Notes from the Field: January/February/March 2022

NOTES FROM THE FIELD: January/February/March 2022

A tremendous view from the 11th Annual North Carolina OBX Waterfowl Hunt in Currituck, NC.
Photo courtesy of WWIA Guides Matt Brannon and Jason Gaudette.

Notes From the Field: January/February/March 2022

Welcome to the January/February/March 2022 edition of Notes From the Field. Building on the successes of 2021, our mission to Honor, Connect, and Heal our Heroes continues into the new year. We proudly hosted three exceptional hunting events in the first quarter of this year that offered our Heroes the opportunity to harvest deer, quail, duck, and geese. We also hosted our annual woodturning event in Wisconsin, a unique, memorable, and therapeutic experience. In addition, our incredible WWIA family and friends held some exceptional fundraisers on behalf of our combat-wounded veterans. 

We're looking forward to a year full of exciting events, so stay tuned for more updates and highlights. Last but not least, don’t miss our spotlight feature this month introducing you to two of our exceptional event Hosts. Thank you for all you do to honor and support our phenomenal Purple Heart Heroes.💜

Events and Fundraisers

   11th Annual North Carolina OBX Waterfowl Hunt

    January 6-9  Currituck, NC

Six of our Heroes traveled to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for some world-class waterfowl hunting, great food, and bonding time with their fellow Purple Heart recipients. Celebrating eleven years of honoring our Heroes, this event encapsulates how a community can come together to serve and give back to those who have given so much on our behalf. The accommodations, food, care, and hospitality extended to our Heroes could not have been better. The coastal weather was ideal for duck hunting, but unfortunately, the ducks were sparse this year, although some nice mallards and swans were harvested. Our Heroes had an extraordinary time and appreciated the outstanding camaraderie, stories, laughter, and friendships made while in the field, around the dinner table, and over the course of the event. This was unquestionably the highlight for everyone.

This is truly a community event, and that was evidenced by the tremendous outpouring of appreciation and gratitude shown to our Heroes throughout their stay. An example of this remarkable community involvement was shown on the final morning of our combat-wounded veteran's trip. As they prepared to make their way home, the NC Patriot Guard, Currituck County Sheriff, Currituck County Fire Department, Cat 5 Jeepers, and hundreds of members of the local community gathered to honor and show their appreciation for our Heroes as they departed. They were given a large and memorable escort out of town as members of the local community lined the streets, waving flags, holding up signs, applauding, cheering, and expressing their appreciation to our Heroes for their service and sacrifice. It was a special way to end this memorable event and our Heroes were moved by the incredible displays of gratitude and patriotism.

We would like to express our appreciation to all the stellar local businesses, restaurants, and community members that graciously served and honored our Heroes throughout their stay. Special thanks to Hosts Larry Beasley, Tim Brown, and Tim Spence for putting on another top-notch event for our Heroes, and to Brook Sparks for her fantastic coordination and support year after year. Recognition and thanks to WWIA Guides Matt Brannon and Jason Gaudette for their contributions and care throughout the event.   

"This was my first experience with WWIA. I cannot thank the organization enough for putting on this event. The guides and hosts were all very professional and exceptionally accommodating. I will tell all other wounded warriors I know about how great this organization is and what they do for folks like us. Thank you again."

 11th Annual Southwest Ohio Ducks & Bucks Hunt

  January 13-17  Waynesville, OH 

The 11th Annual Southwest Ohio Ducks and Bucks Hunt welcomed five of our combat-wounded Warriors to Waynesville, Ohio to kick off the new year with some superb hunting, hospitality, and bonding between brothers over five days. This awesome event offered the right combination of relaxation, restoration, and quality time in the field for our Heroes as they were able to enjoy both waterfowl and whitetail deer hunting. Our Heroes took full advantage of their time in the field, as they harvested over 22 ducks and geese as well as a nice doe. The hunting was memorable, but the friendships made throughout this trip eclipsed everything else. 

This event continues to raise the bar, and the experiences and memories made throughout these five days will carry-on for years to come. Our gratitude and thanks to Hosts Dave Studenka, Dan Doll and the phenomenal SW Ohio team of supporters for putting on another top-tier event, and for proudly honoring and serving our Heroes for over a decade! This event would not be possible without the dedication and selfless support of so many wonderful people and businesses. Thanks to Ken Staubitz, Don Staubitz, Mark Caskey, Joe Turner, Steven Souder, Spud Fife, Sam Adkins, Judd Powell, Nick Peth, and to WWIA Pro Staffer Richard Wright for their outstanding efforts and support. High praise and appreciation to Jared Neal for use of his duck hunting property, to Sam Morgan for access to his whitetail deer property, to Tim Bilinski for his whitetail guide services, and to Dave Wittersteater and Joe Duvelius for the use of their RV's. Our sincere thanks to  Safari Club International Southwest Ohio Chapter, Cabela's, Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati Juice Club, Rooster's,  Celanese Corporation, Miller's Campground, and B&B Carryout. Special recognition and thanks to WWIA Guide Jake Whipkey for his leadership and attention to our Heroes throughout the trip.​

"WWIA introduced me to new adventures, new brothers and new friends, for this I am forever grateful. These last few days have been such a great stress relief. In the dark times to come, I have new contacts to reach out to that
will truly understand where I am. Although we shot 2 ghost deer, we all had a great time doing so. Duck hunting will for sure be a new passion. The hunt is more than a hunt. It is not solo time; it is to be spent with friends who share the passion. The sense of belonging has been incredible. The Hosts, the food, the memories will remain very dear to me. Thank you, gentleman, so very much for caring for others. That bond will remain strong and be relit from time to time when we meet again."

   8th Annual Wisconsin Woodturning Event

    January 30 - February 4  Kronenwetter, WI

5th Annual Alabama Long Leaf Whitetail and Quail Hunt

February 4-7   Bay Minette, AL

Four of our combat-wounded Warriors traveled to scenic Bay Minette, Alabama to enjoy four outstanding days at the 5th Annual Long Leaf Alabama Whitetail and Quail Hunt. Once arriving at camp, everyone was able to confirm and zero their weapons, and some of the guys were able to get in a quick evening hunt before heading back to enjoy a wonderful dinner, relaxing, and getting acquainted with their fellow Heroes and Hosts. 

Everyone woke early on Saturday for a quick breakfast before heading to their designated hunting sites. It was a successful day in the field with many deer sightings throughout the morning and a nice 8-point deer harvested. The harvested deer was taken to the processor, then everyone gathered at the quail preserve to have a delicious lunch courtesy of the local Stage Coach restaurant. After lunch, our Heroes broke up into four-man groups with their guides, conducted a safety briefing and ensured everyone knew the proper weapon orientation. The quail hunting was off the charts with approximately 160 birds harvested! Our sincere thanks to Hamilton Smith, owner of Dennis Lake/Hamilton Smith Deer and Quail Hunting Club and his incredible guides for volunteering their time and expertise at the quail preserve. After a memorable day, everyone headed back to the lodge for another wonderful dinner of fresh quail, some much-needed relaxation, and more quality fellowship. It was an exciting and remarkable day. 

Everyone rose early Sunday and made their ways to their stands for another exciting morning hunt. Everyone saw deer, a few were missed, and several were harvested. At lunchtime, the group returned to camp and feasted on an incredible shrimp boil and some of our Heroes put out limb lines for catfish. There was time to get in an evening hunt before heading back for a dinner full of great conversation and laughter as everyone reflected on the phenomenal time spent in Alabama. Tremendous appreciation and thanks to Host Andy McMillan, his family, and friends for hosting another spectacular event. Additional recognition and gratitude to Archie McMillan, Buddy Steele, Major General (retired) William Gayler, and CW5 Joe Roland for their outstanding efforts and support. High praise and thanks to WWIA Guide James Rissler for his expertise and assistance throughout this event. 

"From the moment I arrived I was welcomed with open arms and encouraged to relax and enjoy myself. I could feel the stress leave and as I got to know Andy, Bill, Joe and Buddy I felt at home the entire time. I was hopeful that I would mesh with my fellow Purple Heart buddies, and I really enjoyed getting to know Andrew and James as the weekend progressed and the light kidding and banter started with each other. I spent a lot of time with each person there and know that I have found lifelong friends that I can count on. I also spent a lot of time with Mr. Buddy, who taught me a lot of about living on the river and swamp. It was a pleasure getting to know everyone and forming friendships that I hope to revisit soon. I can’t say thank you enough to Andy and his family and friends for hosting us and taking us in for the long weekend. I also want to thank WWIA staff for setting up such a great opportunity to relax and get to know other fellow Purple Heart awardees and hear their stories"

Southern Vermont Chapter Tampa Bay Fishing Excursion

February 18-20   Apollo Beach, FL 

We want to recognize and express our sincere appreciation to Willy and Jennifer Hall, owners of GSS Fire Extinguishers, LLC and longtime supporters of WWIA, and to Mike and Debi Davenport from the WWIA Southern Vermont Chapter. Willy and Jennifer were our honored guests at our 2022 Apollo Beach Fishing Excursion, held February 18th – 20th, and were accompanied by Vermont Chapter President Mike Davenport and Vermont Chapter Treasurer Debi Davenport for a weekend full of sun and fun. This exciting all-inclusive trip was offered as a raffle prize during the 2021 Southern Vermont Chapter Fundraising Dinner where their community raised a phenomenal total of $67,575! This weekend excursion included lodging, a full day of fishing, fresh southern and seafood dinners throughout their stay, shopping, and some time spent enjoying the sights around the beautiful Tampa Bay area. 
Upon arrival, they had a wonderful dinner at Sunset Grill and Beach Bar at Little Harbour, in Apollo Beach. Mike, Willy, and WWIA Founder and CEO, John McDaniel headed out for an outstanding time fishing on the bay Saturday morning, as they brought in lots of “keeper” sheepshead, several snook (all released), and a couple impressive grey snapper. Special thanks to Captain Phil Pegley of Fish Tamer Charters for his expertise and guidance, and for a great day on the water. While the gentlemen hit the water, Jennifer and Debi were accompanied by WWIA’s own Nichole Veesaert for a delicious breakfast at First Watch, before enjoying a day visiting St. Armands Circle in Sarasota, featuring more than 130 boutiques, specialty shops, galleries, and restaurants. After a full morning of shopping, a late lunch was had at the Ybor Grille Southshore, and a relaxing dinner by the bay at Circles Waterfront Restaurant and Bar. It was an amazing weekend spent with some wonderful and faithful WWIA supporters. Next year’s trip will be held February 17th-19th , 2023 in a brand-new exciting locale, Fishermans Village, in Punta Gorda, FL. It promises to be another spectacular time! 
We would like to honor and give special thanks to the entire WWIAF Southern Vermont Chapter for their stellar support and fundraising efforts throughout the years. The Southern Vermont Chapter is a WWIA Medal of Honor decorated patron, raising over $343,000 in support of our Heroes since 2013! Incredible! We are humbled by your dedication and patriotism and honored by your tremendous support of WWIA and our Purple Heart Heroes!

Hides for Heroes 2021-2022 Fundraiser

Waupaca, WI   

AMAZING! Dave Hintz and his phenomenal Hides for Heroes team have done it again! They continue to raise the bar and set new records, year after year. The last of the Hides have been shipped and they raised an astonishing $18,500.00!! Wow! They also had an incredible 4113 hides donated in total! Please be sure to share your thanks for the tremendous work and long hours they put in to support WWIA and our Heroes. Our sincere gratitude and thanks to Dave Hintz, everyone on the Hides for Heroes team, every one of the dedicated volunteers, the gracious sponsors, the generosity of the Wisconsin hunters, the many businesses that allow Hides for Heroes to place hide collection boxes outside their establishments, and to Glodowdki Furs for shipping the hides. What an amazing accomplishment and humbling donation, thank you all for you outstanding support! 💜

Good Life RV Resort Veterans Day in February 

February 24  Bartow, FL

We would like to thank the residents of Good Life RV Resort Park for their faithful support of WWIA and our Purple Heart Heroes. On February 24th, they held their Veterans Day in February event. This gathering featured music, games, an exceptional and powerful ceremony around the resort flagpole, where everyone sang the National Anthem and took time to recognize and honor our veterans for their service and sacrifice. WWIA's Founder and CEO, John McDaniel, was honored to be in attendance with so many wonderful Patriots and enjoyed meeting and speaking with them throughout the afternoon. The residents of the Good Life RV Resort have been tremendous supporters of WWIA over the years, and they honored our Heroes once again with a humbling donation of $2,513.00! Please join us in saluting these incredible Americans for their generosity and support. Gratitude and thanks to WWIA's own Jaybird and Trish Corcoran for deejaying and entertaining everyone, and to WWIA Hero and Army Ranger Pat Corcoran for also attending this special event.💜 

3rd Annual WWIA Sweepstakes

February 1- 28   

We would like to extend our sincere appreciation and thanks to everyone who participated in the 3rd Annual WWIA Sweepstakes. Congratulations to all our winners!

1st Prize: David Hays

2nd Prize: Kyle Evans

3rd Prize: Robert Hanks

We are grateful for everyone's incredible generosity and tremendous support of WWIA and our Heroes, THANK YOU! 

WWIA January/February/March 2022 Spotlight

It is our pleasure to introduce you to Dan and Nancy Bourassa. Dan and Nancy have been longtime supporters of the Foundation, having offered guiding assistance with the Bayfield Cast and Blast event, graciously fundraising on behalf of our mission, and now proudly hosting the annual Heroes Wisconsin Northland Experience Black Bear Hunt, in Iron River, WI. They will celebrate their third year of honoring and serving Purple Heart Heroes at their event this September. We appreciate them taking time out to share some of their thoughts and experiences with us. We hope you enjoy getting to know the Bourassa's. 

Nancy, can you please give us a brief introduction and tell us a little about yourself, Dan, and your family?

Dan was born & raised in Wisconsin.  After graduating from high school, he joined the Army and became a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne. We met while he was in the service (I was not). After the military, we moved to Wisconsin and within a few years bought into a retail lumberyard with 2 other partners. Dan is now retired from that business but still keeps very BUSY! He has a seasonal storage business and is also a beekeeper. He enjoys woodworking as well. Dan loves to hunt and fish, but mostly he loves to spend time with his family and help where he can. He especially loves spending time with our grandchildren.

Dan and I have been married for almost 41 years. We have 2 adult sons, both who have and are serving in the Army. Our oldest will retire from the Army next year. They both served tours in Afghanistan as well. Our fathers also served in the Army during wartime. Dan's dad served during the Korean War and my dad was a lifer with two tours in Vietnam. I was born in Germany as my parents met while my dad was stationed over there. I enjoy crocheting, gardening, cooking, baking, embroidering, and spending time with my family and especially with our three grandsons!

How did you first get involved with WWIA? 

Initially, our support started with a donation to the Foundation, and then Dan assisted with guiding Heroes on a whitetail hunt for a WWIA Cast and Blast event. Our youngest son expressed interest in wanting to do something to give back and contribute, so he started our annual golf tournament fundraiser, which now takes place every Labor Day weekend. I eventually took over the fundraising for the golf tournament because it's quite labor and organizational intensive, and our son didn't have the time to get it all done. He is still
involved though, as is Dan. It's truly a family affair.

You proudly host the annual Heroes Wisconsin Northland Experience Black Bear Hunt (celebrating your 3rd year in September). Why have you chosen to graciously host a WWIA event?

We built a bigger home and have plenty of acreage for hosting an event. We also have
bears on the property, so we figured why not host a bear hunt for the Heroes! We always raised money for past events, but we wanted to get more involved and get to know the Heroes. We are glad we chose to host an event; it has been a very rewarding experience! I love cooking for them, and we love sharing our home, hearing about their families and where they come from. The Heroes are always appreciative of what we have to offer, and we keep in contact with many of them long after the hunt and event has ended.

What have been some of the positive affects you have seen in the lives of Heroes that have attended your events?

We have been privileged to Host some amazing Heroes on our events. We have noticed that they seem to be able to let their guard down as they get away from the stresses and pressures of everyday life. They are able to open up when they are with us and share from their experiences. We have been told on more than one occasion, "I don't know why I am telling you this, I normally don't tell people these things." The Heroes have expressed that they had a wonderful time and seem truly relaxed and refreshed when they leave to return home. 

You have a tremendous team of supporters surrounding your event. Can you tell me how you have you been able to galvanize support from the local community?

We have a network of small towns in the area with many people who have had family who served in some public service capacity, whether it be in the military, fire department, police, nursing, etc. It's the willingness to help your neighbors and fellow human beings across the country. All we have to do is ask, because every little bit helps, and we are truly grateful for it.

What has been the biggest benefit for you, your family, and the incredible supporters and volunteers who help make your events so successful?

We get new supporters each year. Individuals ask more questions about the organization all the time. So, the word is getting out. We love that we are part of spreading the word of such a worthy cause and meeting new people.

What would you say to others who are considering getting involved with WWIA either as a Supporter or perhaps in some other capacity?

DO IT! YOU WON'T BE SORRY! These Heroes are so deserving and appreciative! The Foundation is so easy to work with, you can't go wrong! The percentage of donation dollars that goes directly to serving the Heroes is huge compared to many other nonprofits, and that is wonderful! KUDOS to John McDaniel for starting the Wounded Warriors in Action Foundation!

We would like to thank Quality Mark, Inc. for their recent donation of $4,000 to WWIA. This generous donation will go toward supporting the upcoming 11th Annual Lake Erie Trophy Walleye Event this August. Our appreciation and gratitude to Quality Mark for their gracious support of WWIA and our combat-wounded veterans. 

Coming Soon! The WWIA Podcast

We are excited to announce that we will be launching the all new WWIA Podcast very soon, hosted by WWIA Founder and CEO, John McDaniel. This podcast is a great way to stay connected, go behind the scenes, and learn more about the Foundation, our Heroes, Hosts, Supporters, Donors, and much more. It will also serve as another vehicle to help bring greater awareness of our mission to bring Honor, Connection, and Healing to our combat-wounded Purple Heart Heroes, through the power of the great outdoors. We can't wait to share this with you, so stay tuned as we will be sharing information about our launch date very soon through our social media platforms and in our next newsletter! 🎙️

Help Our Heroes By Donating a Vehicle

Did you know that you can help support WWIA and our Heroes by donating your car, truck, van, SUV, boat, motorcycle, ATV, RV, trailer or airplane? Working or not, free towing, tax benefits, and helping support our combat-wounded veterans are just a few of the benefits of using the CARS vehicle donation program. Simply click HERE to start the donation process or call CARS toll-free at 855-500-RIDE (855-500-7433) to have a donation staff specialist help guide you through the donation process. If you would like to learn more about how the CARS vehicle donation program works, please click here. We thank you in advance for your support!

Support WWIA When You Shop at Amazon

You can help support WWIA whenever you shop at Amazon through the AmazonSmile program! When you select WWIA as your preferred charity; anytime you shop at Amazon a portion of your purchase will go to support WWIA and our Purple Heart Heroes! Every bit helps, and these donations come from simply shopping for items like we normally do. If you're not already signed up, simply click HERE to be taken to the AmazonSmile page, and then select Wounded Warriors in Action Foundation as your charity option. You can also sign up for AmazonSmile on the Amazon Shopping app on your phone. You can find it in the App Store for iOS or Google Play for Android. Be sure to tell others, as it's a simple way to support us while doing something you already do. Thank you!

Want to Learn More About WWIA? Visit Us Online! 

Our website is full of information about who we are, how we serve our Purple Heart Heroes, and how you can get involved!  Visit us today! Click HERE!

813-938-1390 | info@wwiaf.org | wwiaf.org