Intentional Leaders Podcast with Cyndi Wentland

The Meaningful Project That Changes Lives Forever: Inside the Honor Flight

• Cyndi

Share episode

A day that changes lives forever – that's how veterans describe their experience on the Honor Flight, a mission dedicated to honoring those who served by taking them to Washington D.C. to visit the memorials built in their honor.

Flight Operations Director Jodi McLean takes us behind the scenes of this remarkable program that has transformed the lives of over 5,000 veterans. With meticulous planning and coordination, Jodi orchestrates every detail of these flights, from arranging transportation to ensuring veterans receive the recognition many never got when returning from service.

The stories she shares are profoundly moving. A Vietnam veteran who couldn't approach the memorial wall for decades finally found healing through his service dog's support. Another veteran expressed, "I didn't know how broken I was. You helped fix me." These moments of closure are exactly why the Honor Flight exists – to give veterans the opportunity to process their experiences alongside fellow servicemembers who understand.

Perhaps most emotional is the welcome home ceremony, where thousands gather at the airport with bands playing, flags waving, and thunderous applause. For many veterans, especially those who served in Vietnam, it's the first time they've ever been properly thanked for their service. The "mail call" tradition on the return flight, where veterans receive letters of gratitude, brings many to tears as they realize the impact of their sacrifice.

The Honor Flight is completely free for veterans, with each flight costing approximately $135,000. There are 126 hubs across 44 states continuing this vital mission. Whether through donations, volunteering, letter-writing, or simply attending a welcome home ceremony, everyone can play a part in honoring those who served.

Want to witness something truly special? Attend a welcome home ceremony. As Jodi says, "You'll be all in by the end of the night." These are the moments that remind us of the importance of expressing gratitude and recognizing sacrifice – not just for veterans, but for everyone who has made a difference in our lives.

Volunteer: https://dcwelcome.honorflight.org/

Donate: https://www.honorflight.org/sponsorships/

Contact Honor Flight: https://www.honorflight.org/

#HonorFlight #Veterans #VeteranStories #MilitaryHeroes #WelcomeHome #Gratitude #NeverForget #HonorAndRemember #ServiceAndSacrifice #VeteranSupport

I'd love to hear from you! Send a text message.

Be the Best Leader You Know

Perform with Power, Lead with Impact, Inspire Growth

To sharpen your skills and increase your confidence, check out the Confident Leader Course: https://www.intentionaleaders.com/confident-leader

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Intentional Leaders Podcast. My name is Cindy Wetland and I am your host. This particular episode is going to be a little bit different. Today, we are going to talk about May 13th 2017. Why is that significant? Because that is the day my father and I had the honor and privilege to go on the Badger Honor Flight. If you are not familiar with this organization or this mission, it is about honoring veterans by taking them to Washington DC for a day in which they get to see all the different significant monuments that were developed and created to honor our veterans and our military. It is an amazing day, one that changed my life and my father's life, in which he was incredibly moved by this experience. The reason that I wanted to highlight this is to continue to educate more people about this opportunity and to give you ideas about how you can also support this very important mission.

Speaker 1:

Today, I have the distinct pleasure of interviewing Jodi McLean, who is the flight coordinator for the Honor Flight. She has been doing this for many years and is truly committed to the purpose and the intentions of this mission, so you'll get a chance to learn a little bit about her, but also about what this journey means to so many people and how it changes their lives, and there are hundreds of volunteers that bring this experience to life. For me, for my father, it was truly life-changing. He mentioned to me after we went through this experience he had served in the Korean War that he had never been thanked for his service, and think of all the veterans out there who haven't had that opportunity, who haven't really been truly shown the gratitude of grateful citizens and a grateful nation for what they did. So here's your chance to learn more about Jody McLean and also about the Badger Honor Flight.

Speaker 1:

Let's get started. Welcome to the episode today. And what we're going to talk about today is your role with the Badger Honor Flight. Even though you have a lot of other roles, like mom role, wife role, you have your work role as a leader in your own right in all those different spaces, and today we're going to specifically talk about the volunteering that you do from the Honor Flight. So, when you think about your involvement, what first drew you to this experience and to this mission and to this purpose?

Speaker 2:

I think you know, obviously my dad was a World War II vet never talked about his service. I mean, we saw a lot of photos and heard stories from his time in the service and served during World War II. At his funeral, you know, or after he had passed, you know from relatives or friends that had stopped by so always wanted to find a way to honor him. But, you know, wasn't sure what that was, and I happened to stumble across a VHF table set up at a Mallards game and I just you know what's this about, tell me more about it and just signed up to volunteer and took maybe about two meetings before I realized I had drunk the Kool-Aid and I was all in. This is something I definitely wanted to be a part of my life.

Speaker 1:

I think it's so great. I think it's so great, but what an interesting moment in time is that you didn't know your dad had experienced all those things. Right, like the memories come out after, and then it's like a missed opportunity and I feel like with that, with my dad, for a lot of things that you discover late and think I wish I would have known something about that or you knew more of the story about it. But now you get to be in a position where the story about it, but now you get to be in a position where people get to tell their stories and you get to be a part of that experience, which is great. So you are the flight coordinator. Is that your official title?

Speaker 2:

Flight operations director Okay.

Speaker 1:

So what does that mean? Let me think about that, yeah.

Speaker 2:

I mean so actually I often introduce myself as the chief cat herder, so I am responsible for basically coordinating all of the logistics that bring a flight together. So I arrange for the airplane, our buses once we get to DC, all of our tour stops. Once we get to DC, all of our tour stops, the putting together the itinerary, finding volunteers in the DC and getting us fed and watered and basically anything that you see happen on a flight day falls under my purview for responsibilities.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it's a lot. And even when I knew you were involved in it and when my dad and I did go on it, seeing you in action was like wow, and I already always knew like you're of coordination and planning and organization it takes and there's how many people typically on a flight.

Speaker 2:

The aircraft that we charter seats 189 people, so and then when you add in the DC volunteers that we pick up when we get there, I'm basically responsible for about 208 people on the ground in DC.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, see, that's crazy and the amount of logistics there around, all the things that you described, with the buses and even the traffic going. You know, I was thinking about being in DC and being on those buses and I get to be on your bus thanks to, probably, you. But what was so cool is, like the city, like we're here and everybody else get out of the way that it was really orchestrated in such a way to make sure the vets got to where they were going and had the opportunity to experience all these different sites in a very short period of time, and it was just so well orchestrated. So how long did it take you, as you started volunteering, to be in the role that you're in currently?

Speaker 2:

Let's see. So I started in 2011. I think it was the end of 2012 where I was asked to go on a flight as a volunteer. That's one of the things we do for, you know, if you're a standout volunteer and we're going to reward you and so we'll put you on the standby list. So I got to fly at the end of 2012 and I was just, I don't know, wrong place, right time, right place, wrong time talking to the person that was in the role previously and I just said, hey, tell me more about what you do.

Speaker 2:

And she's like well, actually I'm going to be stepping down. You know, is this something you might be interested in? And I'm, like you know, sure I'll have a conversation. I'm never going to shy away from having a conversation, but as I was learning about it, it just it fed my need because I'm a I'm a logistical person. So I my family would say I'm OCD, but I like things to be certain ways and I like to make sure everything fits in a box and I call it human Tetris sometimes of just so it feeds, you know. It feeds that need, but it also fills my, my tank with knowing that I'm giving back and serving a purpose.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely, and I think that's the that's the interesting contrast with the work you do is there's so many minute details in the orchestrating of this and all of that is to serve this higher purpose and to balance those two things of I'm going to orchestrate all these details, make sure it's perfect so that people can have that kind of amazing experience that I had with my dad. That was unbelievable, and from his perspective as well. So, as you think about the work that you've done and what are some of the most memorable stories you've heard from veterans on this flight, anything that jumps out to you that you want to share.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I think you know, obviously I have a lot of them came into mind as I was thinking about our conversation we were going to have today and, I think, one of the more recent ones. I think that struck real deep with me and I've kind of taken it and I can talk about changes that we've made in the organization because of it. But back in April of 23, we had the good fortune to take our first vet that required a service dog. So Larry was the vet and Winnie was his service dog. So this individual and I knew he had a story, but I didn't know what his story was.

Speaker 2:

So I actually ran into him and Winnie, after he had visited the wall at our stop at Korea, lincoln, vietnam, and I just, you know, asked him how he was doing and he, he pulled me aside and he told me a story and I I know I'm going to choke up a little, but he had been to DC numerous times but had never been able to approach the wall.

Speaker 2:

He just physically could not do it, mentally couldn't get past all of his barriers, and he told me why. So he was stationed in Vietnam and he got orders to take some R&R and so he had boarded a helicopter with the rest of his unit and at the last second his commanding officer pulled him off that helicopter, saying we need you to do something here. And moments after that helicopter took off it went down and his entire unit was perished in the crash. So he has had such survival guilt for so long and he said it's because of having Winnie by his side. He was finally. He felt he was comfortable enough to approach that wall, knowing he had a support system there for him, felt he was comfortable enough to approach that wall, knowing he had a support system there for him and that, just you know, tears were flowing.

Speaker 2:

But it was me that you know I had a part in doing that right. So I had to make all of the accommodations to get the dog, you know, on our plane, on our buses, but knowing that all of that work allowed him the opportunity to finally get some closure, yeah, it was amazing.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, of course, and isn't it? It's truly remarkable when I think we all go around in life not knowing the effect that we're having on others, you know, even if we are in a small or big way, but most of us don't know those things. And when you get to hear that directly and that story, and the profound nature of that story and how we experienced it, and knowing you were a piece of heart or bringing that together, I'm sure it just filled you with tremendous joy, right and satisfaction. That that's the part you get to play and I know for you it is about honoring each of these individuals, and sometimes they, you know. I think what's interesting about what you just told me is he was somehow stuck in an emotion that he couldn't let go of. You know that guilt, and a lot of us don't know all of those stories, of all of those many thousands of people that have those things stuck inside them right, without any outlet.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yep, yeah, and I think, just you know, walking away from that conversation, I'm like, okay, yep, we facilitated this happening. But the power that that dog had, like I walked away with my brain swimming with ideas of how we can take this one hurdle that we've crossed and make it a bigger thing, and so we've brought it back. I thought about it some more and it's like the dog. The dog is what provided the opportunity. So made a motion to the board that you know, hey, this, there's value here and there's if Larry had difficulty approaching, I'm sure there's lots of others that don't have, you know, the good fortune to have a service dog. So I pitched, made a pitch that we partner, collaborate with Custom Canine Service Dog Academy and take a dog on every flight with a handler, a trained handler. So we do that now and it's been a phenomenal success.

Speaker 1:

Oh, I love that. I love that, and again, it's the ripple effect of that one experience and you were able to bring that to life, like, okay, there's something here that we need to understand, an unmet need or an emotion that might need reconciling, and how can we make that happen? Yeah, that's awesome. Any other stories that jump out?

Speaker 2:

that's a big one, yeah you know, I think a lot. You know we, every flight, we get feedback, you know, solicited, unsolicited, from, uh, you know, vets, their guardians, their family, know, and it's all. There's a general theme of like. You know, I was humbled, it was an honor, a privilege. It's the first time I've been thanked for my service. It's amazing that in, you know, the military of today, that's just kind of it happens every day, right, but these older vets, you know, maybe didn't experience that, especially Vietnam. When they came home they were not met with the big parades like we get now. But you know, greatest day of my life, and then they get the elbow from the wife, second greatest day of my life, yeah, so you know, moved, honored yeah, it's all of the same words, I think.

Speaker 2:

Probably one of my other favorite stories was this was back in, I think, 2014. I had six vets from my hometown sign up to fly and they were all part of my dad's the same legion that my dad was part of. But one of those individuals was my high school social studies teacher, so you know, to learn about these monuments and wars from him and then to take him on an honor flight that was. That was kind of a full circle moment, a lot of fun yes, oh, for sure, for sure.

Speaker 1:

And to be able to watch him, you know, and then that seeing the history come to life, I'm sure was was awesome. Yeah, do you. So do you? I know, um, you said you get a lot of feedback on the flights and when you think about you know, you said there's a, there's a lot of emotion and there's sometimes a lack of closure that veterans have. What kind of closure do you think this brings them? For some of them, that's a great question.

Speaker 2:

I think, you know, for a lot of them they've never been to the wall, right. So it's the first time to see the memorial and to physically kind of touch those memories, right. So with the names engraved, they can go up and they can touch that. And I think just having that opportunity to maybe say goodbye I mean we do get a lot of, um, you know, written correspondence from vets, like one one that sticks out to me was, you know, I didn't know how broken I was, you helped fix me. So it's like just having that opportunity to be with my brothers, you know, and walk up to the wall together, was, I think. And then just, you know, the coming home You've been there right, the welcome home is way different.

Speaker 1:

Describe that to people, describe that to people who haven't been there. And the coming home, because I'll never forget the coming home.

Speaker 2:

I think Euphoric is a name that comes to mind. So if you've been to Dane County Regional Airport, it's not real big right, but we basically take over the entire airport. We've had upwards of, you know, 5000 people on the main floor of the terminal and it's bands and flag waving and cheers and clapping and, you know, sometimes punky badgers there. It's just there's so much going on and the minute they start coming down that escalator, it's just the crowd just erupts and for many of them it's the first time that they're being acknowledged, that they served and, you know, welcome home.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and that day, from the very start, you know again what you're orchestrating is a sense of honor and respect. And you know, I think, and having recently, you know, even more recently, seen it the you know introduction and getting on the flight and being, you know, there's the honor guard there, there's, you know, prayers that are said and then, as you said, the coming home there's, you know, prayers that are said and then, as you said, the coming home. But even when they get off the flight in DC and the celebratory nature of that and each place that they go to, but to me, like that, coming home is the icing on the cake and it's a big icing, it's really buttercream Best icing ever. And I will never forget the moment coming down the stairs with my dad and seeing that and experiencing it.

Speaker 1:

All I remember is I was super like hot and sweaty, like I get really self-conscious in front of that many people, and it wasn't about me at all, but it was more like oh my God, this is really a lot and it was huge. And then, a while back, I was traveling for work and I came home during an honor flight celebration and I just was walking through the terminal just bawling my eyes out and everyone was looking at me. What's going on? And I thought I just remember and that special moment. You could see people all the veterans coming down the stairs and just feeling like, oh my gosh, I can't believe. This is all for me, right.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, because they didn't experience that Not even you know career of World War II, even though that was you know a war under different circumstances, they still didn't get that welcome home.

Speaker 1:

So yeah, yeah, Jodi, I just love that you're so passionate about this. So how do you balance all this? And I know you, you know you have a need to be that organized person, but you balance this with your life. This is a lot of work. So, you know, as Brad has gotten more involved in the Honor Flight and starting to volunteer more and be a part of it, it's a lot of work. So how do you balance this with your you know full-time job, with your life? What are things that help you to do all this?

Speaker 2:

Um, that's a great question, cause sometimes I wonder but no, um, you do a lot of coffee, uh, diet Coke, diet Coke out, okay. It also helps to write that my child is now grown and kind of flown the nest, and so it's this, you know. But people sometimes to forget, though, that I also have, you know, a job that pays the bills. I have a job I love here with Honor Flight, but I have a job that I like and it pays the bills, so it's. It's just finding that balance, and having a supportive employer is awesome as well. My employer fully supports me and my role here, but they also support all employees and they actually pay us to pay so many hours a year to do volunteer work. So it's been a fabulous ride here with my newer-ish employee I changed during COVID.

Speaker 1:

Yes, yes, and isn't that wonderful to feel like, okay, I'm not, I'm not cheating on you over here. You actually know fully what I'm doing and engaged in, and you're not only you know like okay with it, you're actively supporting this, as I mean. That's a really great culture to be a part of.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and I get the. You know, I get the chance to to tie them together as well, because I'm uh, my employer has a different employee resource groups and so I'm actually the co-chair of the military um resource group. So I've kind of woven Badger Honor Flight into what I do and and so it just kind of melds.

Speaker 2:

but you know I make it work. I you know work hours are my paying job. And then all of the Badger, honor, flight stuff comes after work and again, just having done it for so long, I feel like I've I really have a pattern and knowing what needs to be done in the timeline, it helps keep it all on task.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, for sure, and I think what's cool about that is is kind of the story you talked about the feedback too. When you have a good strategy and good practices and good habits, then when you get feedback about something else like a new idea the service dog is a great example it's more like, oh, let's figure out this, how to make it better. And I think that's what I appreciate about what you're doing too, and what the whole board is doing in the Honor Flight is you are looking for making it better and what are those best practices with other hubs? What are they doing? How do we get better at this and what are those best practices and what can we do to take it to the next level. And that's a big commitment because it is so much to orchestrate right now. Just keeping the current pace and state going.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's something we do after every flight. It's called an after action review. So every flight we sit down and go okay, what, what went well, what didn't go well and where do we have opportunities? And most of our you know this 60 flights in, you know most of ours are landing in that. What are our opportunities? Because we're always looking to, you know, make something even better than the product we already have. We get a lot of feedback from you. Know well-oiled machines, so it's you know nothing's ever broken A lot of times.

Speaker 2:

if things do go wrong you know buses break down, lifts break. You know we get behind schedule. I work really hard to make sure that the vets don't even notice that We've had buses break down at stops and we've transferred them out, switched them out, and vets don't even know they're on a different bus when we leave. Yeah, move everything seat by seat while they're not at the buses.

Speaker 1:

So yeah, you're an amazing problem solver too. I mean, I know how organized and detailed you are, but that requires exceptional problem-solving skills to do that on the fly and to remain what ruffles you, jodi Does anything ruffle you.

Speaker 2:

Well, it all ruffles me, but I internalize it because I'm if you, you know, could ever get inside my brain on flight day like it's going probably from about midnight on, because I'm just always I'm trying to plan like three stops ahead, okay, what might be the barriers and, and a lot of it just really comes down to to communicating with my team. So, yeah, there's bus captains, there's tour guides, all of that. Just keeping that communication open, um, and just trying to think forward and don't dwell on, okay, yep, this happened. Now we just just got to move forward, we got to figure out how to fix it and keep going. We're not going to spend time.

Speaker 2:

We can talk about, you know, in the after action what broke down and just networking. You know, because I've been in this position long enough, bed, your Honor Flight has a really good reputation at the national level. So we're kind of looked at as one of those best practice hubs. So we get a lot of requests, you know, to, hey, come help us, but just having that network too. So if something happens in DC and if there's other hubs in town, I can reach out to those leaders and say, hey, you know, hey, you know, this road is shut down, just giving you an FYI or hey, what did you guys do for this issue? So it's a lot of networking. I'd say a lot of this job is just networking. Know where to go when you have a question, who to talk to, who can be helpful.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and so, when you think about this and your day job, how do those two Jodi leadership styles align and how are they different?

Speaker 2:

That's a great question. I think there's probably some symmetry in that. You know, I'm a leader in both of my roles. I'd say I probably have a little bit more I don't know forward thinking. My day job tends to be somewhat a little bit more reactive, not as much strategizing. That's done at a little bit higher level at my employer. So you know, while there's some of it, I feel like I have very good control of what my team can work on in the, you know, the then and now space, and then on our flight, I'm always thinking ahead OK, we have three flights in the in the fall, but my mind is already thinking of OK, what do we want to change for spring of 26, or what do we want?

Speaker 2:

to work on in spring of 26?.

Speaker 1:

So, ok, yeah, interesting, and so I just I just think that's it's so cool because you have so many skills and the ability to use all of those things in the different environments based on what's required. What's needed and being able to bring your whole self to both of those jobs is really pretty awesome. You, as well, was to talk about how people can support the Honor Flight. How can leaders in our community even get involved in supporting this mission and this purpose in a meaningful way, and what would be your ask of people, not just around here, but anywhere, because there's hubs throughout the country, as you said? Of course, we're amazing here in Madison.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, there's about 126 hubs in 44 states, so we are nationwide. I thought about this question a lot and this is like my mind sorry, it never shuts off. So even when I'm out exercising and walking my three miles a day, my brain is spinning about things, and one of the things, as a co-chair of the military employee resource group at my employer, I'm like you know what. I bet you there's a lot of other employers in town that have employee resource groups, especially veterans or military, and is there a way, even though we all have different focuses or different businesses we may be competitors is there a way we can come together to support our veterans in our larger community? So that's something I've been trying to figure out. You know what? What's something we could do together.

Speaker 2:

As far as you know Badger, on our flight individually, you know right now we're doing a huge push. Our waiting list is is down right Because we're flying six times a year about 90 veterans each flight. So we've been flying Korean War veterans since 2018. He applied just within the last week because he wanted to make sure all of the combat Vietnam vets got there first. Aww, you were in the military, between you know, december 7th 1941 through May 7th 1975. In any capacity you are eligible.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

So you know, working with businesses or groups like let's try and find those people that haven't signed up yet.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, you bet, you bet, and I think your family brought it to our attention. I don't think I really knew much about it. And again for and you said something important too you said it doesn't have to be a combat role, and I think sometimes people think that right, because that was my dad too. He was like, well, I never, you know I was, he worked, he was a mechanic and he worked on Jeeps and or and tanks and such, and it's like okay, you're serving there's different ways to serve your country and you're still in the military, you're still playing an important role in that, and I think that's important for people to know as well.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, we always say we had one of our gentlemen in our Speakers Bureau would go out and his big thing is like you know what? You didn't have a choice. You put on the uniform. You were told to do whatever you were told to do. You did what you were told. You went where you went and you didn't have a choice. So we don't discriminate against. Were you in country, out of country, you served. Yeah.

Speaker 1:

I love that about it too. It's very inclusive in terms of roles that people play. So you said some things that people can do. Is one thing you're kind of thinking about is who are employee research resource groups out there? Who has them? How do you align and connect around military or veteran kinds of groups? Secondly, getting the word out to vets about the flight and the application process and whatnot, and people can help with that. And then when you, if you think about the effect of all of this on the people's life who's gone on these flights and you think about future generations people you know, people you know what message would you want to give to younger generations today around either honoring veterans or what they can do to express gratitude? What do you think?

Speaker 2:

would be most helpful. Yeah, I think you know. Encourage them, if they haven't come to a welcome home, come to one because, it will literally change your life. I mean, we always talk about you, know we've flown over 5,000 veterans, but when you start adding in the guardians, and then just the sheer number of family members that this has impacted.

Speaker 2:

You know it's huge, a lot of zeros. But I think you know, just playing off of my own experience with my dad, ask the questions. Sit down and ask, grandpa, tell me about your service grandpa so just and record it, right, you know.

Speaker 2:

So make those, make those memories available to your kids and your grandkids when you're older. You know, ask the questions and get them talking and look at pictures together and have them explain stuff. You know, I think you can learn it in school, but it's a whole different experience learning it from the source, right, someone? That was there someone that can share their life experiences?

Speaker 1:

For sure. Yeah, that's a great idea, and part of the Honor Flight and we didn't talk about this specifically is the mail call and, as a part of the flight, at the end of the flight there's a mail call Do you want to describe that, Because you're kind of getting at that too Other people honoring what people have done and expressing appreciation.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so mail call. It's like probably our worst kept secret, right.

Speaker 2:

So the guardian is also, whoever it's, whoever the veteran you know picks as a guardian, or, if they don't have one, well, you know a friends, church, legion groups, you know card club ask them all to write letters to this veteran and then they get sent in and then, as you mentioned, we handed out on the airplane home and you know there's lots of tears because the people that aren't aware of it yet they're like how did you do this? How did you know that these were my? You know?

Speaker 1:

so it's it's a big secret, but yeah, but a lot of you know.

Speaker 2:

I think that's when a lot of kids open up to their, their moms, their dads, about, you know, thanking them for their service and showing that they, what they did, mattered. We got a really nice email from a vet on one of our spring flights and he, you know he's one of those he didn't serve in country so he didn't feel he really deserved to go, but his friend encouraged him, said, hey, I'll be your guardian, let's go, let's sign up and do this. So it's a really long email but just kind of paraphrasing it. But you know he, you know sure I'll sign up. You know he went, came to the, the meet and greet, didn't really understand what it was all about, but, yeah, let's go.

Speaker 2:

Went through the whole day, had a fabulous day, but still didn't get it. You know, came home, got the welcome home, he's like, well, that's nice, but still he said he still wasn't making the connection. What's the big hubbub about this Honor Flight? He chose not to open his mail on the plane, took it home and opened it the next morning and he said that's when it hit me Like people were, they were honoring me and they were thanking me for my service and it finally hit me that this is about honor, and Honor Flight is about honoring the veteran.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I love that story. Awesome, I love that story. I love that story and I I don't think my dad read him at the time either, because he was so overwhelmed with all of it and um, but he did that the next day and kind of the same reaction of like, oh my gosh, and and I love that there are you, children, people, kids in school that are contributing to those letters as well. And I think, teaching kids at a very young age that this is part of what you do to respect and honor people who are protecting you, serving on your behalf, sacrificing on your behalf, and creating that kind of those kind of values in younger children, I think is really wonderful yeah.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I think is really wonderful. Yeah, yeah, and I think that's probably something else too that you know business leaders could get behind is, you know, have their employees write letters. You know we love getting generic letters. We get them from school kids, scouts. You know who's to say a group of adults couldn't sit down and write some thanks for your service letters that we can hand out, because unfortunately there are vets that just don't have family or don't have that big circle of friends or they don't have many personalized letters.

Speaker 1:

So, yeah, yeah, for sure. I think that's really awesome. And do you have so, are you? Are you still having World War Two vets on these?

Speaker 2:

flights. It's rare that we have any. I mean, you know the age. They're pretty late into their 90s. We had one, I think, maybe in the spring. I think the oldest we've taken is 102.

Speaker 2:

She was a nurse. She was very feisty, refused to use a wheelchair, had a blast. But yeah, it's largely Vietnam veterans. And then we'll get a smattering of Korean War veterans and then, unfortunately, we do get some Gulf War war on terrorism vets. Those are vets that have a limited amount of time left, so they move up to the top of the list. It's called TLC their last chance.

Speaker 1:

Aw, jodi, I just I, I just honor you doing this. I know it's not you would feel like, oh, it's not about me, but it takes people like you to bring something like this to life. It really does. And for you to say I want to commit a significant piece of my life to doing this because of the purpose it serves and the honor it provides to people who really need it. I just I love that about you and I admire it more than than you know, because I know how dedicated you are and I know how well you do this you are, and I know how well you do this and I know how well you do your regular job and your job as being a family person and a great mother and spouse and all those good things, and you balance all of those in an amazing way, and I just have enjoyed learning about who you are and also why this is so purposeful to you, thank you. So what else would you like to share with our studio audience today that we haven't talked about?

Speaker 2:

You know we hit a wide range of items. I just think you know. If you again, if you're curious about Honor Flight, come to a welcome home.

Speaker 2:

You'll be all in by the end of the night. If you know someone, get them signed up or ask them what's their hesitancy in signing up. We're always open to cash donations or, once in a while, we'll put out things on our Facebook page about gifts in kind we need. Maybe we need to restock our medical bags or we need new coolers or such. But you know, really it's about getting the word out and we want to make sure we take every eligible veteran on their honor flight.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that is awesome. And when you think about those donations because that's a good point too that's another way people can help and support. How much is what is the cost for just one flight Because you're doing six flights this year? How much is what is the cost for just one flight Because you're doing six flights this year?

Speaker 2:

What's the cost of one flight? It's about $135,000 per flight. Yeah, this is you know. Just to clarify an honor flight is completely free for veterans.

Speaker 1:

Yes, and I think that is. That's an amazing, you know, and that's also that's a lot of pressure. Like, we got to raise $135,000 and you have so many volunteers that help with that, but there's money being laid out for that too, so people can help to either, you know, get, get involved through, you know, the, the coming home ceremony, the welcome home. People can connect with the Facebook Badger Honor Flight on Facebook and like and follow that. I do, and I find a lot of great articles and stories and what's happening. But then the donations, the writing of letters, all those things are opportunities to contribute to something really purposeful and meaningful. So great ideas, all right. Well, thank you, jodi, for taking time to do this. I know it's a little bit out of your box, but welcome to the podcast world. Now you got your first one under your belt and you'll probably be on the fast track to a lot more of these, right?

Speaker 2:

We'll think about it, but thank you for pushing me outside my comfort zone, because usually a flight day, you never see me on behind the scenes, like you don't see me in many pictures.

Speaker 1:

But you've got your tennis shoes on and you're walking fast and you got it. You got your your classic clipboard and you're like zipping around keeping everything together, which which I love watching. So so thank you again for for doing this today, but for doing what you do, um, it's, it's really um admirable, and I so much appreciate what you bring to this experience, but also to our family. So thank you for all that. Thank you All right, talk about intentionality and someone living with purpose. That is my sister-in-law, jodi, and I hope what you learned from this episode is a couple of things. If one, you weren't familiar with Badger Honor Flight or that concept, I hope that you begin to explore that in your particular community Because, as Jodi said, 126 hubs in 44 states, so chances are there's somewhere close to you that is doing something like this, and they're not all called the same thing, but Badger Honor Flight is the one that is in our local community here in the Madison, wisconsin area, and I hope that you also recognize that you can help support veterans and maybe you already are in some meaningful way, and, if so, share that in the comments. Share what you're doing, what is helpful, what is meaningful, what are things that you do that help support our military community at a time where I think so many of them need the. Not necessarily as like I want that recognition, but I think they deserve that recognition and the honor of specifically how much that means to all of us who haven't served but have been honored by other people who have. So I just obviously think this is a very meaningful organization and mission. I hope you do too, and I hope that you can see some opportunity to get involved.

Speaker 1:

As Jodi said, if you are here in the Madison area, there are going to be three flights in the fall and the welcome home ceremony is something to behold. It is thousands of people coming to celebrate the veterans who are getting off that particular flight, so lots of family and friends of people who will go, the veterans who are getting off that particular flight. So lots of family and friends of people who will go on the flight, but also a lot of people that just come to honor folks in that moment and it's a really just it is hard to describe what it is like. So Jodi also mentioned supporting with donations financially. I know my husband and I try to support anything we can with those flights and when they need supplies or things like that. Also, in terms of the writing of letters, that's also a very significant part of what helps the vets see the impact they've made. The vets see the impact they've made.

Speaker 1:

So, if you're interested in any of those things we're going to put into the show notes, the Badger, honor Flight website, their Facebook page and Instagram, and also you can, I'm sure, get a hold of Jodi or myself to get more information and we can share that with you.

Speaker 1:

So I think, as you go forward, just consider this episode as an opportunity to express an honor Veterans, yes, but other people who have made a sacrifice on your behalf and wouldn't it be great if we all took this next, you know, just even couple weeks, to make sure we say those things out loud and to make sure we express that gratitude directly. Wouldn't that be awesome if we were all doing that? Yeah, I can feel the energy, I can feel the love, all right. So if you appreciated this episode and learned something, please, please, share it with others. Leave me a review, send me a comment. I love to hear comments about what is resonating with people. I know this is a slightly different episode, a slightly different show. But I think the purpose and the practice of gratitude and honor, and particularly for the military community, is important and very purposeful.