We had an opportunity to attend a fundraiser earlier in the year for Wingshooters.org and it impressed me so much, I had to get the founder/CEO on the podcast. Greg McClelland shares his story and how he finds solace in the woods. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app
2:29 – It’s humbling to see the support from folks who, honestly, don’t have any skin in the game at all
8:36 – I was taught to respect fences, but if there weren’t any fences, I just assumed that it was free
13:34 – My roommate dared me to come with him, I didn’t want to be a cop. I ended up doint it on a fluke and just kept passing these interviews, even though I was half insubordinate and pretty cocky.
22:28 – The outdoor recreation, hunting, being in the woods, gun smoke, campfire and bro time, talking sh*t. It makes me feel better. It’s got to help these same guys, right?
28:20 – My goal is to build a network of like-minded organizations where we can plug folks in.
40:33 – Anything any organization can do, as long as it’s honorable and for the right reasons, man, I’m all for it; any way we can partner and help, I’m glad to do it.
Special thanks to Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast.
TRANSCRIPT
[00:01:14.190] – Big Rich Klein
My guest this week is a father, an offroader, an outdoorsman, a hunter, an ex law enforcement officer, and a man with a passion for those that have served our nation, veterans, actives, and first responders. My guest is Greg McClelland from Wingshooters Veteran Services, Wingshooters.org. Hello, Greg McClelland. It’s so good to have you on the podcast today. I’m looking forward to learning more about you and your passion for your veteran services that you operate or work with and some of the other things that you do. And so let’s get started. How are you doing today?
[00:01:59.380] – Greg McClelland
That’s great. Thank you, Rich, for having me on. I’m doing great. The weather is perfect today here. And looking forward to discussing everything that we do and all the good stuff that folks can hopefully benefit from.
[00:02:16.030] – Big Rich Klein
I really enjoyed being at the fundraiser in Folsom. And I thought that was a good program. And it looks like you’re going to need to find a larger place next year.
[00:02:29.010] – Greg McClelland
Yeah. Last year, our first fundraiser dinner was there as well. It was a little snug. Then this year, it was completely transparent. But it’s one of those things where scaling up is always a challenge. For somebody, I have six or seven other entities that I run as well. This is a hobby. There’s also just a time constraint and trying to make it to where I didn’t bite off more than I can chew and then fall flat on my face. I’m always like, Hey, man, if we do something small but it’s successful, that’s great. But this time I felt pretty cramped. I was also bummed that I didn’t even get to put out everything that we had to raffle because there just wasn’t enough room, which is a good problem to have. We try to make sure that folks, everybody who comes has an opportunity to get something and potentially win something and so forth. But gosh, dang, this time I didn’t even have enough room. It felt like things were so crowded as it was. But no, I really appreciate you guys coming. It’s obviously super humbling to see the support from folks who… A lot of folks, honestly, don’t have any skin in the game at all.
[00:04:06.240] – Greg McClelland
Don’t know a veteran, aren’t veterans, aren’t first responders, but they feel like this is something that’s important, and those are the real folks that make it happen. Also flanged into this and with Beyond the Brotherhood, I’m on the board as well with BTB, is finding a lot of vets looking for their next purpose and their next mission. Our folks, ironworkers, are the pirates and renegades and outlaws of the building trades. And they seem to seamlessly fit in with a lot of the Socom guys and SF guys mentality. So the next thing is really I’m plugging in guys for career opportunities. So that’s a set aside, but it’s all It’s all connected, right? Right. READ MORE
