SDIA Teams in Texas to Assist in Recovery
On Tues., 8/29, Sheep Dog Impact Assistance (SDIA) deployed Disaster Response Team 1 (DRT1) to the Houston area to assist with Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts. 20+ SDIA Members and Volunteers are on site; they were joined yesterday by a large contigency of 1st Battlion 23rd Regiment Marines that are stationed or live in the area.
DRT1 received their orders this morning and are on the move to help as many Texans as possible. 5 boat crews will assist with rescue operations in the Houston area. 5 chainsaw teams will clear trees & debris and cover roofs & windows in Rockport, which sustained significant wind/storm damage, but little flood damage. Remaining DRT1 members will conduct muck-out operations in Northwest Houston where waters have begun to recede.
DRT2 will arrive tomorrow (9/1) with additional SDIA Members and Volunteers to assist in our recovery operations. By Friday, more than 60 SDIA members and volunteers will have deployed from our Central Arkansas,
SDIA DEPLOYING DISASTER RESPONSE TEAMS TO TEXAS
Disaster Response Teams to Conduct Tropical Storm Harvey Recovery Operations Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey has hit Houston and southeastern Texas with over 24" of rain, with total rainfall predictions at 40-50" or more over the next few days. Sheep Dog Impact Assistance (SDIA) is sending Disaster Response Teams to assist with recovery efforts in the Rockport, Texas, area August 29 through September 5. More than 60 members and volunteers will deploy from our Eastern Tennessee, Kansas, North Texas, Northeast Oklahoma, Northwest Arkansas, San Antonio and Washington chapters and teams, led by National Office staff. Teams will conduct muck-out operations, clear trees and debris, and other needed tasks. In order to ensure that the SDIA disaster response teams have the supplies and materials necessary for this extensive mission, they are asking for your help. Secure financial donations can be made at www.SheepDogIA.org/get-involved/donate. Material donations of tarps, roofing nails, tools, bottled water, hygiene supplies, or other necessities, are welcomed...
Outdoor Adventure to Peru
Sheep Dog Impact Assistance (SDIA) recently had the privilege of partnering with another great non-profit, Legend Treks, for an exploratory trip to Peru to serve its indigenous people with eye care needs (eye exams, reading glasses, sunglasses, eye drops, etc.). Legend Trek team members were Boyd Nutt, Patricia Yabar, Mike Webster, Jason Cruz, Beth Morgan, Randy and Kelley Rose and Jim Main. SDIA team members included sponsored Sheep Dog, Jose Sanchez, and his wife, Dulce, and Danny Shaw, and SDIA staff members Fred Lawley, Scott West and Amanda Bullard. Staff members went on the trip to ensure that our sponsored Sheep Dogs were taken care of, and to determine whether this was a trip that could become a future National Outdoor Adventure. All three SDIA staff members were responsible for funding their own way, paying all personal expenses, including airfare to and from Peru. During the first clinic, Legend Trek (LT) and SDIA worked with the Cusco Lions Club to operate...
2017 Spring Outdoor Adventures – Part 2
Our Outdoor Adventure program is in full swing this spring! Recently you read the story on our Hog Hunt and Quail Hunt; now we'll tell you about our fishing and muddy adventures. These experiences present our sponsored Sheep Dogs - those injured in combat or the line of duty - with challenges that test their rehabilitation progress, restore independence and self-confidence, and foster camaraderie and peer support - two things that are vital to inspiring a positive state of mind and perspective. 2017 Spring White River Fishing Outdoor Adventure - The weekend of April 24-26, SDIA held their second annual White River Fishing Outdoor Adventure at Newland's Float Trips, Lodge & Conference Center in Lakeview, AR. Sponsors Broadway Contracting and United Rental went out of their way to make this trip a memorable experience for our three sponsored combat-wounded Army veterans: SSGT Ryan Waddell, SSGT Steve Charles, and SSGT Forrest Montgomery. A weekend of fishing, grilling, and camaraderie was...
SDIA Carries The Load in East Coast Relay
A few months ago, SDIA announced that they were named a 2017 nonprofit partner of Carry The Load (CTL), a nonprofit dedicated to restoring the true meaning of Memorial Day and providing active, meaningful ways to honor and celebrate the sacrifices made by our nation’s heroes throughout the year. Sheep Dogs who have given the ultimate sacrifice are honored and remembered – their load carried – at CTL events. One of CTL’s largest events is the National Relay, which has teams of people raising money and walking, running or bicycling 5+-mile legs of the over 6,200-mile routes throughout the month of May. The routes begin on the East and West Coasts, and meet in Dallas, TX, on Memorial Day weekend for the Memorial March. CTL’s founder carried one pound of weight for each of the people he carried on that first Memorial Day walk; now participants are encouraged to carry weighted backpacks with the names of those they are carrying...
2017 Spring Outdoor Adventures
This spring has been a busy one for Sheep Dog Impact Assistance (SDIA), hosting four different Outdoor Adventures in three states, all within three months. This week's story will feature our annual Hog Hunt and Quail Hunt; watch next week for a story on our first Fishing Trip and our St. Louis Chapter's Muddy Adventure. Our Outdoor Adventure program came to be as we waited for disasters to which our disaster response teams could deploy and satisfy their innate desire to serve and help those around them. We needed a continued service opportunity that would keep our Sheep Dogs engaged, physically challenged and foster camaraderie. An obstacle course race fit the bill. SDIA has since expanded the adventures to include other outdoor activities like hunting & fishing trips, skydiving, scuba diving and more. For our sponsored Sheep Dogs (those injured in combat or the line of duty), these adventures present them with challenges that test their rehabilitation progress, restore independence and self-confidence,...
SDIA’s Charity Ball Raises $40,000 to Send Veterans, First Responders to DC
On Saturday, April 22, we held our 5th Annual Charity Ball at the Embassy Suites Hotel & Spa in Rogers. More than 425 people attended and helped us raise over $40,000, which will be used to sponsor Sheep Dogs injured in combat or the line of duty to go on Outdoor Adventures; this October, 20 Sheep Dogs will be sponsored on an epic trip to Washington DC. The Charity Ball’s Host Sponsor was Bennett Packaging, along with Presenting Sponsors Broadway Contracting, JUNK Brands, Walmart, White Lynx Creative, and Zantac. Guests enjoyed a delicious dinner with musical entertainment provided by local artist, Cameron Johnson Music, and participated in the silent auction & live auction (sponsored by Bailey & Oliver's Live Auction Team), as well as the Heads or Tails game (sponsored by Gall Excavation).
Sheep Dog of the Year Awards were presented to William Tremaine, Jr, of Ward, Arkansas (EMS), Chief Dennis Ledbetter...
2017 National Outdoor Adventure: Washington, DC & Marine Corps Marathon
Looking for an adventure this October? SDIA has just the trip for you and your family! Each year, SDIA hosts one major Outdoor Adventure (in addition to the monthly experiences around the US), and this year's trip will be incredible. This October 19-23, SDIA Members, Volunteers, and Supporters from across the US will converge on Washington, DC, for 5 days of special tours and camaraderie - and some will even run in the Marine Corps Marathon or 10K on October 22. We are sponsoring 20 Sheep Dogs injured in combat or the line of duty for this trip, all-expenses-paid. We have estimated costs per person to be $1,000; this includes 4 night's accommodations, 8 meals, guide service, entrance fees & motor coach transportation to pre-arranged tours to National Museum of Marine Corps, Mt. Vernon, Arlington National Cemetery, National Mall and the Pentagon, and airfare. (NOTE: participants are responsible for making their own air/travel arrangements).
For those interested in running the Marine Corps Marathon...
Wiltz Named Vice President of SDIA
The National Office of Sheep Dog Impact Assistance (SDIA) is proud to announce that Kacey Wiltz, Membership Coordinator and Kansas Chapter Commander, has been named Vice President of SDIA. Wiltz will assume her new duties effective immediately. Previous Vice President, Drew Gilchrist, resigned from the position last month to focus on his career in the packaging industry, and to spend quality time with family and loved ones. Wiltz began her law enforcement career in 2003 with the Topeka Police Department and has served as a Corporal, Field Training Officer, Training Coordinator, Taser Instructor, and Standardized Field Sobriety Test Instructor. Wiltz has been recognized several times for her work, and currently holds the rank of Police Officer with the Lawrence (Kansas) Police Department. In addition to her law enforcement duties, Wiltz earned her Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice in 2012, and her Masters of Science in Criminal Justice in 2015. She is also a member of Sertoma (Service to Mankind). Wiltz joined SDIA...
SDIA Chosen as 2017 Partner of Carry The Load
As a national non-profit that exists to engage, assist and empower our nation’s “Sheep Dogs” – those who make up our military and first responder professions – Sheep Dog Impact Assistance (SDIA) is honored to announce their selection as a 2017 partner of fellow non-profit, Carry The Load (CTL). This partnership will provide much-needed funding to sponsor Sheep Dogs injured in combat or the line of duty to go on SDIA’s Outdoor Adventure to Washington DC and take part in the Marine Corps Marathon in October 2017. “We are thrilled to be selected as a partner of CTL,” said SgtMaj Lance Nutt, SDIA’s president and founder. “Our missions to engage and assist our nation’s Sheep Dogs fit perfectly within CTL’s “Continuum of Care” program to provide funding to those who directly serve our nation’s heroes and their families. We are extremely excited to sponsor as many Sheep Dogs as possible on our Washington DC Outdoor Adventure with CTL’s help.” More than...