 And my boss was a former Marine and he had mentioned to Russ that I would probably be 134 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:17,960 a good candidate with the number of contacts I have as well as my military experience. 135 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:19,720 So he'd asked me to join the board too. 136 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:23,440 So that all started in 2017 from the very get-go. 137 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:29,440 And since then, we have raised multi-millions of dollars with our board. 138 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:35,240 So we've really progressed through the tough times. 139 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:36,920 It's kind of tight right now. 140 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:42,280 We're really struggling for sponsorships, which is one of the reasons we're really trying 141 00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:46,560 to hit the pavement this time of year while budgets are being created. 142 00:09:46,560 --> 00:09:49,920 So in a nutshell, that's what I had done. 143 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:51,880 I'm a huge fan of the military. 144 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:58,840 My dad was a loadmaster, a 24-year Air Force veteran, a retired E-9. 145 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:00,320 I followed in his footsteps. 146 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:02,320 And here we are today. 147 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:06,800 He is still supporting our military men and women and first responders now. 148 00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:10,920 Well, let's face it, your dad is a loadmaster. 149 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:15,360 He knew how to pack the station wagon for vacations, didn't he? 150 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:16,880 You would not believe. 151 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:17,880 Absolutely. 152 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:21,880 Absolutely he did. 153 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:27,600 And so John was volunt told to get involved in this organization and dove deep into it 154 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:30,520 and is doing a great job. 155 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:33,240 Bill, how did you get involved? 156 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:35,920 Well, John actually got me involved. 157 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:40,760 So I was a baseball coach for a long time at Northville High School. 158 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:47,560 We would do Armed Forces days there where we would just teach our players and stuff about 159 00:10:47,560 --> 00:10:52,680 the sacrifices of so many that allow them to play high school baseball and be free. 160 00:10:52,680 --> 00:10:55,640 And started raising some pretty good money. 161 00:10:55,640 --> 00:11:01,320 We had a concert in downtown Northville that raised about $40,000 for our homes for our 162 00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:03,280 troops. 163 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:08,600 And John got wind of it because I was working at Staples at the time and John was a customer. 164 00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:14,880 And they brought me in, started talking about Folds of Honor and what I did on the side. 165 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:18,360 And John was like, hey, would you consider picking Folds of Honor? 166 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:19,280 And I'm like, sure. 167 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:24,440 So we had another event downtown Northville with the killer Flamingos raised about another 168 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:28,120 $45,000, I think, for Folds of Honor. 169 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:32,120 And then all of a sudden they were asking me to join their board. 170 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:35,200 And I've always had a great passion for the military. 171 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:42,680 And being in baseball, we went out to San Diego and saw how much the Padres were part of the 172 00:11:42,680 --> 00:11:44,160 naval community out there. 173 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:46,440 And we wanted to do that here. 174 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:48,000 So we did. 175 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:51,640 And it's been a huge part of my life, that's for sure. 176 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:53,360 He's a little bit humble, Jim. 177 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:59,360 If you see his basement, he is a World War II aficionado. 178 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:04,160 And that's kind of what one of the events he put on in Northville High School, he had 179 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:06,760 displays out front of Northville High School. 180 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:07,760 And it was humbling. 181 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:09,560 It was very humbling. 182 00:12:09,560 --> 00:12:11,160 And he is a true patriot. 183 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:14,560 And he does a ton for pretty much for everybody. 184 00:12:14,560 --> 00:12:21,320 Well, I really think it's important that our youth get educated, if you will, on the value 185 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:22,320 of the military. 186 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:24,280 And few people serve right. 187 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:28,480 And so often it's a family tradition. 188 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:33,760 Your dad did it, and my dad did it, and I did it, and my wife did it sort of thing. 189 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:38,160 But there's just too many people who go through life in this country without realizing the 190 00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:41,400 sacrifices that have to be made to protect our freedoms. 191 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:49,760 And as you say, they can't be playing baseball free of any worries unless there was a military 192 00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:52,520 protecting those freedoms and liberties. 193 00:12:52,520 --> 00:13:02,760 So this is a great melding of Bill's athletic experiences, educational experiences, and 194 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:05,400 military concerns or military knowledge. 195 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:10,040 So Bill, that explains why you're the regional impact officer. 196 00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:17,240 And that also explains that you probably have a baseball bat in your trunk. 197 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:21,640 Back to my original thought of what the regional impact officer was doing. 198 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:30,080 So one of the things that has expanded over time is the families that are eligible for 199 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:35,760 these scholarships goes beyond just military members nowadays, doesn't it? 200 00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:38,400 Yeah, it definitely does. 201 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:46,480 Again, in 2022, on September 11th, our CEO, Lieutenant Colonel Rooney, had made the announcement 202 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:52,000 that we are going to start supporting first responders, including the police, the fire, 203 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:57,680 and EMS, just for the simple fact that they do the same type of mission only internally 204 00:13:57,680 --> 00:14:04,960 in the US, providing that blanket of safety and support for medical situations and fire 205 00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:08,760 whenever called upon 24-7, 365. 206 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:12,720 So that need was great. 207 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:19,360 They have fallen officers, we've unfortunately seen that grow at certain times. 208 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:21,560 So the support there is needed. 209 00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:26,520 We're trying to get that message out to many of the different units. 210 00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:31,080 And we've had a lot of good luck with the folks up in the Linden area. 211 00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:34,280 They've got the fire department very involved. 212 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:38,680 And we've got a few of the honor guards here that we have at all of our events, our golf 213 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:44,200 event in September and then our Gala again in March, which is kind of the repetition 214 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:47,040 that we've been using each year. 215 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:48,960 So yeah, they definitely need the support. 216 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:52,960 There is that need, and we are here to help fulfill it. 217 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:57,080 One of the things that I guess I wanted to get across, because this interview will be 218 00:14:57,080 --> 00:15:02,400 heard all across the country, is talk to us, and Bill, maybe you're the best spot to do 219 00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:03,400 it. 220 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:08,920 So, Fulge of Honor is a national charity, isn't it? 221 00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:09,920 100%. 222 00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:10,920 Yes, sir. 223 00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:16,000 Yeah, so we're in 35 states right now, so we have 35 chapters. 224 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:21,640 We've got five more that should be up and running in a couple of months here. 225 00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:23,160 So we'll be at 40. 226 00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:27,040 So we have multiple, obviously in the state of Michigan. 227 00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:34,480 So Lieutenant Kerr-Rumey is based out of Tulsa, so that's where our national is located. 228 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:39,560 But yeah, basically every state, pretty close, you should be able to find a Fulge of Honor 229 00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:40,560 chapter. 230 00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:47,480 Well, let's talk about how folks can go online and learn more about Fulge of Honor and see 231 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:52,840 if there's something in their state or see if there's a way for them to be in touch. 232 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:56,160 So where would they go to do that, John? 233 00:15:56,160 --> 00:16:05,240 Well, we've got regional, each different Fulge of Honor chapter has their own website and 234 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:11,720 contact points and information regarding what their events are, as well as the national 235 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:14,000 Fulge of Honor webpage. 236 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:21,560 So you can, even the Fulge of Honor is FulgeofHonorMotorCity.org. 237 00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:25,600 And they can reach out and take a look on our website and we try to keep that updated 238 00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:27,640 with our events. 239 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:29,680 We've got swag that we try to sell. 240 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:36,400 We handle, go to different events that support our cause like the golf show and different 241 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:37,880 car events. 242 00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:43,300 And just wherever we see a kind of a good fit, we try to attend those events. 243 00:16:43,300 --> 00:16:46,280 So mainly we are on all social medias. 244 00:16:46,280 --> 00:16:48,200 We've got a big presence on Facebook. 245 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:51,600 We've got a presence on Instagram as well. 246 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:56,040 So we can also be found just by using the search engine and going on there and looking 247 00:16:56,040 --> 00:17:03,400 for Fulge of Honor MotorCity or Fulge of Honor, and Fulge of Honor national lists all of the 248 00:17:03,400 --> 00:17:04,560 chapter locations. 249 00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:07,880 So that's a good place to see if they're represented. 250 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:09,160 There's one in Toledo. 251 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:13,200 So if you're bandwidth spreads down Toledo, those people will know about it, the Motor 252 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:16,140 City and then again in Grand Haven or Grand Rapids. 253 00:17:16,140 --> 00:17:22,200 So that's three within this region that are available for the people to focus their attention 254 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:25,320 on and look for opportunities for scholarship applications. 255 00:17:25,320 --> 00:17:26,320 Yeah. 256 00:17:26,320 --> 00:17:29,600 You'll also see, I'm sorry, didn't mean to catch you out there, but you'll also see 257 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:32,920 our logo on so many products out there. 258 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:37,600 Budweiser is obviously our biggest supporter. 259 00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:41,600 They've donated over $23 million since we've started. 260 00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:48,040 So you'll see our logo every summer on Budweiser and on their trucks all over the United States. 261 00:17:48,040 --> 00:17:53,680 But Budweiser and Pretzel's catch up, Red Gold catch up and Coca-Cola. 262 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:59,040 I mean, you'll see our folded fly with the Fulge of Honor written right underneath it 263 00:17:59,040 --> 00:18:01,200 on so many products across the nation. 264 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:02,200 Yeah. 265 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:07,000 I want to direct people to the Fulge of Honor dot org of the national. 266 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:08,280 There's a up on the banner. 267 00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:10,960 There's a chapters and there's three in Texas. 268 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:14,960 For example, there's three in Florida, a couple in California. 269 00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:21,520 So they're really spread from, that looks like Boston to Southern California, really 270 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:22,800 all across the state. 271 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:27,520 They got to get the Pacific Northwest involved a little bit and some other states, I suspect 272 00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:29,600 those are the ones that are being worked on. 273 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:31,440 But you brought it up. 274 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:36,480 I want to expand on this a little bit because you can't do this kind of work without significant 275 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:37,480 support. 276 00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:41,640 You have a lot of corporate sponsors at the national level and again, those are listed 277 00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:43,400 on the national site. 278 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:45,400 Who are your sponsors? 279 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:51,360 Who are on the corporate side is helping folds of honor Motor City? 280 00:18:51,360 --> 00:18:52,360 Yeah. 281 00:18:52,360 --> 00:18:54,760 So you're so right. 282 00:18:54,760 --> 00:19:00,680 We could not do this without any partner, corporate or personal private partner. 283 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:09,040 But so like locally Motor City lineage logistics is a very huge partner McDermott, Coppercraft. 284 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:15,160 We're coming out with a new folds of honor whiskey that's a, I probably should have said 285 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:18,640 that because I'm spilling the beans, but it's coming out this summer. 286 00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:20,640 Where's your back? 287 00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:22,040 Yeah, a little advance. 288 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:23,040 Yeah. 289 00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:24,040 Okay. 290 00:19:24,040 --> 00:19:30,360 In Michigan, but like Jacob Matthew Jewelers, Allied Insurance, Panasonic Automotive is 291 00:19:30,360 --> 00:19:31,360 huge. 292 00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:37,080 Eotech, Kendra Scott, BetTech. 293 00:19:37,080 --> 00:19:40,880 And then coming on board soon is Meyer. 294 00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:44,080 I mean, I think people in Michigan know Meyer a little bit. 295 00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:45,080 Absolutely. 296 00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:46,080 Yeah. 297 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:51,280 As well as Spartan Nash grocery stores, you're going to see a lot of stuff in 2025 and both 298 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:54,520 of those retail outlets. 299 00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:59,640 They're just unbelievably patriotic, but community oriented as well. 300 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:04,600 Well those kind of corporate partners are really what help so many charities do good 301 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:07,240 work and you guys are doing good work. 302 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:12,680 Very highly rated by charity navigator and guide star. 303 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:16,680 So from somebody who's thinking about, well, if I make a donation, is it going to the right 304 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:17,680 place? 305 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:24,040 What's, how much of it's going to really the scholarship work versus promoting the organization? 306 00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:26,760 So you can look them up there too. 307 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:31,080 But it's, you got to have corporate support, but you also have the individual support because 308 00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:34,000 that's where volunteers come from. 309 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:35,520 And that's what that's funny. 310 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:40,880 You say that because we don't have a ton of paid employees like John here and Russ at 311 00:20:40,880 --> 00:20:41,880 all of our board members. 312 00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:43,760 They're all volunteers. 313 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:48,640 They're all volunteers and you know, being in Motor City, you know, you know how Detroit 314 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:49,640 is man. 315 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:54,640 Everybody wants to give and help and you know, we're looking for those motor partners, the 316 00:20:54,640 --> 00:21:00,840 Ford's and GM's and all those tier ones to hop on board with all of our volunteers with 317 00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:07,040 corporate sponsorship as well as, you know, their veteran giving and cause marketing that 318 00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:08,280 they have. 319 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:14,160 But so many volunteers and that's why we're so good at the gold star, you know, 91 cents 320 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:15,680 is our rating. 321 00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:16,680 It's just unbelievable. 322 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:17,680 Not the overhead. 323 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:18,680 Yeah. 324 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:19,680 Just memo overhead. 325 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:20,680 Yeah. 326 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:26,040 And where I'm trying to go is you got to get the individuals out and one way to get individuals 327 00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:30,760 out is their participation in a couple of your signature events and you have a signature 328 00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:34,000 event coming up in March of 2025. 329 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:37,280 One of you want to tell us about it? 330 00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:38,280 Yeah. 331 00:21:38,280 --> 00:21:43,680 So it's our Gala that we do. 332 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:50,000 It's right at St. John's, which is absolutely just one of the most beautiful resorts like 333 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:51,720 in Plymouth, Michigan. 334 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:54,840 It's great and they're really great partners. 335 00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:57,040 But it's a red, white, blue Gala. 336 00:21:57,040 --> 00:22:01,440 It's March 15th, rated St. John's. 337 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:07,960 You know, we'll have probably about 350 people in there and it's just great to learn about 338 00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:08,960 our mission. 339 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:12,360 You'll hear stories of our recipients. 340 00:22:12,360 --> 00:22:16,000 There's a ton of military and veterans that attend. 341 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:17,720 You know, Rich Luterman is our emcee. 342 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:19,320 He's been from day one. 343 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:21,160 And this will be our fifth one this year. 344 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:25,000 I mean, our fifth one so far. 345 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:28,520 And Rich, all I do is I call Rich and he's like, yep, I'm in because, you know, he's 346 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:36,200 an Air Force veteran himself, but he's our emcee and it's just an unbelievable patriotic 347 00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:38,400 night. 348 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:43,760 Rich Luterman, I love the general and I worked with him many times, but I got to tell this 349 00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:44,760 little story. 350 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:46,720 He is a local weatherman. 351 00:22:46,720 --> 00:22:50,440 He was a meteorologist in the Air Force. 352 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:52,000 He was stationed in Hawaii. 353 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:56,480 I said, Rich, that's got to be the best job in the Air Force. 354 00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:57,720 He goes, oh, absolutely. 355 00:22:57,720 --> 00:23:00,600 You got up every day and said, it's sunny. 356 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:02,280 It chance a rain. 357 00:23:02,280 --> 00:23:03,280 And then it's going to be breezy. 358 00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:04,360 And then it's going to be sunny. 359 00:23:04,360 --> 00:23:05,360 And that was it. 360 00:23:05,360 --> 00:23:06,360 You're done. 361 00:23:06,360 --> 00:23:07,480 It's the same forecast every day. 362 00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:09,800 So Rich Luterman is a great patriot. 363 00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:16,440 So that's a great person to have at your red, white and blue Gala on March 15th of 2025 364 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:18,800 at the Inn at St. John's. 365 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:27,160 If people are interested in attending or supporting Folds of Honor Motor City, John, what's the 366 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:30,880 best way for them to do that? 367 00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:36,200 Go to our website, our initial, our Motor City website, and there is a link on there 368 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:38,040 to One Cause. 369 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:44,440 And One Cause is basically our platform that we use for the ticket sales and merchandise, 370 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:51,400 any type of financial functions that we try to, we route them through that One Cause. 371 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:55,960 And or you could reach out to Bill Floor. 372 00:23:55,960 --> 00:24:04,480 Bill's email address is bfloorflohr at FoldsofHonor.org. 373 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:10,600 And Bill is, he takes, he fields a lot of those calls, especially from some of the higher-level 374 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:11,800 sponsorships. 375 00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:13,240 But go to that location. 376 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:15,360 You'll see that information on there. 377 00:24:15,360 --> 00:24:18,800 We try to keep it on our Facebook page as well, and it will take you right to ticket 378 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:19,800 sales. 379 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:23,840 It will also provide opportunities for sponsorships on there as well. 380 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:26,080 So that's one of the main things that we're looking for. 381 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:32,040 We generally get a decent number of individuals, but we're always, always pounding the pavement 382 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:34,480 looking for additional sponsors. 383 00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:37,320 And I think that's a repetitive theme you've heard here today. 384 00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:38,320 Absolutely. 385 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:41,840 That's why we like to give a little, give you an opportunity to talk about those corporate 386 00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:46,320 sponsors because they're so important to an organization. 387 00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:54,200 I want to thank both John Peltier and Bill Floor with Folds of Honor Motor City and Folds 388 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:59,040 of Honor Michigan for educating us a little bit about the great work that they're doing 389 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:07,960 in providing scholarships to those spouses and children of fallen military members and 390 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:10,680 also the first responders. 391 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:11,880 You guys are doing great work. 392 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:15,720 We wish you the best of luck on March 15th. 393 00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:20,720 And if we can continue to promote you, both on social media and elsewhere, be assured 394 00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:22,840 we will do so. 395 00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:26,200 We greatly appreciate it and we greatly appreciate your time, Jim. 396 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:30,040 This has been a fantastic opportunity for us. 397 00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:31,040 Absolutely. 398 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:33,160 Thank you so much, man. 399 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:34,160 Thanks gentlemen. 400 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:37,240 And I want to thank everybody for listening to Veterans Radio today. 401 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:38,720 I am Jim Fossone. 402 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:41,040 It's been a pleasure to be your host. 403 00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:45,800 I'm a Veterans Disability Lawyer at Legal Help for Veterans and you can reach us at 404 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:53,360 800-693-4800 or LegalHelpforVeterans.com on the web. 405 00:25:53,360 --> 00:25:58,240 You can follow Veterans Radio on Facebook and listen to its podcasts and internet radio 406 00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:02,880 shows by visiting us at veteransradio.org. 407 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:05,480 That's veteransradio.org. 408 00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:11,120 We again want to thank our national sponsors, the National Veterans Business Development 409 00:26:11,120 --> 00:26:15,040 Council, NVBDC.org. 410 00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:21,960 Legal Help for Veterans, a Veterans Disability Law Firm with a national practice before the 411 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:27,160 VA can help you on your claims and your appeals. 412 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:35,960 Preparations can be reached at LegalHelpforVeterans.com or 1-800-693-4800. 413 00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:40,760 And PuroClean, a leader in property emergency services. 414 00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:47,000 It's the paramedics of property damage, providing water damage remediation, flood water removal, 415 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:52,680 fire and smoke damage remediation, mold and biohazard cleanups. 416 00:26:52,680 --> 00:27:01,000 You can reach them at PuroClean.com or 800-775-7876. 417 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:03,920 We also want to thank our local sponsors. 418 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:11,760 This would include the Charles S. Kettles chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America, 419 00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:13,600 that's chapter 310. 420 00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:21,080 VFW, Graff O'Hara Post 423, the American Legion, Irwin Preskin Post 46 in Ann Arbor 421 00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:27,080 as well, the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, and certainly the National Vietnam Veterans 422 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:29,240 of America Association. 423 00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:36,440 You can be a sponsor by going to veteransradio.org, clicking on the About Us in our sponsors, 424 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:37,440 and help us out. 425 00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:43,080 Keep this program alive for the 21 and 22 years. 426 00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:44,680 Keep us going for another 20. 427 00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:52,680 Thank you.