Terrance Gant is a 12 year Marine Corps veteran. Deployed to Afghanistan twice and Iraq three times, then medically separated from the Marine Corps in 2010, Terrance says "That's when the wheels feel off". Extreme drinking because of loss of purpose and nightmares cost him his marriage, kids, and job. February 15,2015 Terrance even attempted suicide. After months and months of VA care, he started looking to Veteran Service organizations for help. Wounded Warrior project got him out of the house. Save A Warrior saved his soul. Team RWB filled the athletic gap in his life. The Mission Continues and Team Rubicon filled the service gap in his life. Today Terrance is no longer just surviving in life but he's thriving and dedicated to empowering the lives of veterans and helping them take back their lives.
A chance viewing of a short news story prompted Peter A. Cline to create a life-changing charity for veterans injured on the battlefield.
VETMotorsports, Inc., provides wounded veterans struggling to re-assimilate to the civilian world the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with professional motorcycle and auto racing teams. The charity has helped more than 130 veterans since 2012.
“I saw an opportunity after watching a TV short on BBC America about how injured warfighters were using motorsports to recover from battlefield injuries,” Cline said. “I asked myself why someone was not providing a ‘hands-on’ opportunity for veterans. From that point on, it was a matter of doing research and having some discussions with sponsors and friends to work out the details.”
Cline, a former professional motorcycle racer, spends time attending and facilitating race experiences all across the U.S. during the racing season, while focusing on fundraising and outreach to strategic partners during the off season.
Cline volunteers his time as executive director of VETMotorsports while working full-time as Traffic Safety Specialist at Motorcycle Ohio.
“VETMotorsports has allowed me to take 12 plus years of relationships and create this thing where the sum of the parts make a huge difference to those veterans participating,” Cline said. “The program is about creating a culture where injured warfighters are welcome, where we can provide them an outlet that shows them their self-worth and hopefully creates an opportunity for them to succeed outside the program.”
Cline, who lives in Upper Arlington, Ohio, was presented the 2015 Hazel Kolb Brighter Image Award from the American Motorcyclist Association for his contributions to the motorcycle racing community.
Don Hutcheson is a lifelong entrepreneur, inventor, author and coach. He hosts the daily podcast: “Discover Your Talent—Do What You Love,” which he created to help you find your true talents and use them to build a career of success, satisfaction and freedom. He’s never had a “boss” and has created 6 innovative companies in advertising, publishing, coaching and career planning—and now on the Internet—over the last 35 years.
Dr. Bourke is the Executive Director of the NLP Research and Recognition Project, and Coordinator to the NLP Community. After the 9-11 attacks in 2001, Dr. Bourke designed and implemented a rehabilitation plan for 800 World Trade Center building survivors. He found that he was able to change the symptoms of PTS survivors he was treating with an NLP-derived protocol much quicker and more effectively than the 30 or so therapists he was working with. He founded the Not-For-Profit Corporation to advance the science of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and bring the research up to a scientific standard necessary for more widespread implementation. He brings with him more than 33 years of professional experience in Executive, Clinical and Research roles.
The Research and Recognition Project (R&RP) conducts rigorous, controlled clinical studies to validate therapeutic techniques that support the widespread use of innovative and cost-effective clinical care for traumatic stress and a number of other psychiatric disorders.
Jean South is a Marine spouse, daughter of two Army veterans, and former FBI Special Agent. During her career she has had the honor of working alongside our nation’s warriors. As the President and CEO of Hire Served , Jean gives companies a competitive advantage to compete for veteran talent by helping bridge the culture gap between military candidates and company recruiters. She also provides career coaching to veterans, teaching them how to use LinkedIn to network more effectively as they transition into their next careers after the military.
Jean serves as the Veteran Outreach Director for Bunker Labs Philadelphia connecting with veterans and Veteran Service Organizations in the Philadelphia metro region to provide entrepreneurship opportunities to veterans and their spouses.