Veteran Resource Podcast

Terrance Gant is a 12 year Marine Corps veteran. Deployed to Afghanistan twice and Iraq three times, then medically separated from the Marine Corps in 2010, Terrance says "That's when the wheels feel off". Extreme drinking because of loss of purpose and nightmares cost him his marriage, kids, and job. February 15,2015 Terrance even attempted suicide. After months and months of VA care, he started looking to Veteran Service organizations for help. Wounded Warrior project got him out of the house. Save A Warrior saved his soul. Team RWB filled the athletic gap in his life. The Mission Continues and Team Rubicon filled the service gap in his life. Today Terrance is no longer just surviving in life but he's thriving and dedicated to empowering the lives of veterans and helping them take back their lives.

A chance viewing of a short news story prompted Peter A. Cline to create a life-changing charity for veterans injured on the battlefield.

VETMotorsports, Inc., provides wounded veterans struggling to re-assimilate to the civilian world the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with professional motorcycle and auto racing teams. The charity has helped more than 130 veterans since 2012.

"I saw an opportunity after watching a TV short on BBC America about how injured warfighters were using motorsports to recover from battlefield injuries," Cline said. "I asked myself why someone was not providing a 'hands-on' opportunity for veterans. From that point on, it was a matter of doing research and having some discussions with sponsors and friends to work out the details."

Cline, a former professional motorcycle racer, spends time attending and facilitating race experiences all across the U.S. during the racing season, while focusing on fundraising and outreach to strategic partners during the off season.

Cline volunteers his time as executive director of VETMotorsports while working full-time as Traffic Safety Specialist at Motorcycle Ohio.

"VETMotorsports has allowed me to take 12 plus years of relationships and create this thing where the sum of the parts make a huge difference to those veterans participating," Cline said. "The program is about creating a culture where injured warfighters are welcome, where we can provide them an outlet that shows them their self-worth and hopefully creates an opportunity for them to succeed outside the program."

Cline, who lives in Upper Arlington, Ohio, was presented the 2015 Hazel Kolb Brighter Image Award from the American Motorcyclist Association for his contributions to the motorcycle racing community.

Don Hutcheson is a lifelong entrepreneur, inventor, author and coach. He hosts the daily podcast: "Discover Your Talent—Do What You Love," which he created to help you find your true talents and use them to build a career of success, satisfaction and freedom. He's never had a "boss" and has created 6 innovative companies in advertising, publishing, coaching and career planning—and now on the Internet—over the last 35 years.

Dr. Bourke is the Executive Director of the NLP Research and Recognition Project, and Coordinator to the NLP Community. After the 9-11 attacks in 2001, Dr. Bourke designed and implemented a rehabilitation plan for 800 World Trade Center building survivors. He found that he was able to change the symptoms of PTS survivors he was treating with an NLP-derived protocol much quicker and more effectively than the 30 or so therapists he was working with. He founded the Not-For-Profit Corporation to advance the science of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and bring the research up to a scientific standard necessary for more widespread implementation. He brings with him more than 33 years of professional experience in Executive, Clinical and Research roles.

The Research and Recognition Project (R&RP) conducts rigorous, controlled clinical studies to validate therapeutic techniques that support the widespread use of innovative and cost-effective clinical care for traumatic stress and a number of other psychiatric disorders.

Jean South is a Marine spouse, daughter of two Army veterans, and former FBI Special Agent. During her career she has had the honor of working alongside our nation's warriors. As the President and CEO of Hire Served , Jean gives companies a competitive advantage to compete for veteran talent by helping bridge the culture gap between military candidates and company recruiters. She also provides career coaching to veterans, teaching them how to use LinkedIn to network more effectively as they transition into their next careers after the military. Jean serves as the Veteran Outreach Director for Bunker Labs Philadelphia connecting with veterans and Veteran Service Organizations in the Philadelphia metro region to provide entrepreneurship opportunities to veterans and their spouses.

Joanna is a Veteran of the United States Marine Corps. She served as a Field Radio Operator (0621) and as a Recruiter (8411). She served honorably from 1998-2007 (E-6 SSgt) and deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 with 3D MAW, MWSS 373, MCAS Miramar.

Having to overcome her own transition obstacles; Joanna made the commitment to help other Veteran s transition more successfully. She became a well-known veteran advocate in the AZ community with her previous work at ASU's Pat Tillman Veterans Center (2012-2015) and her many involvements in the non-profit/volunteer space. She works tirelessly to help bridge the divide between transitioning veterans and the civilian community. She serves as a voluntary board member with ASU's Veterans Chapter of the Alumni, S.E.E.4 Vets and the AZ Veterans Court Mentor Project. She volunteers to help raise funds for the Marine Corps Scholarship Fund—AZ campaign, teaches career transition curriculum for Fourblock.org, and is a member of the Jar Head Professionals group.

Joanna is married to Mr. Jobiin Sweatt since 1997 and they have three beautiful children, Jeriah (19), Jobiin Jr. (17), and Jordin (15).

Wally Carmichael is a husband, father, retired Army Medic, Department of the Army Operations Specialist and Podcast Host of the Men of Abundance Podcast. He was born and raised in Phoenix Arizona and joined the Army at the age of 20 for the education benefits, opportunity to travel and to escape what was clearly a destructive lifestyle. It only took 24 years to complete his Bachelor's degree in Business Management. And he was able to traveled to 23 countries on five continents. Wally has lived in Panama, Germany, Arizona, Texas, North Carolina, and currently lives on the beach in Hawaii. Wally first started in the job force in a slaughterhouse at the tender age of 16, no pun intended. He has also started and operated many business ventures from Real Estate, Sales and installation of satellite systems, residential cleaning and internet marketing. Next to family, his greatest passion is hosting his Men of Abundance Podcast, The Pay it Forward Community, where he has conversations with other Abundant leaders as well as up and coming entrepreneurs, authors, and thought leaders doing amazing things in their community.

Joe Mornini has spent a lifetime going from adventure to adventure. He holds a master's degree in Environmental Education from Goddard College and has been involved in outdoor education for almost four decades. A Special Education Resource Teacher and counselor, Joe is the coordinator of a program for seriously emotionally disturbed adolescents at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, MD. For 30+ years, Joe's stress-buster has been whitewater kayaking after school on the nearby Potomac River.

Always the environmentalist and adventurer, Joe has motorcycled across the country three times, walked across Ireland, walked across the state of Maryland and paddled rivers around the country.

In 2004, Joe and kayaking buddy, Mike McCormick, recruited friends and local paddling businesses to support their idea to teach whitewater kayaking to wounded soldiers returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. They named the program Team River Runner (TRR) and the goal has been to provide hope, health and healing. Working in partnership with The Wounded Warrior Project and Disabled Sports USA, TRR is a non-profit volunteer organization that now provides adaptive, therapeutic and leadership training programs for OIF/OEF veterans on a national level.

Michael J. Penney is the co-founder of Cigars and Sea Stories, a podcast devoted to sharing stories with veterans who are adding value to the world. He's the creator of the "5 Paragraph Business Plan" an actionable approach to business. March of '16 he presented at TEDx Raleigh, "What's Your IED: How to Add Value to During Life's Explosive Situations" - in an effort to bridge the life of veterans and civilians. Michael is a former Sergeant and Marine veteran. He served 8 years as an infantryman and weapons instructor. His service spans three combat tours and two wars - Ramadi iraq (05'/07'), Kajaki/ Sangin Afghanistan (2011). He served as a weapons instructor, having personally trained over 5000 Marines and sailors in rifle and pistol combat marksmanship, foreign weapons, small arms and precision weapons marksmanship and tactics. Having successfully navigated the transition from service member to veteran, Michael now supports fellow veterans seeking the entrepreneurial lifestyle. He currently works as program director for Bunker Labs RDU, calling upon his military experience to assess, train, advise, and assist veterans in business creation.

As the Program Manager for In Gear Career, a program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation's Hiring Our Heroes, Amanda Patterson Crowe serves as an advisor to career-minded military spouses in networking chapters across the globe. In Gear Career's 20+ chapters work to create connections in their local communities and serve as a jumping off point for military spouses moving to the area and looking for professional connections.

As a U.S. Navy Veteran and now military spouse, Amanda also puts her own experience to work answering career questions in the new column "Dear Career", a collaboration between Military.com and Hiring Our Heroes. More of Amanda's writing on military spouse career issues can also be found monthly on NextGen Military Spouse.