Hoedown for Heroes

BENEFITING MILITARY, VETERANS, AND THEIR FAMILIES

 Thank you for your support and participation!

HOEDOWN FOR HEROES

 EMCEE- DIANNE DERBY & ROB QUIRK KOAA5  

5:30PM COCKTAILS/ SILENT AUCTION, Jason Wulf Band  

 7PM- WELCOME, National Anthem, Sandy Wells 

Invocation, Chaplain Colonel Robert McConnell, U.S. Army, Ret.

BBQ Family-Style Dinner by Bourbon Brothers

 PROGRAM, Honored Guest, LTG Michael Ferriter, U.S. Army, Ret.

Guest Speaker, Nate Boyer 

 LIVE AUCTION, Jerome Wade 

CALL TO ACTION, Colonel Kim "KC" Campbell, USAF, Ret. 

8:45PM-11PM DANCING, Sandy Wells Band 

9:00PM  SILENT AUCTION CLOSES 

11:00PM GOODNIGHT Y'ALL

Western Attire is Encouraged

MT. CARMEL VETERANS SERVICE CENTER 

Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center is quickly becoming the leading support organization for Military, Veterans and their Families in the Pikes Peak Region. Large numbers of Military and Veterans in the greater Colorado Springs area make it vitally important that we as community leaders in government and the private sector alike, ensure that our heroes receive high quality and easily accessible essential services. Essential services include Employment and Transition Programs, Behavioral Health Counseling and Family Supportive Services, which meet the needs of our Military who find themselves in emergent situations. To achieve this, we are guided each day by our mission. https://veteranscenter.org/

 MISSION

To provide best practices for our military, veterans, and their families with accessible programs, integrated resources, and collaborative partnerships that empower lives and strengthen our community.

LTG MICHAEL FERRITER, U.S. ARMY (RET.)

Lieutenant General Michael Ferriter, U.S. Army (Retired), is the founding President and CEO of the National Veterans Memorial and Museum (NVMM). Throughout his military career, he received numerous honors and distinctions for his service. He is an inspiring speaker with experience in leading organizations through crisis, successful transformations, and leading startups. He has spoken on the TEDx stage and to a diverse spectrum of audiences, from C-Suite executives to high school students.

The nationally designated NVMN honors all Veterans from all eras of service. As a new start-up, he was the first employee hired, and built his team opening the museum in October 2018. When the pandemic hit, 85% of American museums closed, but he led his team through the crisis and pivoted to create virtual and online experiences and programs.

Before coming to Columbus, Ohio, Lt. General Ferriter successfully supported Veterans and their families, underserved groups, students, and business leaders with his consulting firm, the Ferriter Group LLC. He has dedicated his civilian career to helping organizations and associations, and remains committed and passionate about serving Veterans, military families, and families of the Fallen.

He served 35 years in the U.S. Army commanding Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and the International Forces at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels. He completed three combat deployments in Iraq as a general officer and in Somalia with Task Force Ranger. He parachuted with Paratroopers and Rangers more than two hundred times and served as a lead military advisor to the Iraqi government from 2008-2010.

In his last role with the U.S. Army, Lt. General Ferriter led 75 Army installations around the world, comprised of a 75,000-person workforce, while managing a $12 billion budget. Through his strategic leadership, he successfully cut costs, saving $3 billion through business transformation and a focus on customer service.

Lt. General Ferriter and his wife, Margie, have four children who invest in military and public service to our country.

MEMBERSHIPS

• U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame, 2021 Inductee

• Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame, 2021 Inductee

• Association of the United States Army, Lifetime Member

• 75th Ranger Regiment Association, Lifetime Member

• The American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars

• Association of Defense Communities

• The Patriot Foundation, Board of Advisors

• National Infantry Museum Foundation, Board of Advisors

NATE BOYER 

Former Green Beret, NFL player, and filmmaker Nate Boyer is what many would deem a renaissance man - he shares his motivational message with groups including Microsoft, Budweiser, USAA, General Mills, and more.

The Army Green Beret - who was deployed to both Iraq & Afghanistan over his ten-year military career - is also a philanthropist and humanitarian. Despite never playing a down of organized football prior to his time in the Special Forces, Nate played for the University of Texas Longhorns and became the oldest rookie in NFL history at 34 while playing for the Seattle Seahawks. As a member of the military veteran and athlete communities, he saw an opportunity to tackle their transition struggles together through Merging Vets & Players (MVP) - a charity he co-founded with Jay Glazer. Nate is sought-after by Veteran groups, athletic organizations, as well as business looking for a message of inspiration and motivation.

Nate is also an actor, writer, director, producer, and TV host. He co-created, executive produced, and hosted the NFL Network series Indivisible with Nate Boyer, discussing issues relevant to local communities and how football unites us all to solve these problems. Nate's new film MVP is his directorial debut and tells a real-life story about the struggles of veterans and athletes who found purpose and renewed life together. Boyer's belief that "Anything is Possible" has served him well throughout his life and students, veterans, businesspersons, athletes, and people from all walks of like can take something away from his unique story.

COLONEL KIM "KC" CAMPBELL, USAF, RET.

Kim "KC" Campbell is a retired Air Force Colonel who served in the Air Force for over 24 years as a fighter pilot and senior military leader. She has flown 1,800 hours in the A-10 Warthog, including more than 100 combat missions protecting troops on the ground in both Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2003, Kim was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for Heroism after successfully recovering her battle-damaged airplane after an intense close air support mission in Baghdad.

As a senior military leader, Kim has led hundreds of Airmen both at home and abroad in deployed locations and enabled them to succeed in their missions. She has experience leading complex organizations and driving cultural change. Kim knows what it takes to be a successful leader, to inspire and empower high-performing teams to achieve success.

Kim is a distinguished graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. As a Marshall Scholar, she earned an MBA from the University of London and a Master of Arts in International Security Studies from the University of Reading in England.

Kim's Air Force assignments include leadership roles as a Group Commander, responsible for over 1,000 Air Force personnel in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Kim also served as the Military Assistant to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, advising the number three civilian official in the Department of Defense on national security and defense policy formulation. She has also served as the Air Force Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, a pre-eminent think tank promoting international leadership and engagement. Most recently, Kim served as the Director of the Center for Character and Leadership Development at the Air Force Academy.

Kim is now a keynote speaker and executive coach for Victory Strategies, a leadership assessment and development firm. She is also a member of the Board of Directors for the Special Operators Transition Foundation. Kim resides in Colorado with her husband and two sons.

CO-EMCEE FOR THE EVENING, DIANNE DERBY 

Dianne Derby is an Emmy award-winning journalist with seventeen years of compassionate experience covering major news events in southern Colorado and across the country. Upon joining the team at KOAA, Dianne said, "I am so thrilled to be part of a team that is truly committed to the issues that impact viewers the most. They care about depth in reporting, affecting change, and connecting with the community. I care deeply about those things, too, and now I get to be part of their mission."

Her life and career have been shaped through her coverage of the Waldo Canyon and Black Forest Fires, the Planned Parenthood shooting, law enforcement funerals, interviewing families of missing or murdered children, and fighting for consumers desperate for a voice with companies that wouldn't listen.

"My greatest satisfaction as a journalist is finding resolution when someone asks me to address a problem they couldn't solve," she said. "They deserve to be heard, and I'm so thankful my work gives them a voice. I am excited to offer that help in my role at KOAA."

Dianne was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and misses the beach but not the humidity. She's happy to trade the sunshine there for the four seasons here in Colorado Springs. Dianne has two Master's degrees, one from Florida State University and one from the University of Miami. She completed her undergraduate work at the University of Florida. She began her career as a general assignment reporter in Savannah, Georgia. She moved to Spartanburg, South Carolina next as an anchor and consumer reporter. Dianne then spent more than eight years at another station in Colorado Springs.

In her free time, she loves hiking, camping, and making memories with her family. She's always ready for chips and salsa and a shopping spree to find antique costume jewelry.

Dianne will release her first book in Spring of 2022, a memoir about the power of mentoring, titled "Two Hundred Tuesdays: What a Pearl Harbor Survivor Taught Me About Life, Love, and Faith" (Navpress). She and her husband have one daughter and three rescue pups. 

CO-EMCEE FOR THE EVENING ROB QUIRK

Rob Quirk is an Emmy award-winning broadcast journalist. He has been the primary weeknight news anchor at News5 for nearly 30 years. Rob says that he is honored and humbled to have been able to bring the most important stories of the day to our News5 viewers, to act as an advocate for them, and work with them, in developing a partnership and relationship that has kept News5 the number one source of news for all of Southern Colorado.

He has been involved with the production and reporting of many important and historic stories and events across Southern Colorado since 1989. His anchoring, reporting and producing have won numerous awards with the Colorado Broadcasters Association and the Associated Press. Including a one-on-one interview with President Obama at the White House, the Waldo Canyon and Black Forest wildfires, summer of 2013 flash flooding, the Aurora theater massacre, Columbine, and the federal trial of Oklahoma City bombing suspect, Timothy McVeigh.

Rob is also very involved in numerous causes across Southern Colorado that are very close to his heart, most notably, the Multiple Sclerosis Society Walks in Colorado Springs and Pueblo, which have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for those families struggling with M-S.

Rob was awarded Broadcast Citizen of the Year, in 2000, by the Colorado Broadcasters Association, for all of his volunteer and community service work.

Rob is a graduate of Arizona State University. He lives in Colorado Springs with his wife of nearly 35 years, Jackie. They have two daughters, Molly and Alison. Rob is originally from Lockport, New York, and is the 4th of 9 children.

Rob is very active outside the newsroom. Enjoying the beautiful trails and mountain vistas of Colorado. Hiking, skiing and golf are some of his recreational passions. Also a big sports fan, Rob follows our Colorado College Tiger hockey, and all Air Force Falcon sports.

SANDY WELLS BAND 

With early pop Country and Southern Rock roots, from a small town in southern
Oregon, Sandy's music raises strong emotion, yet keeps your foot tapping. She is an
accomplished songwriter and mixes her own original tunes allowing her fans to connect
with her strong sense of self yet honest vulnerability. Sandy's powerful and sultry voice
mesmerizes crowds and creates new fans everywhere she plays. With a rocking band to
back her, she leaves it all on the stage when she plays. Whether you need it acoustic style
or to rock the house Sandy doesn't disappoint.

Sandy has opened for some of the best, Aaron Watson, Kristin Bush ( Sugarland),
Reckless Kelly, just to name a few, she has played all over the front range, including
Nashville, Tenn. Sandy's second album was produced in Nashville, and she is working
on her third. http://sandywellsonline.com/

JASON WULF BAND

The Jason Wulf Band brings traditional Texas, Red Dirt Country with some classic, current and southern rock hits mixed in. These guys are high energy musicians with a stripped-down, authentic sound blending the fiddle, banjo, mandolin and harmonica with acoustic and electric guitars. Recently voted one of the Top 3 Best Local Bands in Colorado Springs. 

Having prior and currently serving military members, the band supports the local military. They also have strong ties to area rodeos and Jason is a member of the Pikes Peak Range Riders. 

Band members have played with and opened for top country artists such as Aaron Watson, Tracy Byrd, Sarah Evans, Tracy Lawrence, Steve Wariner, William Clark Green and Triston Marez.