2023 SDIA Heroes Gala

Sheep Dog Impact Assistance's 

Heroes Gala 

Saturday, April 22, 2023 

Rogers Convention Center

6:00pm to 11:00pm 

VIP Reception 4:30pm 

Doors Open for General Admission at 5:00pm

Every year all of us at Sheep Dog Impact Assistance (SDIA) look forward to celebrating our nation's heroes and the all we have been blessed to accomplish with friends, members, supporters, donors and sponsors at our annual Heroes Gala. It's been a couple of year's since we've been able to host this event, and we are VERY excited to be hosting it again on April 22, 2023!

This formal event is our largest fundraising event of the year. Monies raised during the evening are used to fund our Get Off The Couch? programming to engage, assist, and empower Sheep Dogs - military veterans and first responders (law enforcement, fire & rescue, and EMS professionals) - to improve their overall physical and mental well-being, and reengage them in living their best lives.

The Heroes Gala includes a special VIP Reception prior to the start of the event, followed by a social hour and silent auction bidding, a short ceremony, dinner and dancing. Awards are presented to our "Sheep Dogs of the Year," honoring those Sheep Dogs who have gone above and beyond in the line of duty and lived out the SDIA motto, "Helping Others is a Way of Life." Our Honorary Chair, Guest Speaker and Guest of Honor are highly motivating and inspiring, and you won't want to miss them!

We are excited to have Combat Veteran and Guest Speaker Stu Roland from Stu's Clean Cookin' as he shares a bit of his story with us, and Musical Guest Coffey Anderson, Mr. Red, White & Blue himself, entertains us with his amazing talent.

What an honor to have David Guggina, Executive Vice President of Supply Chain at Walmart, join us as our Honorary Chair. All three of our special guests will be attending our VIP Reception. 

Tickets and Sponsorships are live! Have questions, need assistance, want to donate an auction item? Please reach out to:

• Renee Smith, Heroes Gala Chair, [email protected] 
• Jayme Lingo, Director of Philanthropy, [email protected]

We look forward to seeing you in April! 

We are pleased to announce David Guggina as our 2023 Honorary Chair! 

David is an Executive Vice President at Walmart Home Office over Supply Chain and we are grateful for his support of our nation's "Sheep Dogs" - Veterans and First Responders. 

You've likely heard of the business owned by our 2023 Heroes Gala Guest Speaker, Stuart Rowland - Owner of Stu's Clean Cookin'.
Stu has been a supporter of SDIA for several years and we are excited to have him speak at the Heroes Gala.
A little about Stu...
"I began my fitness journey on November 1, 2013. After being told by doctors that I was going to be on pain meds for the rest of my life for back pain, I decided that they were wrong. I was 30 years old and there was no way I was going to NEED pain medicine, especially for the rest of my life. I had survived Iraq, I was disabled, and I was lost, however, there was zero chance I was going to lay down for pain."
Even though it seemed like a different world to him, Stu began attending CrossFit in Van Buren because of his determination to make a change. His back pain soon disappeared and he lost 20 pounds.
"Then, the weight loss stopped. I continued lifting but never could get my weight below 270 pounds. My problem was that I was eating like a power lifter, hoarding everything I thought I needed, but not really having a firm grasp on what food did to my body. One day, I decided that I should stop eating processed foods, and educate myself on food as a whole, rather than following the typical "High Protein Diet." It seemed like it was over-night that I lost 50 pounds. I began learning about protein synthesis, amino acids, how the body processes carbohydrates, and how healthy fats aid in weight loss. Over this periods of time I came up with an easy to follow guide of meal planning."
"What I am doing with this business, is providing a service for people who are too busy to cook healthy for themselves. When life gets in the way of healthy eating, I want to be the business you can come to and keep yourself on track. This started as a social experiment for myself and blew up when people started seeing results right away from my food. I hold true to my beliefs, that healthy food doesn't have to taste bad, and you can still be satisfied with smaller portions. My ultimate goal is to prove to people that healthy food doesn't have to be expensive."

Hailing from Bangs, Texas, Coffey Anderson has built an acclaimed country music career defined by his tireless work ethic, deep sense of humility, and undeniable country roots. Passionate about using music to inspire hope, Coffey's soulful tenor has seen him uplift the nation with his patriotic songs, pay respect to our troops, and connect to millions of listeners across the globe.

Coffey grew up singing gospel in the church, but it wasn't until a breakup that he began to immerse himself in the craft and set his sights on a professional music career. In his youth, he borrowed his then-girlfriend's father's guitar. While the relationship didn't last, his love of music endured. He kept the guitar, worked on his music, and, two decades later, has built a trailblazing career as a neotraditional country entertainer.

Upon relocated to Los Angeles in 2004 to pursue music full-time, the singer's small-town upbringing, country values and unmatched work ethic stayed with him. Once in L.A., he carved out his own lane of country music.  He'd perform on the street with a foldable IKEA table where he sold CDs and took names for his email list. He realized he had to think like an entrepreneur if he wanted to make it in the industry.  Coffey took his music career into his own hands producing his own albums, booking his own shows, and editing his music videos out of his garage. In 2006, he launched his YouTube channel, Coffey Global, which has since amassed over 265,000 subscribers and 100 million lifetime views.

In the years since, Coffey has consistently used his music not only to entertain but to spread a message of hope and healing. When thirteen service members were tragically killed in a bombing at the Kabul airport during the Afghanistan evacuation in 2021, he offered to perform his song Mr. Red, White, and Blue at the service members' funerals. Ultimately, he accepted requests from nine of the thirteen families, traveling at his own expense to perform the song at each of their funerals.

In 2022, Coffey had his Grand Ole Opry debut and received three standing ovations during his performance, something that has never happened before at the Opry.  He was also recognized by the prestigious Texas Country Music Awards as the Badass of the Year. Created by Ron Stone, the award celebrates those who have excelled in humanitarian deeds, selfless acts, charitable work, and loyal patriotism.

While building his brand as an entrepreneur and singer, Coffey continues to use his gift as an entertainer.  His presence continues to thrive online, attracting an average of 640,000 monthly listeners to his Spotify, while his TikTok likes have grown to over 3.7 million. His Netflix original reality series, "Country Ever After," has been viewed by an estimated 50 million people.  Despite his ever-evolving career, Coffey retains his steadfast commitment to his initial goal through his music-using his gift to spread positivity, kindness, and love.