February 9, 2025 • 39 mins
On this latest episode of the WWIA Podcast, WWIA Founder and CEO, John McDaniel welcomes longtime supporter and WWIA Event Host, Mr. Sandy Deveney to the program. Sandy is the Host of the Central PA Cast & Blast, an outstanding event that has been proudly honoring and serving our combat-wounded veterans for the past 11 years.
For 40 years, Sandy has been married to his beautiful wife Elizabeth, a retired teacher, and an accomplished artist. Sandy has had an eclectic and distinguished career. Following his graduation from Penn State with a degree in Law Enforcement and Corrections, Sandy served across the globe as a U.S. Customs Sky Marshall, a Criminal Investigator, Founder of a utility-based K-9 drug detection program, and a Private Detective, specializing in K-9 drug detection. His service-based career allowed him the privilege to work on both the local and federal levels, assisting law enforcement, corporations, and school districts.
Now enjoying retirement, Sandy continues to serve in his work with WWIA and our Purple Heart Heroes, as well as assisting with the Penn State Alumni Trustee elections for over a decade. Sandy and his wife are also involved with the local Wildlife for Everyone Foundation, where he serves as a Board Member and Elizabeth generously donates her artwork for their Spring Gala. We’re honored to spend some time introducing you to Sandy and look forward to you hearing his story.
Takeaways:
- The WWIA Podcast endeavors to bring honor, connection, and healing to combat wounded veterans.
- Sandy Deveney has dedicated over a decade to supporting combat-wounded veterans through various outdoor events.
- The podcast highlights the unique experiences gained from engaging with local wildlife and the Amish community.
- Sandy's extensive background and commitment have significantly enriched the experiences provided to the participants.
- The camaraderie fostered through shared experiences among veterans has proven to be immensely beneficial for their healing process.
- Community support plays a crucial role in the success of the events organized for the veterans.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Foreign.
Hello and welcome to the WWIA Podcast.
We're honored to have you joinus in our mission to bring honor,
connection and healing toAmerica's combat wounded Purple Heart
heroes.
If this is your first timelistening to this podcast, we welcome
(00:20):
you if you're a returning listener.
Thanks for coming back.
Please be sure to tell othersabout our podcast and leave us a
review if you're enjoying whatyou're hearing on this latest episode
of the WWIA podcast.
WWIA founder and CEO JohnMcDaniel welcomes longtime supporter
(00:40):
and WWIA event host Mr.
Sandy Devaney to the program.
Sandy is the host of theCentral PA Cast and Blast, an outstanding
event that has been proudlyhonoring and serving our combat wounded
veterans for the past 11 years.
For 40 years, Sandy has beenmarried to his beautiful wife Elizabeth.
(01:01):
A retired teacher and anaccomplished artist, Sandy has had
an eclectic and distinguished career.
Following his graduation fromPenn State with a degree in Law Enforcement
and Corrections, Sandy servedacross the globe as a U.S.
customs Sky Marshal, acriminal investigator, founder of
a utility based canine drugdetection program, and a private
(01:23):
detective specializing incanine drug detection.
His service based careerallowed him the privilege to work
on both the local and federallevels assisting law enforcement,
corporations and school districts.
Now enjoying retirement, Sandycontinues to serve in his work with
WWIA and our Purple Heartheroes as well as assisting with
(01:45):
the Penn State Alumni trusteeelections for over a decade.
Sandy and his wife are alsoinvolved with the local Wildlife
for Everyone foundation withwhere he serves as a board member
and Elizabeth generouslydonates her artwork for their spring
gala.
We are honored to spend sometime introducing you to Sandy and
look forward to you hearinghis story.
(02:06):
So without further delay,let's join the conversation with
John and Sandy now.
Hi, my name is John McDanieland I'm the founder and CEO of the
Wounded warriors in Action Foundation.
And this is our podcast,Honor, Connect and Heal.
(02:27):
Today I've got a very specialguest with us who's been helping
the foundation for at least 11years, Sandy Deveny from Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania, how are youtoday and welcome to the program.
Just fine.
Little chilly out here, butotherwise it's good.
(02:48):
Yes, I was, I was checkingout, I was checking out where you
guys are at.
Is it Rebsburg or Rebbersburg?
How do you pronounce that?
The event is held in Rebersburg.
Most of us live in the GreaterState College in Center county, which
is named because.
Okay, Rebers center of the state.
(03:09):
Pennsylvania.
Appalachian.
Are you in the AppalachianMountains there?
We're in the Eastern Appalachian.
Eastern Appalachian.
Okay, cool.
Yeah.
Well, I met you several yearsago when I went on your event.
And so you're at 11 years.
You just, in September, youcompleted your 11th year and you
guys hunt for pheasants andyou also catch these monster world
(03:33):
class trout in a local stream.
Right.
Is that basically the programthere, those two events?
And then we also have amilitary firearms class which has
gotten rave reviews from the attendees.
Tell us about that.
Well, one of our artistics,Lowell, just retired.
(03:53):
He was the armorer forHomeland Security.
And during his career he hasaccumulated a very large military
firearms showing.
And it actually goes back tothe Revolutionary War.
(04:14):
And he brings a load of gunsto the event and we have a class
set room set up outdoors andgoes from Revolutionary War to the
new blackouts and giveseverybody a full lecture on the history
of the guns.
(04:34):
And every year he rememberssomething different.
So it's always interesting tofit in on.
And at the culmination, all ofthe attendees, all the heroes, get
to shoot five rounds throughsome of the guns.
Some of them were like theblackout they've only heard of.
They've never seen one or shot one.
And they have been affordedthat opportunity all the way down
(04:57):
to a.22 semi auto pistol witha silencer on it.
So it's.
It's pretty all encompassingand well received by the heroes.
Well, that's great.
Great.
And while that is going on,while the guys are shooting on that
event simultaneously, we haveanother vent set up about a quarter
(05:21):
mile away where we're given atrap course.
And we have all the guys whodidn't bring a gun, pick a gun, and
those that brought their ownshotguns use them.
We provide all the ammunitionand the clay birds and they get to
shoot as many.
Everybody gets a box ofshells, so they get at least 25 rounds.
(05:43):
Cool on the trap course.
And that's all in preparationfor the pheasant hunt, I would assume.
Yeah, the pheasant hunts areboth Saturday and Sunday morning.
First thing, try and get itout of the way because of the dogs
and the heat.
Yeah, there's still moistureon the grass, which helps on odor
retention for the dogs and gofrom there.
(06:07):
Cool.
And then there's lunch andthen in the afternoon we go trout
fishing.
Well, we have, we've been veryfortunate, actually.
The gentleman whose familyowns the property where we hunt fish
was a B52 pilot, Vietnam.
(06:28):
Wow.
So he has, you know, a vestedinterest in the military.
Still is active with otherretired military types in our area
up Here and he provides usthat property free of charge.
So.
And the fishing, you know,catch and release.
(06:51):
The, the fishing is actuallyleased to a private club that has
probably a half dozen streamsthat they manage for their club members,
club membership for years.
Rather expensive.
And we.
He's allowed to have so manydays per year.
(07:12):
So two of his days that he'sallowed, he donates to us.
Wow.
I've seen the picture, Sandy,and it's of the trout that you guys
are catching.
And you know, I've caught alot of trout in my day on a fly rod,
but I don't, I think Iactually once upon a time went to,
went to New Zealand and theonly place I've ever seen trout the
(07:35):
size of the ones you guyscatch in Pennsylvania was in fact
in New Zealand.
The rest of the world doesn'thave fish that size.
That those are just, some ofthose are just monsters.
It's a beautiful trout stream.
Well, the one thing that wasof interest this year, and David's
(07:55):
working on a release forFacebook, which you're familiar with,
is I got hooked up with a 13year old who has a fly tying business
and he actually guided one ofthe guys, David this year for two
(08:16):
days.
And David had never fished ona fly rod and caught one of those
monsters you're talking about.
So there's a picture of thetwo of them that could be on a wounded.
On the wounded war in actionFacebook page in the near future.
That is such a great story.
Yeah.
David Segunda, what a great guy.
(08:37):
Yeah, that's wonderful.
Oh, that's amazing.
So tell us about your camp.
You know, I was impressed withyour, your camp that, that, that
set up that, that structure upthere in the hills.
Is that your property?
Whose property is that?
No, it's a private huntingclub that has been around for I think
(09:00):
since the early 1920s.
Okay.
And it is basically a lot oflocal members from the nearby towns
who have perpetuated this andpassed it on from generation to generation.
And there's a vetting processbefore you can become a member and
(09:23):
you have to do an apprenticeship.
They're rather selective andthey have an annual fee every year
and there's some benefits you get.
And they basically originallythe first two years that we did this
was not with you guys and itwas on an adjoining property in a
(09:46):
very small hunting camp.
And these fellows came overand scoped it out, said, you know,
we're going to talk at ournext general meeting, but we think
you should be over at our place.
And it all came to fruitionand it's, we've been over there for,
I don't know, 10 or 11 yearsand it's a, they actually air conditioned
(10:07):
the place for the warmer weather.
And it's 1600 acres.
Wow.
Up to the top of the mountainand there's a bench and then over
the top.
So it's a good portion of,it's owned by the club.
There are a lot of smallerplots and I'd say smaller, you know,
(10:32):
100, 150 acres that members ofthe club own.
And they kind of have it allencompassed into this one property
with food plots.
And I mean it's, it's heavilymanaged to attract wildlife.
I bet there's some bigwhitetails out there too, huh?
(10:52):
They, they didn't do too, theydidn't get any monsters this year.
Oh yeah, they didn't get anymonsters this year.
But they, they, they have inthe past.
And the one room in therewhere the TV is is like a trophy
room.
And I don't think you couldhang another rack on the wall.
That's cool.
That's cool.
So let me ask you what, whatgot you started and wanting to get
(11:16):
involved in, in, in, in theprogram, in the, in the WWI program.
What's, what was the majormotivation for you there and your,
your, your staff?
Well, the original huntingclub, which is now defunct, it was
very small that started and asI said originally it was with another
(11:39):
who were totally unsupportive.
And through that one of theattendees identified wounded warriors
in action to me and I followedup and pursued that.
And it, it's been, we've beenwith you guys ever since.
(11:59):
And it's a good crew.
We have a ground crew thateverybody, we actually now have,
I'd say co chairman, I'm kindof like the guy in charge, the flight
director.
And then we have people whohave different responsibilities from
travel arrangements to food,kitchen staff, and it just, you know,
(12:27):
it all balances out that, youknow, everything, you know, as Einstein
said, you know, doing the samething over and over again.
So we have it down pretty wellto a well oiled machine.
And everybody knows the responsibility.
Everybody's on top of it.
Awesome.
Do you have any cool storiesyou want to Share with Us?
(12:48):
11 years of serving combatwounded veterans and in the high
country in Pennsylvania,there's gotta be a couple of stories
that stick out.
There are some really good stories.
I'll start with one thatinvolves a benefactor of ours, Bob
Lord, who helped support our event.
(13:09):
Oh yeah.
What a great American and he was.
At one of our.
Vietnam veteran.
Correct.
He was at one of our firstevents with two of his compatriots
from the Philadelphia area.
And we have a campfire every night.
We were sitting around thecampfire and Russ, the fellow that
(13:30):
owns the ground where we huntthere, as I mentioned earlier, US
was a B52 pilot.
So of course these guys, 50plus years later start telling stories.
And the one guys, I rememberyou guys and flying over and giving
us, you know, hair cover.
And he says, the only callsign I can remember is Arkla.
(13:51):
And Russ goes, that was me.
Wow.
So 50 years later, the guythat was dumping from the skies to
support these guys, they'reactually in a beer together and reminiscing.
So that was pretty cool.
Wow.
One of the things we have at the.
That's a very.
I nerd that.
(14:12):
One of the things we have as atradition is the local congressman,
Glenn G.T.
thompson.
Yeah.
Stops by and speaks to theguys and tells some stories and presents
them with a flag and acertificate for the flag flew over
the United States Capitol,their honor.
(14:33):
So they all get a brand newnice flag and a certificate to take
home.
Glenn's son is pretty much alifer in the army.
And when he was over in theMid east, he.
He got hit.
He got a purple heart.
So at the suggestion of hisfather, he signed up for wounded
(14:57):
wares in action.
I remember that.
So he's at an event, he's inan event in the upper Midwest somewhere
and he's at the bar and he'stalking to the guy next to him who
you know very well, Jake.
Oh yeah.
(15:18):
And the conversation getsaround to where you're from, blah,
blah, blah.
And the son says, I'm from Pennsylvania.
Jake says, I'm from Pennsylvania.
Where are you from?
He says, over in center countytown called Howard.
Jake says, well, I'm in Somerset.
And something with Jakeclicked off and he goes, looking
(15:40):
at the name, you're not GTson, are you?
And it was like, yes.
He goes, oh my God, I knowyour dad, blah, blah, blah.
It's.
There's been a lot of smallworld connections that have happened.
And of course, when we have tosit around the campfire and guys
talking, guys that were incountry in Fallujah at the same time.
(16:03):
And do you remember when soand so got hit?
You know, it's.
Yeah.
But there's been a lot ofsupportive talk that has happened.
I can remember early on we hadsome guys with PTSD issues and, you
know, other guys from the sameArea that go to the same va you don't
(16:26):
want to talk to that psychology.
You know, it was basically,you need to talk to this other psychiatrist
or psychologist.
And it actually became a.
A data pool for who.
Who's the best people to deal with.
And so that.
That's.
Right.
That's good.
You know, but there's.
I mean, there's a millionstories that have come out of there.
(16:53):
The local community supportour group.
Basically, all of our food andbeverages are donated by the local
community, some from way asfar as ways Harrisburg.
Large meat purveyors.
(17:14):
But one of the things thatwe're lucky with is we have a large
preponderance of craft beermanufacturers in our area, and all
of them are generous.
So the guys get a realsampling of the local craft beers
(17:36):
from central Pennsylvania.
That's great.
That's.
Isn't that all Penn State landright in there?
Do I have that right?
Oh, yeah, yeah.
We're.
Yeah, we're.
We're.
The airport that the guys flyinto, those who fly in, is actually
owned by the university.
(17:56):
Okay, that's so.
And it's on university property.
So the sen.
The whole premise of the.
Of Penn State originally was afarmer's college, and it was supposedly
built the geographic center ofPennsylvania so that it was equidistant
for all to attend.
So it is in center county, andthe geographic center of the commonwealth
(18:21):
is in close proximity to the university.
We're about 40 minutes east ofthe university.
Okay.
Nittany lion country.
Yeah.
Excellent.
Excellent.
Well, that's very good.
So what does all this for, Imean, for you personally, what's
(18:43):
your motivation for doing thisand how's this work?
You know, when you get donewith the event and it's all over
and guys are going back homeand you're, you know, sitting around,
you know, cleaning things upand heading back to the.
To the house, et cetera.
You know, what kind offeelings are you left with?
I mean, what.
What really resonates about this?
(19:05):
You know, what about this workreally resonates with you?
Well, the way we have, like,the bird hunt set up, we actually
have viewing stands, if youwant to call it there.
We take a bunch of chairs inthe bags and we go out and we line
up where we park and set upthe chairs.
Might have a guy there with ashotgun to cover birds that are breaking
(19:28):
across the road.
And we can pretty well see.
Although some of it's adistance away, a good distance away,
but we can pretty well see thewhole hunt.
Obviously, with the differencebetween the speed of light, the speed
of sound.
We'll see a bird go up andtake off, off a point from one of
our dogs and then we'll hearthe see the bird tumble and then
(19:54):
we'll hear the gunshot.
So, you know, it's like youdon't have them happening simultaneously,
so.
But we have that set up.
And the same thing with the fishing.
There's ample of viewer space,although most of our guys are guides
also.
We put, you know, 10 betweenheroes and staffers.
(20:17):
We put 10 people in the water.
We need 10 guides the same.
When we're hunting, we haveteams, two minute two, five man teams.
And each one has at least two,if not more dogs working with them.
And the property where wehunt, they generously mow this massive
(20:40):
field and put shooting lanesin it so that the guys don't necessarily
have to walk through knee highor higher wet brush to hunt.
And the dogs will do the dirtywork and get into the high grass
working odor so that it's kind of.
(21:01):
We try to make it as user friendly.
We have had at times guys thatwe've taken out in a 4x4 that had
mobility issues.
One of the guys early on, whowas a Vietnam guy, Ed, he had gotten
a tracked, I'll call it a wheelchair.
(21:23):
I don't know that any better, but.
Bill O'Reilly, track chair.
Bill O'Reilly was giving them away.
Yeah, the track chairs.
And he had one of those.
Yeah, they're called track chairs.
Okay.
So one of the other fellas whowas there tried it out.
Next year he was back, he had one.
So it's, that has helped out a lot.
(21:48):
But you know, we get guys out.
We have, you know, we have acouple of ATVs that are multi seaters
that we can move guys around with.
We need to.
And then we have hydrate.
This year was hot.
We had hydration stations,Those blue plastic 55 gallon drums
cut in half, sideways, filledwith water so that the dogs had a
(22:10):
place to either get in andcool off or get a drink because it
was, it was warmer than wereally had hoped.
You guys got snow now?
Is there snow there now?
I'm just looking out a window.
There's a little dusting.
We had some a couple weeksago, but it got up in the 50s and
it all disappeared.
(22:33):
My driveway is a half mile.
So I, I appreciate when wedon't have a lot of snow around.
I have two plows right on.
Yeah.
I remember getting up to theproperty when I, when I showed up
and that.
That was a long drive for.
(22:54):
For sure.
Well, Sandy, tell us about your.
Your team.
Is there anybody on your teamthat you'd like to recognize here?
I mean, we.
None of us can do this withouta lot of help.
And I certainly do appreciateand want to publicly thank you for
your leadership and all yourhard work over the last 11 years
(23:14):
now to build something that'squite special, not just for our heroes,
but certainly for your localcommunity and all the people that
pour out and contribute tomaking that a very successful event.
And so I want to say thank youto you for all that you've done and
all the, you know, connectionsyou've made and all the healing that
(23:38):
you've helped us do.
So thank you very much.
But this is an opportunityhere for you.
And I know it's hard becauseyou start naming names and then you
inevitably leave somebody outand they get all boo boo lipped.
But, you know, this is youropportunity to maybe highlight a
couple of.
I know you've already talkedabout Bob Lord.
What a great American he isPurple Heart recipient himself and
(24:02):
does a monster fundraiser thatsupports your event in his golf tournament
every year.
And what a legacy he's built.
But is there anybody inparticular you'd like to, you know,
to thank out there other thanthe property owners and the leadership
at the lodge that you enjoy?
We have this year?
(24:26):
I'm not getting younger, andmy wife pretty much insisted that
I started divest a little bit.
So we actually formedsubcommittees and put people in charge
of various operations withinthe event.
And I have a gentleman who wasBilly Roberts, who is my number one,
(24:53):
he's my driver.
He's in charge of organizing,you know, getting the ammo on board
the vehicle to take it out forthe trap shoot, water buckets for
the dogs and stuff for thepheasant hunting.
So he.
He's very instrumental andeventually will probably take over
the operation.
(25:14):
The Kane brothers at camp are.
Their family are lifelongmembers there and they are responsible
for the kitchen operation.
And the one brother, Greg isactually was a chef at the Penn Stater
(25:36):
Hotel.
So he has vast experience andbreakfast cooking and stuff like
that.
So, you know, when they comedown for breakfast, it's what do
you want?
It's like a diner and they getit out.
And his brother Bill prettymuch manages the facility and keeps
(25:58):
everything running.
Rick Daly recently sold, butthe new owners have agreed they're
going to continue toparticipate a very large pheasant
propagation business.
And he has donated all thepheasants for Our hunt for forever
(26:21):
since we started.
And that's pheasants andchuckers, which are sometimes known
as a partridge.
You know, 30 birds twice a day.
So he puts out, you know,well, yeah, well over $1,000 birds.
(26:42):
Well, that's a lot of birds.
The schnitzlers are.
The wife helps out the kitchena lot.
And Bob, the husband, he's incharge for the fishing component
to make sure everybody's gotwaders, they've got rods and reels.
On Friday, between afterlunch, between that and another event
(27:07):
which I'm gonna have tomention, just write a quick note.
He.
He organizes fly castinglessons because people like David.
David had never fished with afly rod.
(27:28):
And we've had that with a lotof the guys.
We had one fellow from down.
Down in Florida who.
His wife laughed at him.
You're gonna go do what?
And he was, yeah, I am.
So as soon as he startedhooking up on fish, he'd run back
(27:48):
to the shoreline and givesomebody his camera phone and take
pictures and was texting themto his wife in Florida to prove my
fish.
And I caught fish.
So, you know, snitch takescare of that.
I mentioned Lowell before.
He's the one that teaches thefirearms class.
The Meisner's.
(28:09):
The wife helps out in thekitchen, as does their.
And both in the schnitzlersand the Meissners, they actually
have granddaughters that helpout the kitchen.
But the Meisners are in chargeof transportation.
This year, out of the 10 guys,we only had two drivers.
So we had to arrange for a gunto be picked up at the airport and
(28:32):
then dropped off back there onMonday to fly out.
So we have people in charge of that.
I mentioned the cave where wefish and hunt.
The family that owns that hasbeen very generous.
And one of the things theyhave on their property is a wildlife
(28:57):
tour.
And Friday afternoon, the lastfour, because that's when the critters
get fed.
They have old.
I don't know whether they'remilitary or school buses, but they
have no windows in them.
And you go on a tour and youcan, you know, you can't hang out
the windows, but you start outwith buffalo or water or bison, and
(29:19):
then you head on to the longhorns.
You go through the deer pensand the.
There's elk in there, and thenon and on to bears and wolves and
coyotes and everything depends.
So it's kind of a neat tour.
The guys have always enjoyed that.
(29:41):
So they're, you know, they're,you know, and then of course I can't.
You know, we have a vendor,Collegiate Pride, who has graciously
donated our commemorative Tshirts every year.
And that's a big plus.
All the guys on arrival, theyget a T shirt.
And the other thing which arerather famous here in this area are
(30:05):
they're called grilled stickies.
And there was a diner downtownat one point in time that made these
sticky buns that was the lifeblood of every true Penn Stater at
2:00 in the morning after the bars.
And they since have moved outof town and have a huge baking operation
(30:28):
and they donate two cases of stickies.
So all the guys get, you know,unbeknownst to what they really are,
they all get a pack of them totake home with their T shirt and
the next morning at breakfastthey'll have them.
And Greg Kane, who's thebreakfast cook, has come up with
(30:52):
ways to make a good thing better.
And he'll do them in breadpudding, he'll do them with a white
sauce.
You know, he's got all kindsof stuff.
So they become very familiarwith them and they all get a package
to take them.
That's cool.
The other thing on my notesthat I have to, I'd be, you know,
negligent if I didn't mentionis the guys arrive Thursday and Monday
(31:18):
are travel days and Friday,Saturday, Sunday are pretty much
rock and roll lock and loadfrom, you know, breakfast to after
dinner.
It's, it's fast moving, it's.
Well, everything's.
There's not a lot of lay down time.
But one of the things thathappened each of the three nights
(31:40):
is we have live music, we havesome local guys, one actually did
15 years in the army and they,they come and play their favorite
songs for the guys.
We have one guy who's MattMiske, who goes back to the 60s and
(32:06):
70s when he was really hot inthe music scene.
So a lot of it for theparticular, the Vietnam guys are,
it's, it's a trip down memory lane.
So those, those three guysdeserve, you know, they, they donate
the time, they donate theirtravel, some of them.
I mean, Matt lives, you know,several hours away.
(32:29):
He actually stays overnightwhen he plays.
Well, it's quite a crowd thatyou've assembled there, an amazing
community response and itcertainly is a very colorful and
rich cultural experience aswell for the heroes.
And of course, you know,combine that with world class trout
fishing and some amazing birdhunting and some culinary delights
(32:56):
unique to that part of the world.
The country makes for a veryMemorable experience.
Everybody talks very highlyabout you and your event when they
get off from it.
And I've read a lot oftestimonials and of course I had
a chance to spend some timewith you there.
It's really a beautiful place.
(33:18):
I want to thank you again andof course your wife for allowing
us to rent your time and allthe, you know, you are a volunteer,
as everybody is, that supportsyour mission.
And it's just, it wouldn'thappen without everybody's hard work
and patriotic ways, whichwe're very appreciative of.
(33:41):
I'll give you the last wordhere, Sandy.
Is there anything else you'dlike to tell our listening audience
before we bid ourselves an adieu?
The one thing that is alsoincluded for free in the trip, the
(34:02):
camp where we stay and theplaces where we fish and hunt, do
stuff.
There's a very large Amishcommunity, so the fellas all get
real exposure to a lifestylethat many people don't.
And every other Sunday ischurch Sunday for the Amish.
(34:26):
So if there are weekendcoincides with a church Sunday, they
will see in excess of 50 horseand buggies up and down the road.
And you can tell it's churchSunday because you just got to look
at the road to see what thehorses have left.
And you know that it's, youknow, and you'll drive by whoever's
(34:49):
hosting services and theprayer wagon where they bring all
the chairs and stuff in forthe service to the person's home
is there and, and then theyall have, a lot of them have, if
we're there in the warmer,earlier part of September, they,
they have roadside fruitstands and stuff.
So it's, it's a culturalexposure that they wouldn't normally
(35:14):
have elsewhere.
It's really cool.
But as far as, you know,everybody, you know, the people at
headquarters and the supportstaff like David and Karina that
are remote are always rightthere to get things done or, you
(35:37):
know, somebody missed a planeor whatever.
And it's, you know, one of ourbiggest problems is being as remote
as we are.
Cell service is virtually non existent.
So we've got to drive about ahalf mile up the road to a high spot
where you can park on the sideof the road and do your phone business.
(36:01):
Now for some of the guys thatare looking for away time from home,
that's an ideal situationthat, I'm sorry honey, they don't
have phone service where I'mgoing to be.
But no, other than that, youknow, hey, we're, we're Good.
I mean, every year we addsomething or we correct a problem
(36:23):
if we saw a problem.
And the after actions meetingspretty much encompass everything
that needs to be improved.
Yeah, well, you mentioned the staff.
You know, at least my staff anyway.
The supports, all of you andme, of course.
(36:45):
It's an amazing group and Iappreciate you calling them out.
They don't get recognized asmuch as they probably should.
They all do a wonderful joband very thankful to have them on
the team.
And I want to wish you and allof yours a very merry Christmas and
a wonderful holiday season asit's upon us here in December of
(37:10):
2024.
I can't believe it.
But listen, again, thank youfor your time.
It's been a pleasure hosting you.
He did a great job on the podcast.
And keep up the fire, Sandy.
You're doing great.
Well, everything's planned.
And Penn State released theirfootball schedule yesterday is one
of the driving factors aroundwhen we hold our event because whatever
(37:34):
airfares and stuff are inState College, they go up significantly
on home football weekends.
So they just announced and we're.
We're looking at October 4thof next year to have our event.
Okay.
This was determined with phonecalls this morning.
(37:54):
Wonderful, wonderful.
Go from there.
All right, Very good.
Well, I appreciate you.
Look forward to hearing moreof your stories and continued.
Good luck on your event.
You're doing great stuff.
Thanks a lot, Sandy.
All right, thanks, John.
All right, have a good day.
(38:15):
Have a good holiday and getthose boys out on the water.
Will do, buddy.
Thank you.
Thank you for listening to the wwf.
To learn more about theWounded warriors in Action foundation
and how you can get involved,please visit our website@wwiaf.org
(38:39):
or follow us on social mediaon Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and
LinkedIn.
If you'd like to comment oroffer feedback about our podcast,
or if you have a suggestionfor a future episode, please email
us odcast@wwiaf.org thank youfor your support and for helping
(39:00):
us honor, connect and heal ourcombat wounded Purple Heart heroes
through the power of the great outdoors.
Foreign.
Hello and welcome to the WWIA Podcast.
We're honored to have you joinus in our mission to bring honor,
connection and healing toAmerica's combat wounded Purple Heart
heroes.
If this is your first timelistening to this podcast, we welcome
(00:20):
you if you're a returning listener.
Thanks for coming back.
Please be sure to tell othersabout our podcast and leave us a
review if you're enjoying whatyou're hearing on this latest episode
of the WWIA podcast.
WWIA founder and CEO JohnMcDaniel welcomes longtime supporter
(00:40):
and WWIA event host Mr.
Sandy Devaney to the program.
Sandy is the host of theCentral PA Cast and Blast, an outstanding
event that has been proudlyhonoring and serving our combat wounded
veterans for the past 11 years.
For 40 years, Sandy has beenmarried to his beautiful wife Elizabeth.
(01:01):
A retired teacher and anaccomplished artist, Sandy has had
an eclectic and distinguished career.
Following his graduation fromPenn State with a degree in Law Enforcement
and Corrections, Sandy servedacross the globe as a U.S.
customs Sky Marshal, acriminal investigator, founder of
a utility based canine drugdetection program, and a private
(01:23):
detective specializing incanine drug detection.
His service based careerallowed him the privilege to work
on both the local and federallevels assisting law enforcement,
corporations and school districts.
Now enjoying retirement, Sandycontinues to serve in his work with
WWIA and our Purple Heartheroes as well as assisting with
(01:45):
the Penn State Alumni trusteeelections for over a decade.
Sandy and his wife are alsoinvolved with the local Wildlife
for Everyone foundation withwhere he serves as a board member
and Elizabeth generouslydonates her artwork for their spring
gala.
We are honored to spend sometime introducing you to Sandy and
look forward to you hearinghis story.
(02:06):
So without further delay,let's join the conversation with
John and Sandy now.
Hi, my name is John McDanieland I'm the founder and CEO of the
Wounded warriors in Action Foundation.
And this is our podcast,Honor, Connect and Heal.
(02:27):
Today I've got a very specialguest with us who's been helping
the foundation for at least 11years, Sandy Deveny from Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania, how are youtoday and welcome to the program.
Just fine.
Little chilly out here, butotherwise it's good.
(02:48):
Yes, I was, I was checkingout, I was checking out where you
guys are at.
Is it Rebsburg or Rebbersburg?
How do you pronounce that?
The event is held in Rebersburg.
Most of us live in the GreaterState College in Center county, which
is named because.
Okay, Rebers center of the state.
(03:09):
Pennsylvania.
Appalachian.
Are you in the AppalachianMountains there?
We're in the Eastern Appalachian.
Eastern Appalachian.
Okay, cool.
Yeah.
Well, I met you several yearsago when I went on your event.
And so you're at 11 years.
You just, in September, youcompleted your 11th year and you
guys hunt for pheasants andyou also catch these monster world
(03:33):
class trout in a local stream.
Right.
Is that basically the programthere, those two events?
And then we also have amilitary firearms class which has
gotten rave reviews from the attendees.
Tell us about that.
Well, one of our artistics,Lowell, just retired.
(03:53):
He was the armorer forHomeland Security.
And during his career he hasaccumulated a very large military
firearms showing.
And it actually goes back tothe Revolutionary War.
(04:14):
And he brings a load of gunsto the event and we have a class
set room set up outdoors andgoes from Revolutionary War to the
new blackouts and giveseverybody a full lecture on the history
of the guns.
(04:34):
And every year he rememberssomething different.
So it's always interesting tofit in on.
And at the culmination, all ofthe attendees, all the heroes, get
to shoot five rounds throughsome of the guns.
Some of them were like theblackout they've only heard of.
They've never seen one or shot one.
And they have been affordedthat opportunity all the way down
(04:57):
to a.22 semi auto pistol witha silencer on it.
So it's.
It's pretty all encompassingand well received by the heroes.
Well, that's great.
Great.
And while that is going on,while the guys are shooting on that
event simultaneously, we haveanother vent set up about a quarter
(05:21):
mile away where we're given atrap course.
And we have all the guys whodidn't bring a gun, pick a gun, and
those that brought their ownshotguns use them.
We provide all the ammunitionand the clay birds and they get to
shoot as many.
Everybody gets a box ofshells, so they get at least 25 rounds.
(05:43):
Cool on the trap course.
And that's all in preparationfor the pheasant hunt, I would assume.
Yeah, the pheasant hunts areboth Saturday and Sunday morning.
First thing, try and get itout of the way because of the dogs
and the heat.
Yeah, there's still moistureon the grass, which helps on odor
retention for the dogs and gofrom there.
(06:07):
Cool.
And then there's lunch andthen in the afternoon we go trout
fishing.
Well, we have, we've been veryfortunate, actually.
The gentleman whose familyowns the property where we hunt fish
was a B52 pilot, Vietnam.
(06:28):
Wow.
So he has, you know, a vestedinterest in the military.
Still is active with otherretired military types in our area
up Here and he provides usthat property free of charge.
So.
And the fishing, you know,catch and release.
(06:51):
The, the fishing is actuallyleased to a private club that has
probably a half dozen streamsthat they manage for their club members,
club membership for years.
Rather expensive.
And we.
He's allowed to have so manydays per year.
(07:12):
So two of his days that he'sallowed, he donates to us.
Wow.
I've seen the picture, Sandy,and it's of the trout that you guys
are catching.
And you know, I've caught alot of trout in my day on a fly rod,
but I don't, I think Iactually once upon a time went to,
went to New Zealand and theonly place I've ever seen trout the
(07:35):
size of the ones you guyscatch in Pennsylvania was in fact
in New Zealand.
The rest of the world doesn'thave fish that size.
That those are just, some ofthose are just monsters.
It's a beautiful trout stream.
Well, the one thing that wasof interest this year, and David's
(07:55):
working on a release forFacebook, which you're familiar with,
is I got hooked up with a 13year old who has a fly tying business
and he actually guided one ofthe guys, David this year for two
(08:16):
days.
And David had never fished ona fly rod and caught one of those
monsters you're talking about.
So there's a picture of thetwo of them that could be on a wounded.
On the wounded war in actionFacebook page in the near future.
That is such a great story.
Yeah.
David Segunda, what a great guy.
(08:37):
Yeah, that's wonderful.
Oh, that's amazing.
So tell us about your camp.
You know, I was impressed withyour, your camp that, that, that
set up that, that structure upthere in the hills.
Is that your property?
Whose property is that?
No, it's a private huntingclub that has been around for I think
(09:00):
since the early 1920s.
Okay.
And it is basically a lot oflocal members from the nearby towns
who have perpetuated this andpassed it on from generation to generation.
And there's a vetting processbefore you can become a member and
(09:23):
you have to do an apprenticeship.
They're rather selective andthey have an annual fee every year
and there's some benefits you get.
And they basically originallythe first two years that we did this
was not with you guys and itwas on an adjoining property in a
(09:46):
very small hunting camp.
And these fellows came overand scoped it out, said, you know,
we're going to talk at ournext general meeting, but we think
you should be over at our place.
And it all came to fruitionand it's, we've been over there for,
I don't know, 10 or 11 yearsand it's a, they actually air conditioned
(10:07):
the place for the warmer weather.
And it's 1600 acres.
Wow.
Up to the top of the mountainand there's a bench and then over
the top.
So it's a good portion of,it's owned by the club.
There are a lot of smallerplots and I'd say smaller, you know,
(10:32):
100, 150 acres that members ofthe club own.
And they kind of have it allencompassed into this one property
with food plots.
And I mean it's, it's heavilymanaged to attract wildlife.
I bet there's some bigwhitetails out there too, huh?
(10:52):
They, they didn't do too, theydidn't get any monsters this year.
Oh yeah, they didn't get anymonsters this year.
But they, they, they have inthe past.
And the one room in therewhere the TV is is like a trophy
room.
And I don't think you couldhang another rack on the wall.
That's cool.
That's cool.
So let me ask you what, whatgot you started and wanting to get
(11:16):
involved in, in, in, in theprogram, in the, in the WWI program.
What's, what was the majormotivation for you there and your,
your, your staff?
Well, the original huntingclub, which is now defunct, it was
very small that started and asI said originally it was with another
(11:39):
who were totally unsupportive.
And through that one of theattendees identified wounded warriors
in action to me and I followedup and pursued that.
And it, it's been, we've beenwith you guys ever since.
(11:59):
And it's a good crew.
We have a ground crew thateverybody, we actually now have,
I'd say co chairman, I'm kindof like the guy in charge, the flight
director.
And then we have people whohave different responsibilities from
travel arrangements to food,kitchen staff, and it just, you know,
(12:27):
it all balances out that, youknow, everything, you know, as Einstein
said, you know, doing the samething over and over again.
So we have it down pretty wellto a well oiled machine.
And everybody knows the responsibility.
Everybody's on top of it.
Awesome.
Do you have any cool storiesyou want to Share with Us?
(12:48):
11 years of serving combatwounded veterans and in the high
country in Pennsylvania,there's gotta be a couple of stories
that stick out.
There are some really good stories.
I'll start with one thatinvolves a benefactor of ours, Bob
Lord, who helped support our event.
(13:09):
Oh yeah.
What a great American and he was.
At one of our.
Vietnam veteran.
Correct.
He was at one of our firstevents with two of his compatriots
from the Philadelphia area.
And we have a campfire every night.
We were sitting around thecampfire and Russ, the fellow that
(13:30):
owns the ground where we huntthere, as I mentioned earlier, US
was a B52 pilot.
So of course these guys, 50plus years later start telling stories.
And the one guys, I rememberyou guys and flying over and giving
us, you know, hair cover.
And he says, the only callsign I can remember is Arkla.
(13:51):
And Russ goes, that was me.
Wow.
So 50 years later, the guythat was dumping from the skies to
support these guys, they'reactually in a beer together and reminiscing.
So that was pretty cool.
Wow.
One of the things we have at the.
That's a very.
I nerd that.
(14:12):
One of the things we have as atradition is the local congressman,
Glenn G.T.
thompson.
Yeah.
Stops by and speaks to theguys and tells some stories and presents
them with a flag and acertificate for the flag flew over
the United States Capitol,their honor.
(14:33):
So they all get a brand newnice flag and a certificate to take
home.
Glenn's son is pretty much alifer in the army.
And when he was over in theMid east, he.
He got hit.
He got a purple heart.
So at the suggestion of hisfather, he signed up for wounded
(14:57):
wares in action.
I remember that.
So he's at an event, he's inan event in the upper Midwest somewhere
and he's at the bar and he'stalking to the guy next to him who
you know very well, Jake.
Oh yeah.
(15:18):
And the conversation getsaround to where you're from, blah,
blah, blah.
And the son says, I'm from Pennsylvania.
Jake says, I'm from Pennsylvania.
Where are you from?
He says, over in center countytown called Howard.
Jake says, well, I'm in Somerset.
And something with Jakeclicked off and he goes, looking
(15:40):
at the name, you're not GTson, are you?
And it was like, yes.
He goes, oh my God, I knowyour dad, blah, blah, blah.
It's.
There's been a lot of smallworld connections that have happened.
And of course, when we have tosit around the campfire and guys
talking, guys that were incountry in Fallujah at the same time.
(16:03):
And do you remember when soand so got hit?
You know, it's.
Yeah.
But there's been a lot ofsupportive talk that has happened.
I can remember early on we hadsome guys with PTSD issues and, you
know, other guys from the sameArea that go to the same va you don't
(16:26):
want to talk to that psychology.
You know, it was basically,you need to talk to this other psychiatrist
or psychologist.
And it actually became a.
A data pool for who.
Who's the best people to deal with.
And so that.
That's.
Right.
That's good.
You know, but there's.
I mean, there's a millionstories that have come out of there.
(16:53):
The local community supportour group.
Basically, all of our food andbeverages are donated by the local
community, some from way asfar as ways Harrisburg.
Large meat purveyors.
(17:14):
But one of the things thatwe're lucky with is we have a large
preponderance of craft beermanufacturers in our area, and all
of them are generous.
So the guys get a realsampling of the local craft beers
(17:36):
from central Pennsylvania.
That's great.
That's.
Isn't that all Penn State landright in there?
Do I have that right?
Oh, yeah, yeah.
We're.
Yeah, we're.
We're.
The airport that the guys flyinto, those who fly in, is actually
owned by the university.
(17:56):
Okay, that's so.
And it's on university property.
So the sen.
The whole premise of the.
Of Penn State originally was afarmer's college, and it was supposedly
built the geographic center ofPennsylvania so that it was equidistant
for all to attend.
So it is in center county, andthe geographic center of the commonwealth
(18:21):
is in close proximity to the university.
We're about 40 minutes east ofthe university.
Okay.
Nittany lion country.
Yeah.
Excellent.
Excellent.
Well, that's very good.
So what does all this for, Imean, for you personally, what's
(18:43):
your motivation for doing thisand how's this work?
You know, when you get donewith the event and it's all over
and guys are going back homeand you're, you know, sitting around,
you know, cleaning things upand heading back to the.
To the house, et cetera.
You know, what kind offeelings are you left with?
I mean, what.
What really resonates about this?
(19:05):
You know, what about this workreally resonates with you?
Well, the way we have, like,the bird hunt set up, we actually
have viewing stands, if youwant to call it there.
We take a bunch of chairs inthe bags and we go out and we line
up where we park and set upthe chairs.
Might have a guy there with ashotgun to cover birds that are breaking
(19:28):
across the road.
And we can pretty well see.
Although some of it's adistance away, a good distance away,
but we can pretty well see thewhole hunt.
Obviously, with the differencebetween the speed of light, the speed
of sound.
We'll see a bird go up andtake off, off a point from one of
our dogs and then we'll hearthe see the bird tumble and then
(19:54):
we'll hear the gunshot.
So, you know, it's like youdon't have them happening simultaneously,
so.
But we have that set up.
And the same thing with the fishing.
There's ample of viewer space,although most of our guys are guides
also.
We put, you know, 10 betweenheroes and staffers.
(20:17):
We put 10 people in the water.
We need 10 guides the same.
When we're hunting, we haveteams, two minute two, five man teams.
And each one has at least two,if not more dogs working with them.
And the property where wehunt, they generously mow this massive
(20:40):
field and put shooting lanesin it so that the guys don't necessarily
have to walk through knee highor higher wet brush to hunt.
And the dogs will do the dirtywork and get into the high grass
working odor so that it's kind of.
(21:01):
We try to make it as user friendly.
We have had at times guys thatwe've taken out in a 4x4 that had
mobility issues.
One of the guys early on, whowas a Vietnam guy, Ed, he had gotten
a tracked, I'll call it a wheelchair.
(21:23):
I don't know that any better, but.
Bill O'Reilly, track chair.
Bill O'Reilly was giving them away.
Yeah, the track chairs.
And he had one of those.
Yeah, they're called track chairs.
Okay.
So one of the other fellas whowas there tried it out.
Next year he was back, he had one.
So it's, that has helped out a lot.
(21:48):
But you know, we get guys out.
We have, you know, we have acouple of ATVs that are multi seaters
that we can move guys around with.
We need to.
And then we have hydrate.
This year was hot.
We had hydration stations,Those blue plastic 55 gallon drums
cut in half, sideways, filledwith water so that the dogs had a
(22:10):
place to either get in andcool off or get a drink because it
was, it was warmer than wereally had hoped.
You guys got snow now?
Is there snow there now?
I'm just looking out a window.
There's a little dusting.
We had some a couple weeksago, but it got up in the 50s and
it all disappeared.
(22:33):
My driveway is a half mile.
So I, I appreciate when wedon't have a lot of snow around.
I have two plows right on.
Yeah.
I remember getting up to theproperty when I, when I showed up
and that.
That was a long drive for.
(22:54):
For sure.
Well, Sandy, tell us about your.
Your team.
Is there anybody on your teamthat you'd like to recognize here?
I mean, we.
None of us can do this withouta lot of help.
And I certainly do appreciateand want to publicly thank you for
your leadership and all yourhard work over the last 11 years
(23:14):
now to build something that'squite special, not just for our heroes,
but certainly for your localcommunity and all the people that
pour out and contribute tomaking that a very successful event.
And so I want to say thank youto you for all that you've done and
all the, you know, connectionsyou've made and all the healing that
(23:38):
you've helped us do.
So thank you very much.
But this is an opportunityhere for you.
And I know it's hard becauseyou start naming names and then you
inevitably leave somebody outand they get all boo boo lipped.
But, you know, this is youropportunity to maybe highlight a
couple of.
I know you've already talkedabout Bob Lord.
What a great American he isPurple Heart recipient himself and
(24:02):
does a monster fundraiser thatsupports your event in his golf tournament
every year.
And what a legacy he's built.
But is there anybody inparticular you'd like to, you know,
to thank out there other thanthe property owners and the leadership
at the lodge that you enjoy?
We have this year?
(24:26):
I'm not getting younger, andmy wife pretty much insisted that
I started divest a little bit.
So we actually formedsubcommittees and put people in charge
of various operations withinthe event.
And I have a gentleman who wasBilly Roberts, who is my number one,
(24:53):
he's my driver.
He's in charge of organizing,you know, getting the ammo on board
the vehicle to take it out forthe trap shoot, water buckets for
the dogs and stuff for thepheasant hunting.
So he.
He's very instrumental andeventually will probably take over
the operation.
(25:14):
The Kane brothers at camp are.
Their family are lifelongmembers there and they are responsible
for the kitchen operation.
And the one brother, Greg isactually was a chef at the Penn Stater
(25:36):
Hotel.
So he has vast experience andbreakfast cooking and stuff like
that.
So, you know, when they comedown for breakfast, it's what do
you want?
It's like a diner and they getit out.
And his brother Bill prettymuch manages the facility and keeps
(25:58):
everything running.
Rick Daly recently sold, butthe new owners have agreed they're
going to continue toparticipate a very large pheasant
propagation business.
And he has donated all thepheasants for Our hunt for forever
(26:21):
since we started.
And that's pheasants andchuckers, which are sometimes known
as a partridge.
You know, 30 birds twice a day.
So he puts out, you know,well, yeah, well over $1,000 birds.
(26:42):
Well, that's a lot of birds.
The schnitzlers are.
The wife helps out the kitchena lot.
And Bob, the husband, he's incharge for the fishing component
to make sure everybody's gotwaders, they've got rods and reels.
On Friday, between afterlunch, between that and another event
(27:07):
which I'm gonna have tomention, just write a quick note.
He.
He organizes fly castinglessons because people like David.
David had never fished with afly rod.
(27:28):
And we've had that with a lotof the guys.
We had one fellow from down.
Down in Florida who.
His wife laughed at him.
You're gonna go do what?
And he was, yeah, I am.
So as soon as he startedhooking up on fish, he'd run back
(27:48):
to the shoreline and givesomebody his camera phone and take
pictures and was texting themto his wife in Florida to prove my
fish.
And I caught fish.
So, you know, snitch takescare of that.
I mentioned Lowell before.
He's the one that teaches thefirearms class.
The Meisner's.
(28:09):
The wife helps out in thekitchen, as does their.
And both in the schnitzlersand the Meissners, they actually
have granddaughters that helpout the kitchen.
But the Meisners are in chargeof transportation.
This year, out of the 10 guys,we only had two drivers.
So we had to arrange for a gunto be picked up at the airport and
(28:32):
then dropped off back there onMonday to fly out.
So we have people in charge of that.
I mentioned the cave where wefish and hunt.
The family that owns that hasbeen very generous.
And one of the things theyhave on their property is a wildlife
(28:57):
tour.
And Friday afternoon, the lastfour, because that's when the critters
get fed.
They have old.
I don't know whether they'remilitary or school buses, but they
have no windows in them.
And you go on a tour and youcan, you know, you can't hang out
the windows, but you start outwith buffalo or water or bison, and
(29:19):
then you head on to the longhorns.
You go through the deer pensand the.
There's elk in there, and thenon and on to bears and wolves and
coyotes and everything depends.
So it's kind of a neat tour.
The guys have always enjoyed that.
(29:41):
So they're, you know, they're,you know, and then of course I can't.
You know, we have a vendor,Collegiate Pride, who has graciously
donated our commemorative Tshirts every year.
And that's a big plus.
All the guys on arrival, theyget a T shirt.
And the other thing which arerather famous here in this area are
(30:05):
they're called grilled stickies.
And there was a diner downtownat one point in time that made these
sticky buns that was the lifeblood of every true Penn Stater at
2:00 in the morning after the bars.
And they since have moved outof town and have a huge baking operation
(30:28):
and they donate two cases of stickies.
So all the guys get, you know,unbeknownst to what they really are,
they all get a pack of them totake home with their T shirt and
the next morning at breakfastthey'll have them.
And Greg Kane, who's thebreakfast cook, has come up with
(30:52):
ways to make a good thing better.
And he'll do them in breadpudding, he'll do them with a white
sauce.
You know, he's got all kindsof stuff.
So they become very familiarwith them and they all get a package
to take them.
That's cool.
The other thing on my notesthat I have to, I'd be, you know,
negligent if I didn't mentionis the guys arrive Thursday and Monday
(31:18):
are travel days and Friday,Saturday, Sunday are pretty much
rock and roll lock and loadfrom, you know, breakfast to after
dinner.
It's, it's fast moving, it's.
Well, everything's.
There's not a lot of lay down time.
But one of the things thathappened each of the three nights
(31:40):
is we have live music, we havesome local guys, one actually did
15 years in the army and they,they come and play their favorite
songs for the guys.
We have one guy who's MattMiske, who goes back to the 60s and
(32:06):
70s when he was really hot inthe music scene.
So a lot of it for theparticular, the Vietnam guys are,
it's, it's a trip down memory lane.
So those, those three guysdeserve, you know, they, they donate
the time, they donate theirtravel, some of them.
I mean, Matt lives, you know,several hours away.
(32:29):
He actually stays overnightwhen he plays.
Well, it's quite a crowd thatyou've assembled there, an amazing
community response and itcertainly is a very colorful and
rich cultural experience aswell for the heroes.
And of course, you know,combine that with world class trout
fishing and some amazing birdhunting and some culinary delights
(32:56):
unique to that part of the world.
The country makes for a veryMemorable experience.
Everybody talks very highlyabout you and your event when they
get off from it.
And I've read a lot oftestimonials and of course I had
a chance to spend some timewith you there.
It's really a beautiful place.
(33:18):
I want to thank you again andof course your wife for allowing
us to rent your time and allthe, you know, you are a volunteer,
as everybody is, that supportsyour mission.
And it's just, it wouldn'thappen without everybody's hard work
and patriotic ways, whichwe're very appreciative of.
(33:41):
I'll give you the last wordhere, Sandy.
Is there anything else you'dlike to tell our listening audience
before we bid ourselves an adieu?
The one thing that is alsoincluded for free in the trip, the
(34:02):
camp where we stay and theplaces where we fish and hunt, do
stuff.
There's a very large Amishcommunity, so the fellas all get
real exposure to a lifestylethat many people don't.
And every other Sunday ischurch Sunday for the Amish.
(34:26):
So if there are weekendcoincides with a church Sunday, they
will see in excess of 50 horseand buggies up and down the road.
And you can tell it's churchSunday because you just got to look
at the road to see what thehorses have left.
And you know that it's, youknow, and you'll drive by whoever's
(34:49):
hosting services and theprayer wagon where they bring all
the chairs and stuff in forthe service to the person's home
is there and, and then theyall have, a lot of them have, if
we're there in the warmer,earlier part of September, they,
they have roadside fruitstands and stuff.
So it's, it's a culturalexposure that they wouldn't normally
(35:14):
have elsewhere.
It's really cool.
But as far as, you know,everybody, you know, the people at
headquarters and the supportstaff like David and Karina that
are remote are always rightthere to get things done or, you
(35:37):
know, somebody missed a planeor whatever.
And it's, you know, one of ourbiggest problems is being as remote
as we are.
Cell service is virtually non existent.
So we've got to drive about ahalf mile up the road to a high spot
where you can park on the sideof the road and do your phone business.
(36:01):
Now for some of the guys thatare looking for away time from home,
that's an ideal situationthat, I'm sorry honey, they don't
have phone service where I'mgoing to be.
But no, other than that, youknow, hey, we're, we're Good.
I mean, every year we addsomething or we correct a problem
(36:23):
if we saw a problem.
And the after actions meetingspretty much encompass everything
that needs to be improved.
Yeah, well, you mentioned the staff.
You know, at least my staff anyway.
The supports, all of you andme, of course.
(36:45):
It's an amazing group and Iappreciate you calling them out.
They don't get recognized asmuch as they probably should.
They all do a wonderful joband very thankful to have them on
the team.
And I want to wish you and allof yours a very merry Christmas and
a wonderful holiday season asit's upon us here in December of
(37:10):
2024.
I can't believe it.
But listen, again, thank youfor your time.
It's been a pleasure hosting you.
He did a great job on the podcast.
And keep up the fire, Sandy.
You're doing great.
Well, everything's planned.
And Penn State released theirfootball schedule yesterday is one
of the driving factors aroundwhen we hold our event because whatever
(37:34):
airfares and stuff are inState College, they go up significantly
on home football weekends.
So they just announced and we're.
We're looking at October 4thof next year to have our event.
Okay.
This was determined with phonecalls this morning.
(37:54):
Wonderful, wonderful.
Go from there.
All right, Very good.
Well, I appreciate you.
Look forward to hearing moreof your stories and continued.
Good luck on your event.
You're doing great stuff.
Thanks a lot, Sandy.
All right, thanks, John.
All right, have a good day.
(38:15):
Have a good holiday and getthose boys out on the water.
Will do, buddy.
Thank you.
Thank you for listening to the wwf.
To learn more about theWounded warriors in Action foundation
and how you can get involved,please visit our website@wwiaf.org
(38:39):
or follow us on social mediaon Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and
LinkedIn.
If you'd like to comment oroffer feedback about our podcast,
or if you have a suggestionfor a future episode, please email
us odcast@wwiaf.org thank youfor your support and for helping
(39:00):
us honor, connect and heal ourcombat wounded Purple Heart heroes
through the power of the great outdoors.
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