This week's Roundtable had a little of everything — new faces, a few laughs at Kelvin's expense (long story with a shared Zoom link), and a lot of people building things that matter. Here's the rundown.

We started with Jessica Olma (Owner/Founder, Scribe Syndicate; jessicaolma@scribesyndicate.com; scribesyndicate.com), based in the Denver metro area, who shared that her business has evolved well beyond its content-writing roots — she's now doing AI consulting and helping small businesses build repeatable systems and workflows around their operations.

From there we went to Deb Plennert (Founder, Precision with Honor Bookkeeping — deb@precisionwithhonorbookkeeping.com), who gave an update on QRF Up, the crisis-intervention and suicide-prevention nonprofit she's involved with, which has rescheduled its relaunch for November 6. She's also working to secure funding for a veteran-supportive campground property and continuing her work with Sentinel Veteran AI Solutions, a platform focused on closing the dangerous gap between a veteran asking for help and actually getting it.

Jake "The Flagman" Droge popped in between work calls just long enough to let us know he's now registered for half-marathons in Indiana and Ohio, bringing his all-50-states flag-running total to 23 and 24 states completed, before he had to run.

Gb De Leon (Independent Health & Life Insurance Broker, USA Benefits Group — gdeleon@usabg.net) reminded everyone why protecting your "why" matters — one serious illness without the right coverage can undo everything you've built. He's building toward funding regenerative agriculture and ranch opportunities for veterans, and his LinkedIn videos (yes, including the one where he stepped in something unfortunate chasing a cow) continue to be must-watch content.

Mark Spenelli shared where things stand with his and his wife's RV campground startup, which will dedicate a portion of profits to veterans, first responders, and active-duty military people in crisis. They have their eye on a property in Kentucky and are hoping the pieces fall into place soon.

Alex Snyder (Partner, Kaplan Family Financial) shared exciting news — he's brought estate planning and financial planning together under one roof in Massachusetts, partnering with a law firm so clients no longer have to run between two offices to get aligned advice. He's now in talks to expand the model into Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Florida, and as the practice grows, he and his partner plan to make a portion of their estate-planning services free for veterans.

Dr. Gina Danola ("Dr. D") walked us through Veterans One Source, the website she built for transitioning service members, veterans, and military families to find local — and international — events and resources, searchable by city, installation, or even a virtual hub. It's a fantastic resource, and everyone should check it out and add their own veteran-centric events to the calendar. Her husband, James Di Nola (jdinola@vetsone.org), the other half of the Veterans One Source team, spoke to the mission behind the site — free promotion for anything veteran-related, from events to content creators, filling a gap left by programs like Military One Source that stop serving people the moment they leave uniform.

Alicia Nordman (social media management and short-form video editing) is building out a social media team for VOB and put out the call for content — photos, video, anything veteran-related and high quality. The ask is simple: send what you've got, and she and the team will turn it into the kind of content that actually moves on social media.

We had two new faces join us this week. Ed Jarecki (President, Jarecki Business Coaching & Concepts — ed@jareckibcc.com; jareckibcc.com) introduced himself as a business and executive coach working with owners in the $1M–$10M range, with a background spanning engineering, IT, and enterprise architecture leadership. He also shared his connection to a human-emotion-analysis technology tool being applied in the mental wellness space, particularly around PTSD treatment support — a topic that drew immediate interest from the group, including a sharp follow-up question from Joel Elfman about whether the tool draws on Paul Ekman's work in micro-expressions — a sharp question given Joel's own background. Joel is Founder and Chief Hypnotist/Mindset Coach at BodyMind Hypnotic (bodymindhypnotic.com), integrating hypnosis, NLP, and somatic work to help clients with stress, habit change, and confidence. Good to have him back with us this week.

Mark Salmon (IRS Enrolled Agent, tax professional — mark@marksalmon.tax; marksalmon.tax) reminded everyone that C-corps on extension have until October 15 to file, and shared a great example of digging a client out of a mistaken state tax assessment — a reminder of the value of having someone who knows how to fight for you when the state gets it wrong.

We closed out with Bill Haase (financial literacy author and podcast host, Money Mindset Media — moneymindsetmedia.com), who gave an update on his new podcast with PJ, which is already up to 31 subscribers, and shared he's making progress toward getting clearance to bring his financial literacy program into a prison setting.

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Thanks again to everyone who joined, shared, asked, offered, and connected. This is exactly what we want the VOB Roundtable to be: veterans and supporters helping each other find the people, tools, services, and opportunities that move missions forward.

Mahalo,

Kevin 🍍🇺🇸