September 22, 2025 • 47 mins
What happens when a child who never felt she belonged grows up to create spaces where others can thrive? Dr. Mindi Anderson's journey from trauma to triumph is a masterclass in resilience and purpose.
At just thirteen years old, Mindi petitioned to enter foster care to escape an emotionally abusive home environment. This early experience instilled in her a deep understanding of what it means to seek belonging – a value that would become the cornerstone of her life's work. Through the kindness of foster parents, teachers, and mentors who believed in her, she discovered the transformative power of community.
When she joined the Air Force with her college roommates, Mindi found another kind of family. What began as a six-year commitment evolved into a 23-year military career that included being stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base during 9/11, where she witnessed President Bush deliver his first address after the attacks. Her service in medical roles as a medic and nurse prepared her for a lifetime of helping others in crisis.
The transition to civilian life revealed a gap that needed filling. Veterans weren't lacking resources – they were struggling to navigate the existing ones. Drawing on her doctoral research about integration in healthcare systems, Mindi founded the Idaho Veterans Chamber of Commerce, creating a navigation hub that connects veterans with local support rather than faceless 1-800 numbers. The organization has become a lifeline for military members transitioning to civilian careers, housing, and community integration.
Recently named the first veteran to receive Idaho Business Review's Woman of the Year award, Dr. Anderson continues expanding her impact through initiatives like creating tiny homes for veterans transitioning from homelessness and volunteering with Cascade Fire Department. Her work exemplifies how personal pain can become purposeful service when channeled through the right values.
Ready to support veterans in your community? Visit IdahoVeterans.org to learn how you can volunteer, donate, or connect veterans with the resources they need to thrive after service. Because when warriors come home, they shouldn't have to fight to belong.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today on the Ever Onward podcast we have Dr Mindy
Anderson Incredible story.
She lives in Cascade, idaho.
She's a 23-year militaryveteran and she is the founder
director and president of theIdaho Veterans Chamber of
Commerce.
She has an incredible story ofgrit and perseverance and now is
doing good all around Idahoafter serving our country for 23
(00:24):
years.
It's an incredible story.
I look forward to sharing ittoday, dr Mindy Anderson.
Mindy, thank you for being heretoday.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Hi, thank you for having me.
This is awesome.
I'm telling you I've Hi thankyou for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
This is awesome.
I'm telling you.
I've heard so many great thingsfor so long, multiple people.
You got to get her on.
You got to get her on.
So it's fun to meet you.
Thank you, and you said youwere just here.
You were here last night.
Came down from Cascade lastnight.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I did.
Yep, I came down last night.
I was the keynote speaker forthe Idaho Business Review Woman
of the Year.
I was awarded Woman of the Yearfor 2024.
And so I was the keynotespeaker last night and it was a
great evening, especially on9-11, with being a veteran and a
first responder myself too aswell.
(01:19):
It was a wonderful night,Inspiring.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Tell us more about it , because you were the first
veteran to ever receive theaward.
Is that right?
Yes, sir, how can that?
Speaker 2 (01:26):
be.
That's what I wonder too, andhopefully this changes.
I read that In preparation.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
I read that and I'm like all the years they've done
it.
I mean it's an amazing program.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Right.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
But it was one of the .
I'm like.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Yes, it is right and hopefully that changes and
hopefully we can get more womenveterans that are up there.
(02:29):
So what did you talk about lastnight?
And then also my career fromchildhood to adulthood to
military and to today after themilitary, and really just talked
about self-belonging and howthat really is the value that I
truly embrace and appreciate,because it helps me to
understand why I do the thingsthat I do and what is so
important to me and why I getprotective of things that I get
protective of because of mychildhood trauma that I've
experienced and then going intothe military and some of the
trauma you experience there tooas well, it really comes down to
self-belonging in the communityof people that are around you,
(02:51):
and that value for me is just soimportant and it really it
really has helped me to realizewho I am and and be okay with
that.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Well, I want to hear your history because it's
important and that's part ofwhat we do on this podcast.
I think there's a lot to learnfrom people's experiences and
stories and then from them.
But before we go there becauseI'm intrigued that we started
here I have a good friend, donBerger, who wrote a book on
belonging recently.
It's a great book, and so it'sinteresting that you bring up
(03:25):
the self-belonging.
Talk a little bit more aboutthat, because that's his big
thing.
I mean, he talks about just youknow this need as humans to
belong to a community and peoplethat care and love us and you
fit in and you feel you knowthat's where you get so much
self-worth.
(03:45):
But talk more about that.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Well, so when you talk about values, it's really
like you said.
It's really what everybodythrives on feeling valued,
waking up every day and findinga way to navigate the day and
have a purpose.
And so values can be somethingthat can really disrupt your
(04:11):
life if you're really not reallypaying attention to what your
values are.
There's so many values and itreally is.
Values are emotions and whatyou feel and what is most
important to you.
And so, with self belonging, itreally started with my
childhood trauma.
I had a mother that wasemotionally and mentally abusive
(04:32):
, went through some differentthings.
I remember I talked about thislast night.
I remember just in reference tokind of what I experienced.
She would just get so angry andso upset about some of the
littlest, smallest things.
Just being a kid, she wouldpack up my stuff and she'd put
it on the curb and she'd kick meout and she'd call the police
(04:54):
department and say, come get her.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Where did you grow up ?
Speaker 2 (04:57):
I grew up in New York , upstate New York, yeah and um.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
How old were you when this?
Speaker 2 (05:02):
happened.
Uh, it started around nine.
Wow, it's awful.
Yeah, so I used to have this.
Detective would always come,because it was kind of a common
occurrence, and he would comepick me up, take me to the park,
take me to get ice cream, comeback and ask if I could go back
home and she let me come backhome.
But it really is interestingthat I was so determined at that
(05:28):
age to not be living that lifethat I was living and I just
wanted to be a child and Iwanted to grow up feeling loved
and that's really what it camedown to and feeling like I
belonged there.
And it didn't feel like Ibelonged and so for so long it
was.
It was hard for me to reallycome to grips with.
(05:51):
If I want to be normal and if Iwant to live a healthy life as
a kid, um, going down the pathof actually having myself
removed from the home was theonly option that was there.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Did you have siblings ?
Speaker 2 (06:08):
I had siblings, yes, and they too had the same
experience.
They all were younger.
They were all younger One wasjust a year younger than me and
then the other one she's 10years younger than me.
So she grew up in a differenttype of experience because she
was so much younger than me andmy other sister, the middle
(06:31):
sister.
But through that experiencewith my mother and just really
wanting to feel like I belongedsomewhere, wanting to feel like
I belonged somewhere, that'sreally what I started reflecting
on just recently, over the lastcouple of years, and really
looking at emotionalintelligence and trying to
(06:51):
figure out, you know, why do Ido the things that I do and what
is so important to me.
And then I did talk about alsolast night, our Air Force Corps,
values too, as well Integrity,service before self, excellence
in all we do, and values reallycan be a grounding force for
(07:14):
anybody to be able to reflect onand be okay with those values,
Did you so?
Speaker 1 (07:16):
how did you get out of that situation?
What was the Well, so.
It's just awful.
I'm just.
You think of a nine-year-oldand and and the safety and
security and love and compassionyou need to fill in your life,
and and you, uh, how did you getout?
Speaker 2 (07:33):
I um so, through caseworkers, through social
workers, through therapists,through the detective that would
come and get me, um, theyprovided some options for me to
be removed from the home.
So I actually was able topetition when I was 13.
I had to wait until I was 13.
And so, at 13, I petitioned tobe removed from the home.
(07:53):
There was a law that allowedfor me to do that, and I was
originally going to go live witha family member, but that
family member also wasn't ashealthy as what I thought they
might be, and so I ended upgoing into a foster home, and it
was the best, the best decisionof of my life, really, and that
(08:15):
just led me to Did you stay inone foster home then through
your adolescence?
Yes, I was.
I was the last child to gothrough this foster home,
because they were older.
And going into the foster homeI just became surrounded by
people that loved me justinstantly my friends, their
parents, are like parents to me.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Was it in the same area or did you move to a new
area?
Speaker 2 (08:40):
I moved about 20 minutes away, okay, so I was in
a completely different schoolsystem and everything.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
All kind of fresh start with nice people that you
feel love.
Yes, isn't that wonderful.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
It is, yeah, and I had school teachers, mrs
Mansfield.
She used to take me tocheerleading practice and
softball and I got to do all thesports that I wanted to do.
She helped me get my first joband she would take me to work,
and it's just those people, andthat's where you know.
I think where self-belongingcomes in is that's what I crave
(09:14):
and I need in order to be ableto be successful To be
surrounded by people that loveme and know me and support me
and be okay with those that maynot me, and know me and support
me and be okay with those thatmay not, Because you know there
are times where there can berelationships or people that may
not agree with who you are orwhat you do and how you do it,
(09:35):
and I've had to really reflecton that in order to be able to
move forward with what I'm doingnow, working with the Idaho
Veterans Chamber of Commerce andbeing the founder of that.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
So do you still have a relationship with your foster
parents?
Speaker 2 (09:49):
They've since passed away.
Yes, they passed away after Ijoined the military, several
years after that.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
So, and boy, what a?
I mean, let's talk about thisfor a little bit We've been able
to have, um, some interactionwith foster parents um over the
years, my, my wife and I andwhat a blessing.
Uh, you talk about doing god'swork.
Um, and and and these folks hada history of doing foster
(10:17):
parents for for many kids.
You said you were the last oneto go through, so let's talk a
little more about them.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
Yeah, they were older and they had been foster
parents for a little over 30years, so they were just very
inviting and they just treatedme like a kid.
They allowed for me to go outwith friends and I wasn't always
(10:47):
grounded and they supported allthe things that I did and they
were just there for me always.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
How many kids did they have in the home when you
were there?
Speaker 2 (10:58):
We roughly had around three at a time.
That would be there.
A lot would come in and then goback home and I was like, nope,
I'm staying here, I am goodwhere I'm at and I just want to
live here and live my highschool years here and see where
that takes me.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Do you still have a relationship with your mother?
Speaker 2 (11:19):
You know, I don't have a relationship with her and
that's something that I've hadto really reflect on.
For me early on it wasimportant to make sure that I
had healthy people surroundingme, and so I had hoped maybe one
day that we would be able tomend the relationships, and I
(11:41):
tried several times but it kindof always went down the path of
the emotional abuse and such.
So I really have never beenable to repair that.
My sisters do speak with herand they have a good
relationship with her.
She's now in a nursing home andthey do send pictures and I did
(12:06):
see her on FaceTime overChristmas this last Christmas
and uh, my, my sister Did.
She have mental illness, then,you know, never diagnosed, and I
think that was part of um.
I got the help that I neededand she didn't get the help that
she needed.
And I remember meeting with umabout 10 years into the Air
(12:27):
Force.
I reached out to my lawguardian and my my social worker
hadn't seen them since Igraduated from high school, went
to college and then off to theair force and I met with them
for lunch and I remember thetherapist saying to me now was
it your mom?
That said that we were crazy.
And I said, yes, that was mymom.
And she said, okay, I thoughtso and that was that was.
It was really disappointing.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
She just didn't want to get the help or was so Well,
you talk about building someresilience in your life.
I don't know that I've evertalked to anyone that's had this
experience.
What kind of courage does ittake, as a 13 year old, to go to
court and petition?
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Yeah, a lot of tears, a lot of tears, a lot of um.
Am I doing the right thing?
Um, and really it came down tothose that surrounded me, that
continue to support me, and itreally just came to the end
where, um, we, we had to take itto a trial and we had all these
people that were there to speakon my behalf, all these
(13:29):
professionals, and she didn'thave anybody.
And the judge said do youreally want to go through this,
or can we just settle thisoutside?
And so we did.
And they said you could stay atthe home until we can find
adoption or you can go into thefoster home.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
You know I'm sitting here thinking, you know we're
all busy and you just get goingthrough life and doing your
thing right.
And how many times do we pauseand reflect of the powerful
experiences you can have inpeople's lives by going above
and beyond to just be kind andhelpful?
And you think of all the peoplein like 15 minutes or how long
we've been going here, thenumber of people that were there
(14:11):
for you.
You've mentioned the detective,you've mentioned the social
workers and the people that werejust there to help, and then
these angels, these foster folks, that really who knows how your
life would have ended up,absolutely, I mean, think about
the wow.
(14:33):
Have you been involved in thefoster system here at all?
Speaker 2 (14:38):
I haven't, but I feel like I'm ready and be a mentor
or a source of somebody that canshow others that it is possible
to beat the cycle.
Yeah, you know, get out of thatcycle and really do something
with yourself.
The statistics are very grim.
(15:01):
It's very grim with kids thatend up in foster home and how
they can, how they can bounceback and be resilient, and it
really comes down to for me, itwas the community of people, and
and not always do they havethat and um, so it's it's
something that I definitelywould love to do.
I feel like I'm ready now to tobe able to have, have those
(15:22):
conversations, um, and be ableto support that system, because
it's so important, and be ableto help build communities around
the foster system too as well,because that's really what it
comes down to is that communityof people.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Amazing.
So military.
So when did you know that thatwas the path?
Speaker 2 (15:45):
You know it was unexpected.
I went to college after Igraduated high school and I was
there and one of my roommatesfrom college she said I'm going
to join the Air Force and I saidgreat.
And then the recruiter came andthen he recruited us all.
So three out of four of theroommates joined the Air Force
and we all went to basictraining.
So three out of four of theroommates joined the Air Force
(16:06):
and we all went to basictraining.
We thought we would come backand go to college, you know, or
get out.
Just do a six-year enlistment.
And so we all joined the AirForce.
I was the only one that stayedin past six.
The others did end up gettingout, but I was there in the
military through 9-11.
I was actually at Barksdale AirForce Base in Louisiana,
(16:32):
shreveport, louisiana, whenPresident Bush left the Florida
classroom, when he was notifiedand he came to our base.
He came to your base.
He came to Barksdale Air ForceBase to make his state, his
first state of the address tothe to the combination.
So at that time I was a radiooperator and as a radio operator
I worked in the largest commandcenter that we have.
We have the second largestweapon storage area in the Air
(16:56):
Force and so it made sense whyhe was coming to our base,
because of the things that wehad in place and the secure
comms and different things.
And so he was there for 15minutes, he took a case of
bananas and then he was gone andthe military was never the same
after that.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
You know, yesterday we celebrated 9-11 and it just
doesn't seem possible that itwas that long ago, absolutely.
But you remember where you wereand just thinking it's never
going to be the same again.
I was working in the ER.
I was working a night shift andyou know kind of the way the
(17:37):
pace of a night shift works.
It winds down a little bittowards the end and I only had a
few patients left.
I was sitting back at thedoctor's lounge and like it came
on and then just everyone satjust glued and and I remember
just, I had my, my partner comein that was taking over for me
in the morning, and we just satthere together like just in
silence.
(17:57):
It was just two of us staringat the TV and just saying to
each other what does this mean?
Right, what is?
It was such a unique time inhistory and for us that were,
you know, getting old now, right, you think back to those days
(18:18):
and then I remember filling.
I remember President Bush, whenit was Andy Card, I think that
went and whispered in his ear atthe elementary school where he
was reading the books to thekids and I think he handled
himself so well and theleadership after and the country
seemed to come together in sucha wonderful way.
(18:38):
I think that's my best memoryof it.
When I think of it, I think ofthis horrific tragedy and then I
think of this real united senseof patriotism and Americans.
And this is who we are, and itdidn't last near long enough.
And then I look at where we arenow and just how horrifically
(18:59):
polarized we are and how sadthat is, and who knows where
that goes or how it ends,because it's just so bad right
now, um, uh, and it was so goodthen afterwards it was it was I.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
I remember just being embraced in the community if I
were in uniform.
Um, I had a second job job topay off some of my college bills
and I remember we got the lastplane out because we had shipped
out the B-52s they're thebombers and they were gone.
We pretty much packed up ourentire base and shipped it out
(19:36):
in 48 hours, and so those of usthat were left behind were just
exhausted and emotional, and Iremember going to the restaurant
and going to grab something toeat and just all my, all the
co-workers just coming up to meand just hugging me and it was
very emotional and and wecontinued to feel that after
(19:58):
where they were always there forus and we had to take care of
each other too as well, we alsohad to take care of each other
too as well.
We also had to take care of thefamilies that their, their loved
ones, went to war within 48hours and everything changed for
them too.
So it was a very, veryemotional time and we got
through it by leaning on eachother and just being there for
each other and that's really,you know, that's the.
(20:20):
The second part of thatself-belonging is that that
military family that you haveit's given to you and it's there
for you and it's always therefor you and it's a family that
is not like any other when itcomes to just taking care of
(20:40):
each other.
We talk about integrity.
You know service before self,excellence in all we do, and
those are values that you know Ivalue so deeply and love the
community.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
Yeah, I'm thinking about with your upbringing, and
then you went into this.
You know this place where thereis this sense of just belonging
big time yeah, I've.
I didn't serve, but I've hadthe privilege of being around a
lot of people who did and mostrecently, were very involved
with operation militaryblessings I saw that around.
(21:17):
I'm around tom and his crew alot and it we were with him last
week in an event and, um, thereis a brotherhood, there is a
bond, there is a there.
It's just really amazing to seeand watch it and, uh, and it's
really cool.
Um, that probably felt good toyou.
So how many years?
(21:37):
How many years did you serveand and what?
Tell us a little bit about yourservice and and what it was
like, and.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Yeah.
So after 9-11, that's when Iknew you know, this is something
that I want to be a part of,this is where I belong.
So I committed to staying in.
I did 23 years in the military,12 of that was active duty, and
then 10 years here at GowanField in Boise, idaho.
And I had an opportunity to goto a couple of different bases.
(22:05):
I went to Mississippi,washington, california.
Never made it overseas.
My husband and I both servedand we had wished we had at
least gone overseas at leastonce before we had transitioned
into the Guard.
But we retired after 23 years.
I, shortly after 9-11, I was inmy window to cross train and I
went into medical, and so that'swhere I was the entire rest of
(22:29):
my careers in the medical field,working as a medic and a nurse,
and very rewarding job too aswell.
I and it's kind of why I'mstill with the fire department,
because I just love that partpart of my military experience
in the medical field.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
I've asked this question before to folks that
have served.
But what are the things youwould want people listening to
this that haven't served?
I mean, you look at thepercentage of the population now
that serves a country it's notvery many, and so there's a lot
of people that just don't haveas much.
I mean, I think there's atremendous amount of respect.
I think one of the things Ilove about Idaho and our
(23:10):
community is for the military,for first responders, for the
people that run towards danger.
There is a real love and deepappreciation and it's sincere,
it's genuine, and I don't thinkit's like that everywhere.
I know it's not, but that's oneof the things that make us
great as a community.
But with that said, what arethe things you would want them
to know about military servicethat might inspire them or their
(23:35):
kids or their loved ones toserve?
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Yeah, I think really, when it comes to, and part of
why I started the Idaho VeteransChamber of Commerce is to
figure out how to bridge thegaps between the Idaho and the
military community Because, likeyou said, the Idaho community
wants to support the militarycommunity.
They just don't know how.
And creating that space forthem to be able to support the
(24:00):
military community is soimportant for the military
community because they need that, and then also the military
community needs the Idahocommunity, right, they need jobs
, they need to buy houses, theyneed to have a trusted circle of
people that they can depend onand a network.
And so what we see a lot withthe Idaho Veterans Chamber of
(24:21):
Commerce is people do tend toget a little nervous because
they don't want to offendmilitary people or veterans or
say something that may be wrongor refer to something that might
not be accurate, and so we seea lot of that, we see a lot of
hesitation, and so I alwaysencourage people to get to know
(24:44):
the veterans.
You know you can start off withsimple questions, just like
you're asking of me where didyou serve, what did you do,
those different things?
And that really helps to openup those conversations and those
dialogues between just twopeople and you can really learn
a lot about the military.
Two people and you can reallylearn a lot about the military.
(25:07):
So when we do events, what wehear after we get done with our
events is always wow, I had noidea.
And that's part of just sharingour heritage and who we are as
a military community.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
I've had the enormous privilege of being involved
with Mission 43.
Awesome, and I don't know howmany years it's been now that I
get to speak to and becomefriends with their cohorts that
go through their leadershipprogram, and but it's so.
It's been good for me becauseI've been able to listen to
stories and hear and experiencesome of the experiences and
(25:42):
they're all unique, right.
I mean, everyone kind of has adifferent outlook and view of
how this thing goes, but onecommon theme is you go from
these positions that are of highcompetency a lot of trust and
ability.
That's there.
You're in the military, youunderstand leadership, you've
come up in this world oftraining and leadership and it's
(26:06):
just part of your DNA.
And then when you come out,it's, I mean, I'll never forget.
Last year I was sitting with aguy that was in the cohort and
he asked to talk to meafterwards and this guy was a
seasoned leader and he was justout and kind of struggling.
He's like I'm trying, I'm justtrying to find my mojo and I'm
trying to figure out where I fitand I'm second-guessing do I
(26:29):
have what it takes?
And I listened to him for about20 minutes and then I just
looked at him and I said man,you are it, you just you know
confidence.
Like trust yourself, trust yourabilities, you will kill it.
Like trust yourself, trust yourabilities, you will kill it.
These skills directly translateto the business community.
Anyway, it was this reallytouching moment with him.
(26:52):
But I continue to realize thattransition after 23 years, after
a storied career of service,that there's a transition to the
civilian world and it's toughfor people, it is.
And there's a transition to thecivilian world and it's it's
tough for people.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
It is and the transition can last for years.
Yeah, Because you, just, youjust don't come out of the
military after serving 23 yearsone day and and the next day
become a civilian.
And yes, we, we see a lot ofthat with the Idaho Veterans
Chamber of Commerce, just the.
I think it more comes down tothe confidence that they have.
(27:28):
They have the credentials, theyhave the resume, they have the
experience and trying to getthem into those positions it can
be challenging also on theemployer side, because there's
this somewhat of a bias.
To some degree it depends onwho's doing the hiring, but if
they don't directly see thatexperience in that industry,
(27:49):
then it can be a barrier to themthinking that that person may
be qualified for the position.
And so we do a lot of reallyjust helping employers
understand the military, thebackground, their leadership
experience and, honestly,they're just so eager to jump in
(28:09):
and they're some of the bestemployees that anyone could ask
for because they're willing tolearn and they, you know they
want to start this chapter oftheir life and they want to have
new experiences and they workhard and know they show up and
it's just the military communityis sometimes an untapped skill
set that we don't necessarilysee how did you start the?
Speaker 1 (28:35):
there was no Chamber of Commerce for.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Talk about how this started and give us the history
of this yes, so I completed mydoctorate's degree in healthcare
administration and mydissertation was actually
focused around integrating EMSinto the patient-centered
medical home.
So I know you probablyunderstand what that means.
(28:59):
You know that was the time whenAffordable Care Act was going
into place and doctors werebeing required to have to manage
care better, and EMS was one ofthose left out entities of the
health care system that wasn'tpart of the health care system.
They pick somebody up, theydrop them off and then they go
on their way, but there's noconnection or discussion.
(29:21):
Or, you know, working with thefamily practice doctor, because
the ER doctor is the one that'sgoing to manage the immediate,
but then they go to the familypractice doctor and the family
practice doctor is really whothe EMS services should be
talking to.
This is why they don't managetheir diabetes.
They have potato chips, youknow, in their home.
They can see they can advocatefor the patient too as well.
(29:43):
They can see they can advocatefor the patient too as well.
And so at that time I wasworking at the EMS Bureau for
the state and the communityhealth EMS concept was being
born across the nation and Iwanted to research how do you
(30:07):
integrate EMS into the healthcare system and not for it to be
siloed.
And so it really came down tothe community health EMS system
but collaboration, connection,building the network, knowing
you know the EMS providers andthe family practice providers
working together, bridging thegaps, really.
And so when you think aboutthat and what I did on the
dissertation, it startedresonating with me as a military
(30:31):
member Coming out of themilitary.
I don't just go into a networkand you can't just develop a
network overnight.
And I wanted to start abusiness and I didn't even know
where to start.
And I went to this onenetworking event out of place
and beelined for the girl thathad the American flag scarf on.
(30:51):
Surely she's a veteran and shesure was Um, and I've just felt
so out of place.
But it took me a while, um,because even though I lived here
in Idaho and I was in the guard, my community was still the
military and we still were verymuch so the ones that um
connected all the time and didyou know functions and birthday
(31:11):
parties and different things,and I never really got to know
the Idaho community.
And so it was a pretty bigeye-opener for me when I went to
go find a job after coming offof borders.
I didn't have a network foremployment.
I got hired at the EMS Bureaubecause the hiring manager was
an Army medic.
Ems Bureau because the hiringmanager was an Army medic, and
(31:33):
so he of course said, yeah,absolutely, you know Air Force
and Army medics, we can actuallydo a little bit more than some
of your basics that we have inIdaho and that talent and that
skill set we need on our team.
And so he recognized that.
But he recognized it becausehe's experienced it.
So, yeah, it really just camedown to what is it that we need?
(31:57):
What is it that is missing hereand through the navigators,
where navigators were justhelping to make sure that all
the doctors were talking to eachother and that there was a good
plan amongst everyone to manageall the comorbidities that they
(32:20):
had.
And that's really the same as aveteran.
So, when you think about it, theveteran is like EMS.
They're kind of siloed and theyneed a lot of different things.
You know, not just they don'tjust need different things, they
don't just need a job, theydon't just need education
benefits, they don't just needbusiness resources.
Right, there's human basicneeds that we all have and that
(32:43):
we all need in order to livewhen you started belonging.
Yeah, and belonging right andfeeling like you're seen and you
can do anything right.
And so we did some focus groupsand we did a market research
study and what came back was wejust need somebody to tell us
where the resources are.
(33:04):
It's not that we don't haveresources we have so many, but
it's so hard for us to know whatresources we really need.
And for them, for the militarycommunity, they always had that
in one building and even withthe VA and Division of Veterans
Services, they all work togetherright.
But then when you come out intothe Idaho community, it's
(33:25):
Google and you know Hail Mary'sout on social media and looking
for a job and you know thedifferent things.
And instead now they can cometo the Idaho Veterans Chamber of
Commerce and we can helpnavigate them through our
network hub to get resources foreducation, entrepreneurship,
(33:48):
housing, if they want to usetheir VA home loan.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
Can we pull this up for those that are on YouTube?
Maddie, can you pull up what'sthe URL?
Speaker 2 (33:55):
IdahoVeteransorg.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
IdahoVeteransorg.
Okay, you're already there, sotogether is better, and so
anyone out there that has aloved one or veteran or that's
listening to the show, you go toidoveveteransorg and here it is
.
Walk us through some of theservices that you provide.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
Yeah, so our model is a navigation service model and
so we are not a program-drivenmodel.
We are a service-based modelwhere people military community
members will come to us,military in transition will come
to us and request services andthen from there we meet with
(34:39):
them and then we determine wheredo we need to navigate them to.
Next, we do provide freemembership.
We are a 501c3.
We provide free membership andfree navigation services and so
really, depending on what it isand the form that they fill out
and what their needs are, that'skind of where we start.
This is so cool.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
It reminds me of.
This is a long time ago, but Iwas on the United Way board and
this was back when this PromiseNeighborhoods became a thing.
So I went down and visited themand then we ended up taking a
whole group from Idaho down toUtah.
But they would use theelementary school or the junior
(35:20):
high school as the gatheringplace and they would bring all
the resources in for thefamilies in need.
So they'd pick a really poorschool in a poor school district
.
That families, these kids, theyneed all these services but
they don't have the ability toeven how do they do this?
So they would put an aggregatorthat would sit there and then
bring those services in, whetherthat's you know English as a
(35:43):
second language, or healthcareor dentistry, or how do you plug
into the right benefits withthe state has that were
available.
And it was absolutely crazy, thesuccess, just knowing where to
get help and knowing, hey, I'vegot this stuff aggregated so I
can.
Just as I'm listening to you,I'm like this is it for veterans
, right, it didn't exist before,where you've got all of the
(36:04):
services and community you'vebuilt for them.
Essentially, now plug in.
Now what do you need?
And here's how we point you anddirect you.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
Yeah, and with the veteran services that are
provided through the USDepartment of Veteran Affairs
and Idaho Division of VeteranServices and military
installations too as well, forthe members.
They do a really great job oftaking care of the member while
they're in uniform and thenafter they come out.
However, they don't necessarilyhave that network of employers,
(36:34):
they don't have that network ofbusiness resource partners,
they don't have that network ofreal estate agents and mortgage
brokers that know how to processVA home loan benefits right.
So so, while they do a greatcare there, they do a great job
there and taking care of themember with what they can
provide and what is as far astheir network goes.
But it needs to go further,beyond that, into the Idaho
(36:56):
communities.
And we like to say, whichresonates very well for military
members, we connect you with a208 number, not a 1-800 number.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
I like that so clearly.
Most of this is probably donevirtual.
Is there a physical location?
Speaker 2 (37:12):
Yes, we are located at the Nampa Small Business
Development Center over there inthe building that's there by
the Idaho Ford Center.
It's a co-working space.
There are several businessesthat are there, and then we're
also housed with some of ourother brothers and sisters of
other organizations like us,such as the Idaho Hispanic
(37:33):
Chamber of Commerce, IdahoManufacturing Alliance, Idaho
Women's Business Center.
So we're there and that's wherewe are able to meet with
clients.
But we really we serve theentire state and we work with a
lot of transitioning servicemembers, which is helpful to be
remote based, because they'recoming from Japan and North
(37:54):
Carolina or they're coming fromwherever and they don't have a
network here.
So they're really depending onus to help them navigate and get
connected to that network assoon as possible when they're
transitioning out.
Speaker 1 (38:06):
When did you start this?
Speaker 2 (38:08):
We started talking about it in 2020.
2021 was when we did the marketresearch study and then we also
did the focus groups for aboutseven, eight months and we
landed from the state of Idahoat the end of 2021.
And then the SBA as well, andthat was a community navigator
(38:37):
pilot program.
Again, they recognize there'sso many resources for businesses
.
We don't need more, we justneed people to navigate them.
And so those two grants reallylaunched the Idaho Veterans
Chamber of Commerce and beingable to hire staff and really
start putting processes andworkflows and intakes in place,
(38:58):
and so really I would sayvolunteer up until 2022, but
really 2022 and beyond to wherewe're at today.
Speaker 1 (39:07):
It's fantastic.
How can people help if theywant to know more?
A volunteer, anything like that.
Do you want to kind of giveyour?
I know you have probably thistip of your tongue, but give us
the ways we can help.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
Yeah, there's so many different ways.
Starting with being a volunteeris really really the way to get
connected to our network,because that allows for them to
get connected to all the thingsthat we do, whether it's events
or home repair projects, whichis when we really need more
volunteers.
But the volunteer pool isreally where the entry point is.
(39:43):
And then for the militarycommunity, we just always
recommend them to just join thenetwork, because you just never
know when you're going to need anetwork and when you need a
network, that's not when you'retrying to find a network Right,
and so, just being a part of theorganization, it's free
membership for military servingveterans and their family
(40:04):
members, including spouses,dependents and sons and
daughters of veterans.
We have our.
Our ambassador of the year lastyear was a son of a veteran and
um, so we make room foreveryone.
It's it's an open network, it'sthere's places for everyone to
join and get connected?
Speaker 1 (40:24):
um, I do want to.
I was looking, this is goingreally fast.
But housing, like, yes,everyone, um, no matter who you
talk to, now that's the squeezeright In a big way, and I notice
you've got several initiativesto try to help with housing with
veterans.
Speaker 2 (40:41):
We do, yeah.
So right now we have two tinyhomes that are being built by
the West Data School District,their CTE program.
So their high school studentshave been working for the last
two years to build tiny homes.
So the first high school inIdaho to build a tiny home and
(41:02):
they're going to be done here injust another month.
And because we don't have theland yet for the village that we
do want to put tiny homes on,eventually we're going to be
gifting those to veteran farmersor ranchers for workforce,
affordable housing solutionswhere they can put them on their
land and bring in a farm handor a ranch hand to be able to.
(41:23):
Maybe it's a veteran and theywant to do something along those
lines.
We know that there's somesuccession concerns in that
space with the agriculture, withhanding down ranches and farms
to children that may not want todo that.
So we're trying to work throughhow do we get veterans into
(41:44):
that space specifically.
But then also we've got theworkforce initiatives and then
the housing initiatives.
Also, we've got the workforceinitiatives and then the housing
initiatives.
So the concept really startedwith just wanting to create a
village that was not necessarilyfor former homeless veterans
and not necessarily for homelessveterans, but for veterans that
(42:06):
may have experienced all ofthat at some point, but they're
ready for that next transitionin life, they're ready for that
next step.
And so the housing for the tinyhomes and the village that we
would like to create is forthose that graduate essentially
out of homelessness, and they'rein a good space and they're
(42:30):
healthy and they're just needingmore assistance, right, just a
little bit more of a safety netbefore they can really, you know
, get where they need to go.
And a lot of times we see withour homeless veterans or
formerly homeless veterans, oncethey leave those places they
just end up circling back in andit's too soon sometimes for
(42:52):
them, but they don't have theresources or they don't have
that support system.
And so the tiny homes villageis to just help with that next
level of transition, for them tothen be able to graduate out of
the tiny homes and buy a house.
That would be the ultimate goal.
Speaker 1 (43:07):
That's fantastic, fantastic.
I have a bigger list here.
Are you still volunteer withEMS?
I do.
Speaker 2 (43:16):
Yes, I volunteer with Cascade Fire.
Yes, I do it's probably fun.
It is.
Yes, it is interesting.
There's some.
Yes, it's great.
Yeah, and I started the CascadeFire Community Fund up there.
We just had our 9-11 golftournament on Saturday.
We do it every year, We've doneit for the last six years and
(43:37):
that's been really rewardingjust being able to help families
when they're in a time of needand supporting the community in
ways that we're not beingsupported.
Speaker 1 (43:47):
Gosh, I have.
So as an ER doc, you know youdon't everyone, they don't know
this, but you a lot of staffingis done by residents or early on
and you do a lot ofmoonlighting.
So I was in Arizona where I didmy residency and when you go
through that whole trainingprogram and then you, you start
(44:08):
realizing how much you don'tknow.
I mean, you've been throughmedical school and now you're
out.
It is the paramedics and EMSthat you learn almost everything
from, and it's not bookknowledge, it's the practical
stuff, it's the practical skills.
I think of my mentors inmedicine in Tucson it was almost
(44:29):
all EMS that worked in the ERswith me and then so that's one
side of it.
So you gain this deepappreciation for hey, here's
someone that doesn't just talkthe talk or know the book
knowledge, but they know howthis thing works.
And then you get into thesesmaller communities.
I moonlighted like crazy in abunch of little teeny towns in
Arizona, um, and EMS really isthe.
(44:50):
That is the medical communityfor most of this place.
They live there.
One, a lot of them arevolunteer EMS workers or on call
or whatever it be, but they'reyour neighbors, they're your
friends and then when emergencyhits, they're the ones that come
running to help you andultimately get you to an ER.
So what a tremendous treasurethis country has.
(45:10):
You think of the United Statesof America.
It doesn't get talked aboutenough, frankly.
Speaker 2 (45:14):
It doesn't.
Speaker 1 (45:15):
If you think of other countries this doesn't exist
and you think of now, idaho.
And then towards the twilightof my career, where I was going
part-time.
I went out and worked in Weezer.
I worked a 24-hour shift everyweek so I went.
It was kind of fun going fromthis rural experience early on,
that really taught me who I was,and then at the end going back
(45:35):
out there and spent a lot oftime out there and it felt good.
It's just, it's a.
You go to a small communitywhere it's people helping other
people and you got these EMS youknow I mean just salt of the
earth there to help.
And and then and then now itseems like where I run into them
the most is for whatever reason.
It's either God wanting me tobe there, but I run into these
(45:58):
accidents all the time, likethey happen all the time to me,
and that's then then.
Then you experience it againbecause you're on highway 55 and
here comes, here comes theBoise County EMS volunteers that
come out, or on I-84 orwhatever.
But what a treasure thiscountry has that we have people
in the community sharing theirskills and serving others just
(46:23):
because they want to and theywant to be there to help.
That just.
I think nothing says more aboutAmerica than that.
So bless you for doing that.
Speaker 2 (46:31):
Thank you.
Yeah, it's certainly it doesn'tget enough attention and enough
respect and enough compensation.
I mean all the things for what?
Ems and first respondersoverall, what they see, what
they do, what they hear, whatthey smell, all of that is stuff
that people just don'tunderstand until they're
(46:53):
actually in that position wherethey need those responders to
come and help save them.
Speaker 1 (46:59):
Yeah, and they run towards the danger and help.
It's what?
Again?
One of those things that makethis country great.
Well, man, this was wonderful.
This went by really fast, butthank you for all you do.
This went by really fast, butthank you for all you do.
I you know again.
Last lad, before you leave, theURL for your organization is
tell me one more time.
Speaker 2 (47:19):
IdahoVeteransorg.
Speaker 1 (47:20):
IdahoVeteransorg and can reach out for any more
information.
We'll get the word out throughthis, and congratulations on
your speech last night.
Yes, and all you do, and thishas been wonderful.
Thanks for coming on, mindy.
Speaker 2 (47:35):
Yeah, absolutely.
Thank you so much for having metoday.
Speaker 1 (47:38):
Thanks everybody.
Today on the Ever Onward podcast we have Dr Mindy
Anderson Incredible story.
She lives in Cascade, idaho.
She's a 23-year militaryveteran and she is the founder
director and president of theIdaho Veterans Chamber of
Commerce.
She has an incredible story ofgrit and perseverance and now is
doing good all around Idahoafter serving our country for 23
(00:24):
years.
It's an incredible story.
I look forward to sharing ittoday, dr Mindy Anderson.
Mindy, thank you for being heretoday.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Hi, thank you for having me.
This is awesome.
I'm telling you I've Hi thankyou for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
This is awesome.
I'm telling you.
I've heard so many great thingsfor so long, multiple people.
You got to get her on.
You got to get her on.
So it's fun to meet you.
Thank you, and you said youwere just here.
You were here last night.
Came down from Cascade lastnight.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I did.
Yep, I came down last night.
I was the keynote speaker forthe Idaho Business Review Woman
of the Year.
I was awarded Woman of the Yearfor 2024.
And so I was the keynotespeaker last night and it was a
great evening, especially on9-11, with being a veteran and a
first responder myself too aswell.
(01:19):
It was a wonderful night,Inspiring.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Tell us more about it , because you were the first
veteran to ever receive theaward.
Is that right?
Yes, sir, how can that?
Speaker 2 (01:26):
be.
That's what I wonder too, andhopefully this changes.
I read that In preparation.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
I read that and I'm like all the years they've done
it.
I mean it's an amazing program.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Right.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
But it was one of the .
I'm like.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Yes, it is right and hopefully that changes and
hopefully we can get more womenveterans that are up there.
(02:29):
So what did you talk about lastnight?
And then also my career fromchildhood to adulthood to
military and to today after themilitary, and really just talked
about self-belonging and howthat really is the value that I
truly embrace and appreciate,because it helps me to
understand why I do the thingsthat I do and what is so
important to me and why I getprotective of things that I get
protective of because of mychildhood trauma that I've
experienced and then going intothe military and some of the
trauma you experience there tooas well, it really comes down to
self-belonging in the communityof people that are around you,
(02:51):
and that value for me is just soimportant and it really it
really has helped me to realizewho I am and and be okay with
that.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Well, I want to hear your history because it's
important and that's part ofwhat we do on this podcast.
I think there's a lot to learnfrom people's experiences and
stories and then from them.
But before we go there becauseI'm intrigued that we started
here I have a good friend, donBerger, who wrote a book on
belonging recently.
It's a great book, and so it'sinteresting that you bring up
(03:25):
the self-belonging.
Talk a little bit more aboutthat, because that's his big
thing.
I mean, he talks about just youknow this need as humans to
belong to a community and peoplethat care and love us and you
fit in and you feel you knowthat's where you get so much
self-worth.
(03:45):
But talk more about that.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Well, so when you talk about values, it's really
like you said.
It's really what everybodythrives on feeling valued,
waking up every day and findinga way to navigate the day and
have a purpose.
And so values can be somethingthat can really disrupt your
(04:11):
life if you're really not reallypaying attention to what your
values are.
There's so many values and itreally is.
Values are emotions and whatyou feel and what is most
important to you.
And so, with self belonging, itreally started with my
childhood trauma.
I had a mother that wasemotionally and mentally abusive
(04:32):
, went through some differentthings.
I remember I talked about thislast night.
I remember just in reference tokind of what I experienced.
She would just get so angry andso upset about some of the
littlest, smallest things.
Just being a kid, she wouldpack up my stuff and she'd put
it on the curb and she'd kick meout and she'd call the police
(04:54):
department and say, come get her.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Where did you grow up ?
Speaker 2 (04:57):
I grew up in New York , upstate New York, yeah and um.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
How old were you when this?
Speaker 2 (05:02):
happened.
Uh, it started around nine.
Wow, it's awful.
Yeah, so I used to have this.
Detective would always come,because it was kind of a common
occurrence, and he would comepick me up, take me to the park,
take me to get ice cream, comeback and ask if I could go back
home and she let me come backhome.
But it really is interestingthat I was so determined at that
(05:28):
age to not be living that lifethat I was living and I just
wanted to be a child and Iwanted to grow up feeling loved
and that's really what it camedown to and feeling like I
belonged there.
And it didn't feel like Ibelonged and so for so long it
was.
It was hard for me to reallycome to grips with.
(05:51):
If I want to be normal and if Iwant to live a healthy life as
a kid, um, going down the pathof actually having myself
removed from the home was theonly option that was there.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Did you have siblings ?
Speaker 2 (06:08):
I had siblings, yes, and they too had the same
experience.
They all were younger.
They were all younger One wasjust a year younger than me and
then the other one she's 10years younger than me.
So she grew up in a differenttype of experience because she
was so much younger than me andmy other sister, the middle
(06:31):
sister.
But through that experiencewith my mother and just really
wanting to feel like I belongedsomewhere, wanting to feel like
I belonged somewhere, that'sreally what I started reflecting
on just recently, over the lastcouple of years, and really
looking at emotionalintelligence and trying to
(06:51):
figure out, you know, why do Ido the things that I do and what
is so important to me.
And then I did talk about alsolast night, our Air Force Corps,
values too, as well Integrity,service before self, excellence
in all we do, and values reallycan be a grounding force for
(07:14):
anybody to be able to reflect onand be okay with those values,
Did you so?
Speaker 1 (07:16):
how did you get out of that situation?
What was the Well, so.
It's just awful.
I'm just.
You think of a nine-year-oldand and and the safety and
security and love and compassionyou need to fill in your life,
and and you, uh, how did you getout?
Speaker 2 (07:33):
I um so, through caseworkers, through social
workers, through therapists,through the detective that would
come and get me, um, theyprovided some options for me to
be removed from the home.
So I actually was able topetition when I was 13.
I had to wait until I was 13.
And so, at 13, I petitioned tobe removed from the home.
(07:53):
There was a law that allowedfor me to do that, and I was
originally going to go live witha family member, but that
family member also wasn't ashealthy as what I thought they
might be, and so I ended upgoing into a foster home, and it
was the best, the best decisionof of my life, really, and that
(08:15):
just led me to Did you stay inone foster home then through
your adolescence?
Yes, I was.
I was the last child to gothrough this foster home,
because they were older.
And going into the foster homeI just became surrounded by
people that loved me justinstantly my friends, their
parents, are like parents to me.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Was it in the same area or did you move to a new
area?
Speaker 2 (08:40):
I moved about 20 minutes away, okay, so I was in
a completely different schoolsystem and everything.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
All kind of fresh start with nice people that you
feel love.
Yes, isn't that wonderful.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
It is, yeah, and I had school teachers, mrs
Mansfield.
She used to take me tocheerleading practice and
softball and I got to do all thesports that I wanted to do.
She helped me get my first joband she would take me to work,
and it's just those people, andthat's where you know.
I think where self-belongingcomes in is that's what I crave
(09:14):
and I need in order to be ableto be successful To be
surrounded by people that loveme and know me and support me
and be okay with those that maynot me, and know me and support
me and be okay with those thatmay not, Because you know there
are times where there can berelationships or people that may
not agree with who you are orwhat you do and how you do it,
(09:35):
and I've had to really reflecton that in order to be able to
move forward with what I'm doingnow, working with the Idaho
Veterans Chamber of Commerce andbeing the founder of that.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
So do you still have a relationship with your foster
parents?
Speaker 2 (09:49):
They've since passed away.
Yes, they passed away after Ijoined the military, several
years after that.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
So, and boy, what a?
I mean, let's talk about thisfor a little bit We've been able
to have, um, some interactionwith foster parents um over the
years, my, my wife and I andwhat a blessing.
Uh, you talk about doing god'swork.
Um, and and and these folks hada history of doing foster
(10:17):
parents for for many kids.
You said you were the last oneto go through, so let's talk a
little more about them.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
Yeah, they were older and they had been foster
parents for a little over 30years, so they were just very
inviting and they just treatedme like a kid.
They allowed for me to go outwith friends and I wasn't always
(10:47):
grounded and they supported allthe things that I did and they
were just there for me always.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
How many kids did they have in the home when you
were there?
Speaker 2 (10:58):
We roughly had around three at a time.
That would be there.
A lot would come in and then goback home and I was like, nope,
I'm staying here, I am goodwhere I'm at and I just want to
live here and live my highschool years here and see where
that takes me.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Do you still have a relationship with your mother?
Speaker 2 (11:19):
You know, I don't have a relationship with her and
that's something that I've hadto really reflect on.
For me early on it wasimportant to make sure that I
had healthy people surroundingme, and so I had hoped maybe one
day that we would be able tomend the relationships, and I
(11:41):
tried several times but it kindof always went down the path of
the emotional abuse and such.
So I really have never beenable to repair that.
My sisters do speak with herand they have a good
relationship with her.
She's now in a nursing home andthey do send pictures and I did
(12:06):
see her on FaceTime overChristmas this last Christmas
and uh, my, my sister Did.
She have mental illness, then,you know, never diagnosed, and I
think that was part of um.
I got the help that I neededand she didn't get the help that
she needed.
And I remember meeting with umabout 10 years into the Air
(12:27):
Force.
I reached out to my lawguardian and my my social worker
hadn't seen them since Igraduated from high school, went
to college and then off to theair force and I met with them
for lunch and I remember thetherapist saying to me now was
it your mom?
That said that we were crazy.
And I said, yes, that was mymom.
And she said, okay, I thoughtso and that was that was.
It was really disappointing.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
She just didn't want to get the help or was so Well,
you talk about building someresilience in your life.
I don't know that I've evertalked to anyone that's had this
experience.
What kind of courage does ittake, as a 13 year old, to go to
court and petition?
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Yeah, a lot of tears, a lot of tears, a lot of um.
Am I doing the right thing?
Um, and really it came down tothose that surrounded me, that
continue to support me, and itreally just came to the end
where, um, we, we had to take itto a trial and we had all these
people that were there to speakon my behalf, all these
(13:29):
professionals, and she didn'thave anybody.
And the judge said do youreally want to go through this,
or can we just settle thisoutside?
And so we did.
And they said you could stay atthe home until we can find
adoption or you can go into thefoster home.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
You know I'm sitting here thinking, you know we're
all busy and you just get goingthrough life and doing your
thing right.
And how many times do we pauseand reflect of the powerful
experiences you can have inpeople's lives by going above
and beyond to just be kind andhelpful?
And you think of all the peoplein like 15 minutes or how long
we've been going here, thenumber of people that were there
(14:11):
for you.
You've mentioned the detective,you've mentioned the social
workers and the people that werejust there to help, and then
these angels, these foster folks, that really who knows how your
life would have ended up,absolutely, I mean, think about
the wow.
(14:33):
Have you been involved in thefoster system here at all?
Speaker 2 (14:38):
I haven't, but I feel like I'm ready and be a mentor
or a source of somebody that canshow others that it is possible
to beat the cycle.
Yeah, you know, get out of thatcycle and really do something
with yourself.
The statistics are very grim.
(15:01):
It's very grim with kids thatend up in foster home and how
they can, how they can bounceback and be resilient, and it
really comes down to for me, itwas the community of people, and
and not always do they havethat and um, so it's it's
something that I definitelywould love to do.
I feel like I'm ready now to tobe able to have, have those
(15:22):
conversations, um, and be ableto support that system, because
it's so important, and be ableto help build communities around
the foster system too as well,because that's really what it
comes down to is that communityof people.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Amazing.
So military.
So when did you know that thatwas the path?
Speaker 2 (15:45):
You know it was unexpected.
I went to college after Igraduated high school and I was
there and one of my roommatesfrom college she said I'm going
to join the Air Force and I saidgreat.
And then the recruiter came andthen he recruited us all.
So three out of four of theroommates joined the Air Force
and we all went to basictraining.
So three out of four of theroommates joined the Air Force
(16:06):
and we all went to basictraining.
We thought we would come backand go to college, you know, or
get out.
Just do a six-year enlistment.
And so we all joined the AirForce.
I was the only one that stayedin past six.
The others did end up gettingout, but I was there in the
military through 9-11.
I was actually at Barksdale AirForce Base in Louisiana,
(16:32):
shreveport, louisiana, whenPresident Bush left the Florida
classroom, when he was notifiedand he came to our base.
He came to your base.
He came to Barksdale Air ForceBase to make his state, his
first state of the address tothe to the combination.
So at that time I was a radiooperator and as a radio operator
I worked in the largest commandcenter that we have.
We have the second largestweapon storage area in the Air
(16:56):
Force and so it made sense whyhe was coming to our base,
because of the things that wehad in place and the secure
comms and different things.
And so he was there for 15minutes, he took a case of
bananas and then he was gone andthe military was never the same
after that.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
You know, yesterday we celebrated 9-11 and it just
doesn't seem possible that itwas that long ago, absolutely.
But you remember where you wereand just thinking it's never
going to be the same again.
I was working in the ER.
I was working a night shift andyou know kind of the way the
(17:37):
pace of a night shift works.
It winds down a little bittowards the end and I only had a
few patients left.
I was sitting back at thedoctor's lounge and like it came
on and then just everyone satjust glued and and I remember
just, I had my, my partner comein that was taking over for me
in the morning, and we just satthere together like just in
silence.
(17:57):
It was just two of us staringat the TV and just saying to
each other what does this mean?
Right, what is?
It was such a unique time inhistory and for us that were,
you know, getting old now, right, you think back to those days
(18:18):
and then I remember filling.
I remember President Bush, whenit was Andy Card, I think that
went and whispered in his ear atthe elementary school where he
was reading the books to thekids and I think he handled
himself so well and theleadership after and the country
seemed to come together in sucha wonderful way.
(18:38):
I think that's my best memoryof it.
When I think of it, I think ofthis horrific tragedy and then I
think of this real united senseof patriotism and Americans.
And this is who we are, and itdidn't last near long enough.
And then I look at where we arenow and just how horrifically
(18:59):
polarized we are and how sadthat is, and who knows where
that goes or how it ends,because it's just so bad right
now, um, uh, and it was so goodthen afterwards it was it was I.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
I remember just being embraced in the community if I
were in uniform.
Um, I had a second job job topay off some of my college bills
and I remember we got the lastplane out because we had shipped
out the B-52s they're thebombers and they were gone.
We pretty much packed up ourentire base and shipped it out
(19:36):
in 48 hours, and so those of usthat were left behind were just
exhausted and emotional, and Iremember going to the restaurant
and going to grab something toeat and just all my, all the
co-workers just coming up to meand just hugging me and it was
very emotional and and wecontinued to feel that after
(19:58):
where they were always there forus and we had to take care of
each other too as well, we alsohad to take care of each other
too as well.
We also had to take care of thefamilies that their, their loved
ones, went to war within 48hours and everything changed for
them too.
So it was a very, veryemotional time and we got
through it by leaning on eachother and just being there for
each other and that's really,you know, that's the.
(20:20):
The second part of thatself-belonging is that that
military family that you haveit's given to you and it's there
for you and it's always therefor you and it's a family that
is not like any other when itcomes to just taking care of
(20:40):
each other.
We talk about integrity.
You know service before self,excellence in all we do, and
those are values that you know Ivalue so deeply and love the
community.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
Yeah, I'm thinking about with your upbringing, and
then you went into this.
You know this place where thereis this sense of just belonging
big time yeah, I've.
I didn't serve, but I've hadthe privilege of being around a
lot of people who did and mostrecently, were very involved
with operation militaryblessings I saw that around.
(21:17):
I'm around tom and his crew alot and it we were with him last
week in an event and, um, thereis a brotherhood, there is a
bond, there is a there.
It's just really amazing to seeand watch it and, uh, and it's
really cool.
Um, that probably felt good toyou.
So how many years?
(21:37):
How many years did you serveand and what?
Tell us a little bit about yourservice and and what it was
like, and.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Yeah.
So after 9-11, that's when Iknew you know, this is something
that I want to be a part of,this is where I belong.
So I committed to staying in.
I did 23 years in the military,12 of that was active duty, and
then 10 years here at GowanField in Boise, idaho.
And I had an opportunity to goto a couple of different bases.
(22:05):
I went to Mississippi,washington, california.
Never made it overseas.
My husband and I both servedand we had wished we had at
least gone overseas at leastonce before we had transitioned
into the Guard.
But we retired after 23 years.
I, shortly after 9-11, I was inmy window to cross train and I
went into medical, and so that'swhere I was the entire rest of
(22:29):
my careers in the medical field,working as a medic and a nurse,
and very rewarding job too aswell.
I and it's kind of why I'mstill with the fire department,
because I just love that partpart of my military experience
in the medical field.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
I've asked this question before to folks that
have served.
But what are the things youwould want people listening to
this that haven't served?
I mean, you look at thepercentage of the population now
that serves a country it's notvery many, and so there's a lot
of people that just don't haveas much.
I mean, I think there's atremendous amount of respect.
I think one of the things Ilove about Idaho and our
(23:10):
community is for the military,for first responders, for the
people that run towards danger.
There is a real love and deepappreciation and it's sincere,
it's genuine, and I don't thinkit's like that everywhere.
I know it's not, but that's oneof the things that make us
great as a community.
But with that said, what arethe things you would want them
to know about military servicethat might inspire them or their
(23:35):
kids or their loved ones toserve?
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Yeah, I think really, when it comes to, and part of
why I started the Idaho VeteransChamber of Commerce is to
figure out how to bridge thegaps between the Idaho and the
military community Because, likeyou said, the Idaho community
wants to support the militarycommunity.
They just don't know how.
And creating that space forthem to be able to support the
(24:00):
military community is soimportant for the military
community because they need that, and then also the military
community needs the Idahocommunity, right, they need jobs
, they need to buy houses, theyneed to have a trusted circle of
people that they can depend onand a network.
And so what we see a lot withthe Idaho Veterans Chamber of
(24:21):
Commerce is people do tend toget a little nervous because
they don't want to offendmilitary people or veterans or
say something that may be wrongor refer to something that might
not be accurate, and so we seea lot of that, we see a lot of
hesitation, and so I alwaysencourage people to get to know
(24:44):
the veterans.
You know you can start off withsimple questions, just like
you're asking of me where didyou serve, what did you do,
those different things?
And that really helps to openup those conversations and those
dialogues between just twopeople and you can really learn
a lot about the military.
Two people and you can reallylearn a lot about the military.
(25:07):
So when we do events, what wehear after we get done with our
events is always wow, I had noidea.
And that's part of just sharingour heritage and who we are as
a military community.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
I've had the enormous privilege of being involved
with Mission 43.
Awesome, and I don't know howmany years it's been now that I
get to speak to and becomefriends with their cohorts that
go through their leadershipprogram, and but it's so.
It's been good for me becauseI've been able to listen to
stories and hear and experiencesome of the experiences and
(25:42):
they're all unique, right.
I mean, everyone kind of has adifferent outlook and view of
how this thing goes, but onecommon theme is you go from
these positions that are of highcompetency a lot of trust and
ability.
That's there.
You're in the military, youunderstand leadership, you've
come up in this world oftraining and leadership and it's
(26:06):
just part of your DNA.
And then when you come out,it's, I mean, I'll never forget.
Last year I was sitting with aguy that was in the cohort and
he asked to talk to meafterwards and this guy was a
seasoned leader and he was justout and kind of struggling.
He's like I'm trying, I'm justtrying to find my mojo and I'm
trying to figure out where I fitand I'm second-guessing do I
(26:29):
have what it takes?
And I listened to him for about20 minutes and then I just
looked at him and I said man,you are it, you just you know
confidence.
Like trust yourself, trust yourabilities, you will kill it.
Like trust yourself, trust yourabilities, you will kill it.
These skills directly translateto the business community.
Anyway, it was this reallytouching moment with him.
(26:52):
But I continue to realize thattransition after 23 years, after
a storied career of service,that there's a transition to the
civilian world and it's toughfor people, it is.
And there's a transition to thecivilian world and it's it's
tough for people.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
It is and the transition can last for years.
Yeah, Because you, just, youjust don't come out of the
military after serving 23 yearsone day and and the next day
become a civilian.
And yes, we, we see a lot ofthat with the Idaho Veterans
Chamber of Commerce, just the.
I think it more comes down tothe confidence that they have.
(27:28):
They have the credentials, theyhave the resume, they have the
experience and trying to getthem into those positions it can
be challenging also on theemployer side, because there's
this somewhat of a bias.
To some degree it depends onwho's doing the hiring, but if
they don't directly see thatexperience in that industry,
(27:49):
then it can be a barrier to themthinking that that person may
be qualified for the position.
And so we do a lot of reallyjust helping employers
understand the military, thebackground, their leadership
experience and, honestly,they're just so eager to jump in
(28:09):
and they're some of the bestemployees that anyone could ask
for because they're willing tolearn and they, you know they
want to start this chapter oftheir life and they want to have
new experiences and they workhard and know they show up and
it's just the military communityis sometimes an untapped skill
set that we don't necessarilysee how did you start the?
Speaker 1 (28:35):
there was no Chamber of Commerce for.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Talk about how this started and give us the history
of this yes, so I completed mydoctorate's degree in healthcare
administration and mydissertation was actually
focused around integrating EMSinto the patient-centered
medical home.
So I know you probablyunderstand what that means.
(28:59):
You know that was the time whenAffordable Care Act was going
into place and doctors werebeing required to have to manage
care better, and EMS was one ofthose left out entities of the
health care system that wasn'tpart of the health care system.
They pick somebody up, theydrop them off and then they go
on their way, but there's noconnection or discussion.
(29:21):
Or, you know, working with thefamily practice doctor, because
the ER doctor is the one that'sgoing to manage the immediate,
but then they go to the familypractice doctor and the family
practice doctor is really whothe EMS services should be
talking to.
This is why they don't managetheir diabetes.
They have potato chips, youknow, in their home.
They can see they can advocatefor the patient too as well.
(29:43):
They can see they can advocatefor the patient too as well.
And so at that time I wasworking at the EMS Bureau for
the state and the communityhealth EMS concept was being
born across the nation and Iwanted to research how do you
(30:07):
integrate EMS into the healthcare system and not for it to be
siloed.
And so it really came down tothe community health EMS system
but collaboration, connection,building the network, knowing
you know the EMS providers andthe family practice providers
working together, bridging thegaps, really.
And so when you think aboutthat and what I did on the
dissertation, it startedresonating with me as a military
(30:31):
member Coming out of themilitary.
I don't just go into a networkand you can't just develop a
network overnight.
And I wanted to start abusiness and I didn't even know
where to start.
And I went to this onenetworking event out of place
and beelined for the girl thathad the American flag scarf on.
(30:51):
Surely she's a veteran and shesure was Um, and I've just felt
so out of place.
But it took me a while, um,because even though I lived here
in Idaho and I was in the guard, my community was still the
military and we still were verymuch so the ones that um
connected all the time and didyou know functions and birthday
(31:11):
parties and different things,and I never really got to know
the Idaho community.
And so it was a pretty bigeye-opener for me when I went to
go find a job after coming offof borders.
I didn't have a network foremployment.
I got hired at the EMS Bureaubecause the hiring manager was
an Army medic.
Ems Bureau because the hiringmanager was an Army medic, and
(31:33):
so he of course said, yeah,absolutely, you know Air Force
and Army medics, we can actuallydo a little bit more than some
of your basics that we have inIdaho and that talent and that
skill set we need on our team.
And so he recognized that.
But he recognized it becausehe's experienced it.
So, yeah, it really just camedown to what is it that we need?
(31:57):
What is it that is missing hereand through the navigators,
where navigators were justhelping to make sure that all
the doctors were talking to eachother and that there was a good
plan amongst everyone to manageall the comorbidities that they
(32:20):
had.
And that's really the same as aveteran.
So, when you think about it, theveteran is like EMS.
They're kind of siloed and theyneed a lot of different things.
You know, not just they don'tjust need different things, they
don't just need a job, theydon't just need education
benefits, they don't just needbusiness resources.
Right, there's human basicneeds that we all have and that
(32:43):
we all need in order to livewhen you started belonging.
Yeah, and belonging right andfeeling like you're seen and you
can do anything right.
And so we did some focus groupsand we did a market research
study and what came back was wejust need somebody to tell us
where the resources are.
(33:04):
It's not that we don't haveresources we have so many, but
it's so hard for us to know whatresources we really need.
And for them, for the militarycommunity, they always had that
in one building and even withthe VA and Division of Veterans
Services, they all work togetherright.
But then when you come out intothe Idaho community, it's
(33:25):
Google and you know Hail Mary'sout on social media and looking
for a job and you know thedifferent things.
And instead now they can cometo the Idaho Veterans Chamber of
Commerce and we can helpnavigate them through our
network hub to get resources foreducation, entrepreneurship,
(33:48):
housing, if they want to usetheir VA home loan.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
Can we pull this up for those that are on YouTube?
Maddie, can you pull up what'sthe URL?
Speaker 2 (33:55):
IdahoVeteransorg.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
IdahoVeteransorg.
Okay, you're already there, sotogether is better, and so
anyone out there that has aloved one or veteran or that's
listening to the show, you go toidoveveteransorg and here it is
.
Walk us through some of theservices that you provide.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
Yeah, so our model is a navigation service model and
so we are not a program-drivenmodel.
We are a service-based modelwhere people military community
members will come to us,military in transition will come
to us and request services andthen from there we meet with
(34:39):
them and then we determine wheredo we need to navigate them to.
Next, we do provide freemembership.
We are a 501c3.
We provide free membership andfree navigation services and so
really, depending on what it isand the form that they fill out
and what their needs are, that'skind of where we start.
This is so cool.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
It reminds me of.
This is a long time ago, but Iwas on the United Way board and
this was back when this PromiseNeighborhoods became a thing.
So I went down and visited themand then we ended up taking a
whole group from Idaho down toUtah.
But they would use theelementary school or the junior
(35:20):
high school as the gatheringplace and they would bring all
the resources in for thefamilies in need.
So they'd pick a really poorschool in a poor school district
.
That families, these kids, theyneed all these services but
they don't have the ability toeven how do they do this?
So they would put an aggregatorthat would sit there and then
bring those services in, whetherthat's you know English as a
(35:43):
second language, or healthcareor dentistry, or how do you plug
into the right benefits withthe state has that were
available.
And it was absolutely crazy, thesuccess, just knowing where to
get help and knowing, hey, I'vegot this stuff aggregated so I
can.
Just as I'm listening to you,I'm like this is it for veterans
, right, it didn't exist before,where you've got all of the
(36:04):
services and community you'vebuilt for them.
Essentially, now plug in.
Now what do you need?
And here's how we point you anddirect you.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
Yeah, and with the veteran services that are
provided through the USDepartment of Veteran Affairs
and Idaho Division of VeteranServices and military
installations too as well, forthe members.
They do a really great job oftaking care of the member while
they're in uniform and thenafter they come out.
However, they don't necessarilyhave that network of employers,
(36:34):
they don't have that network ofbusiness resource partners,
they don't have that network ofreal estate agents and mortgage
brokers that know how to processVA home loan benefits right.
So so, while they do a greatcare there, they do a great job
there and taking care of themember with what they can
provide and what is as far astheir network goes.
But it needs to go further,beyond that, into the Idaho
(36:56):
communities.
And we like to say, whichresonates very well for military
members, we connect you with a208 number, not a 1-800 number.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
I like that so clearly.
Most of this is probably donevirtual.
Is there a physical location?
Speaker 2 (37:12):
Yes, we are located at the Nampa Small Business
Development Center over there inthe building that's there by
the Idaho Ford Center.
It's a co-working space.
There are several businessesthat are there, and then we're
also housed with some of ourother brothers and sisters of
other organizations like us,such as the Idaho Hispanic
(37:33):
Chamber of Commerce, IdahoManufacturing Alliance, Idaho
Women's Business Center.
So we're there and that's wherewe are able to meet with
clients.
But we really we serve theentire state and we work with a
lot of transitioning servicemembers, which is helpful to be
remote based, because they'recoming from Japan and North
(37:54):
Carolina or they're coming fromwherever and they don't have a
network here.
So they're really depending onus to help them navigate and get
connected to that network assoon as possible when they're
transitioning out.
Speaker 1 (38:06):
When did you start this?
Speaker 2 (38:08):
We started talking about it in 2020.
2021 was when we did the marketresearch study and then we also
did the focus groups for aboutseven, eight months and we
landed from the state of Idahoat the end of 2021.
And then the SBA as well, andthat was a community navigator
(38:37):
pilot program.
Again, they recognize there'sso many resources for businesses
.
We don't need more, we justneed people to navigate them.
And so those two grants reallylaunched the Idaho Veterans
Chamber of Commerce and beingable to hire staff and really
start putting processes andworkflows and intakes in place,
(38:58):
and so really I would sayvolunteer up until 2022, but
really 2022 and beyond to wherewe're at today.
Speaker 1 (39:07):
It's fantastic.
How can people help if theywant to know more?
A volunteer, anything like that.
Do you want to kind of giveyour?
I know you have probably thistip of your tongue, but give us
the ways we can help.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
Yeah, there's so many different ways.
Starting with being a volunteeris really really the way to get
connected to our network,because that allows for them to
get connected to all the thingsthat we do, whether it's events
or home repair projects, whichis when we really need more
volunteers.
But the volunteer pool isreally where the entry point is.
(39:43):
And then for the militarycommunity, we just always
recommend them to just join thenetwork, because you just never
know when you're going to need anetwork and when you need a
network, that's not when you'retrying to find a network Right,
and so, just being a part of theorganization, it's free
membership for military servingveterans and their family
(40:04):
members, including spouses,dependents and sons and
daughters of veterans.
We have our.
Our ambassador of the year lastyear was a son of a veteran and
um, so we make room foreveryone.
It's it's an open network, it'sthere's places for everyone to
join and get connected?
Speaker 1 (40:24):
um, I do want to.
I was looking, this is goingreally fast.
But housing, like, yes,everyone, um, no matter who you
talk to, now that's the squeezeright In a big way, and I notice
you've got several initiativesto try to help with housing with
veterans.
Speaker 2 (40:41):
We do, yeah.
So right now we have two tinyhomes that are being built by
the West Data School District,their CTE program.
So their high school studentshave been working for the last
two years to build tiny homes.
So the first high school inIdaho to build a tiny home and
(41:02):
they're going to be done here injust another month.
And because we don't have theland yet for the village that we
do want to put tiny homes on,eventually we're going to be
gifting those to veteran farmersor ranchers for workforce,
affordable housing solutionswhere they can put them on their
land and bring in a farm handor a ranch hand to be able to.
(41:23):
Maybe it's a veteran and theywant to do something along those
lines.
We know that there's somesuccession concerns in that
space with the agriculture, withhanding down ranches and farms
to children that may not want todo that.
So we're trying to work throughhow do we get veterans into
(41:44):
that space specifically.
But then also we've got theworkforce initiatives and then
the housing initiatives.
Also, we've got the workforceinitiatives and then the housing
initiatives.
So the concept really startedwith just wanting to create a
village that was not necessarilyfor former homeless veterans
and not necessarily for homelessveterans, but for veterans that
(42:06):
may have experienced all ofthat at some point, but they're
ready for that next transitionin life, they're ready for that
next step.
And so the housing for the tinyhomes and the village that we
would like to create is forthose that graduate essentially
out of homelessness, and they'rein a good space and they're
(42:30):
healthy and they're just needingmore assistance, right, just a
little bit more of a safety netbefore they can really, you know
, get where they need to go.
And a lot of times we see withour homeless veterans or
formerly homeless veterans, oncethey leave those places they
just end up circling back in andit's too soon sometimes for
(42:52):
them, but they don't have theresources or they don't have
that support system.
And so the tiny homes villageis to just help with that next
level of transition, for them tothen be able to graduate out of
the tiny homes and buy a house.
That would be the ultimate goal.
Speaker 1 (43:07):
That's fantastic, fantastic.
I have a bigger list here.
Are you still volunteer withEMS?
I do.
Speaker 2 (43:16):
Yes, I volunteer with Cascade Fire.
Yes, I do it's probably fun.
It is.
Yes, it is interesting.
There's some.
Yes, it's great.
Yeah, and I started the CascadeFire Community Fund up there.
We just had our 9-11 golftournament on Saturday.
We do it every year, We've doneit for the last six years and
(43:37):
that's been really rewardingjust being able to help families
when they're in a time of needand supporting the community in
ways that we're not beingsupported.
Speaker 1 (43:47):
Gosh, I have.
So as an ER doc, you know youdon't everyone, they don't know
this, but you a lot of staffingis done by residents or early on
and you do a lot ofmoonlighting.
So I was in Arizona where I didmy residency and when you go
through that whole trainingprogram and then you, you start
(44:08):
realizing how much you don'tknow.
I mean, you've been throughmedical school and now you're
out.
It is the paramedics and EMSthat you learn almost everything
from, and it's not bookknowledge, it's the practical
stuff, it's the practical skills.
I think of my mentors inmedicine in Tucson it was almost
(44:29):
all EMS that worked in the ERswith me and then so that's one
side of it.
So you gain this deepappreciation for hey, here's
someone that doesn't just talkthe talk or know the book
knowledge, but they know howthis thing works.
And then you get into thesesmaller communities.
I moonlighted like crazy in abunch of little teeny towns in
Arizona, um, and EMS really isthe.
(44:50):
That is the medical communityfor most of this place.
They live there.
One, a lot of them arevolunteer EMS workers or on call
or whatever it be, but they'reyour neighbors, they're your
friends and then when emergencyhits, they're the ones that come
running to help you andultimately get you to an ER.
So what a tremendous treasurethis country has.
(45:10):
You think of the United Statesof America.
It doesn't get talked aboutenough, frankly.
Speaker 2 (45:14):
It doesn't.
Speaker 1 (45:15):
If you think of other countries this doesn't exist
and you think of now, idaho.
And then towards the twilightof my career, where I was going
part-time.
I went out and worked in Weezer.
I worked a 24-hour shift everyweek so I went.
It was kind of fun going fromthis rural experience early on,
that really taught me who I was,and then at the end going back
(45:35):
out there and spent a lot oftime out there and it felt good.
It's just, it's a.
You go to a small communitywhere it's people helping other
people and you got these EMS youknow I mean just salt of the
earth there to help.
And and then and then now itseems like where I run into them
the most is for whatever reason.
It's either God wanting me tobe there, but I run into these
(45:58):
accidents all the time, likethey happen all the time to me,
and that's then then.
Then you experience it againbecause you're on highway 55 and
here comes, here comes theBoise County EMS volunteers that
come out, or on I-84 orwhatever.
But what a treasure thiscountry has that we have people
in the community sharing theirskills and serving others just
(46:23):
because they want to and theywant to be there to help.
That just.
I think nothing says more aboutAmerica than that.
So bless you for doing that.
Speaker 2 (46:31):
Thank you.
Yeah, it's certainly it doesn'tget enough attention and enough
respect and enough compensation.
I mean all the things for what?
Ems and first respondersoverall, what they see, what
they do, what they hear, whatthey smell, all of that is stuff
that people just don'tunderstand until they're
(46:53):
actually in that position wherethey need those responders to
come and help save them.
Speaker 1 (46:59):
Yeah, and they run towards the danger and help.
It's what?
Again?
One of those things that makethis country great.
Well, man, this was wonderful.
This went by really fast, butthank you for all you do.
This went by really fast, butthank you for all you do.
I you know again.
Last lad, before you leave, theURL for your organization is
tell me one more time.
Speaker 2 (47:19):
IdahoVeteransorg.
Speaker 1 (47:20):
IdahoVeteransorg and can reach out for any more
information.
We'll get the word out throughthis, and congratulations on
your speech last night.
Yes, and all you do, and thishas been wonderful.
Thanks for coming on, mindy.
Speaker 2 (47:35):
Yeah, absolutely.
Thank you so much for having metoday.
Speaker 1 (47:38):
Thanks everybody.
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