VOB Network | Community News

Henry Alvarado

Wednesday May 27, 2026

Category: Newsletter

At Ease HQ Foundation Launches Free Veteran & Caregiver Dive Programs

At Ease HQ Foundation is proud to announce the launch of two new wellness-focused community programs designed to support veterans, caregivers, and military families through healing, connection, and purpose.

Founded by combat veterans, our mission is to create safe spaces where veterans and their families can reconnect, build community, and support one another through shared experiences and positive activities.

We are launching:

A Veteran Dive Program focused on providing empowering scuba diving experiences for veterans.
A Caregiver & Family Dive Program designed to support military families and caregivers through wellness, community, and outdoor recreation.

As a combat veteran who personally struggled with PTSD and survived multiple suicide attempts, I understand firsthand how important community and purpose can be. Scuba diving became part of my healing journey, and now we are working to provide those same opportunities to others.

Everything we do for veterans through this program is completely free to the veteran. Every donation received goes directly toward supporting veterans, caregivers, and military families by helping cover:

Dive equipment and safety gear
Pool training and certifications
Boat and travel expenses
Veteran and caregiver sponsorships
Program logistics and outreach efforts

Our long-term goal is to host monthly veteran dive events and quarterly caregiver/family wellness dives while building a nationwide community where veterans support veterans.

100% of donations raised through this campaign are being used to help support and expand these programs for veterans and their families.

Support the mission or donate here:
https://gofund.me/61373a054

Website:
At Ease HQ Foundation

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Empowering Veteran Business Owners: SBA Resources,

The below has been shared with us by our friend Nikki Gianni The GovCon Architect:

In honor of Veterans Week, join the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Veteran Entrepreneur Tribe of Sacramento (VETS) for an interactive webinar dedicated to empowering military-connected entrepreneurs.

Date: Thursday, November 12

Time: 9 AM - 10:30 AM PST

Where: Online event

Link to register: Empowering Veteran Business Owners: SBA Resources & DGS Surplus Property Tickets, Thursday, November 12 • 9 AM - 10:30 AM PST | Eventbrite

Once you join our webinar, you will learn:

CA DGS Federal Surplus Property (FSP) Program: How eligible veteran-owned businesses and qualifying non-profit organizations can acquire federal surplus property, heavy equipment, vehicles, and assets through the Office of Fleet and Asset Management at significantly reduced costs.

Navigating SBA certification pathways for veteran-owned small businesses, loan programs, technical assistance.
How to plug into local peer networks and transition military execution into business growth.
Direct access to regional support networks, workshops, and specialized counseling.

Featured Speaker

Tim Swaney – Keynote Speaker, Veteran Entrepreneur Tribe of Sacramento Tim will highlight the mission of VETS, sharing how the non-profit bridges the gap between military service and business execution by providing peer accountability, mentorship, and local growth opportunities.

Veteran Entrepreneur Tribe of Sacramento | Empowering Veteran Entrepreneurs & Business Leaders

Federal Surplus Property Analyst – California Department of General Services (DGS), Office of Fleet and Asset Management

Regards,

Oksana Zubrytska

Oksana Zubrytska, CPPB

Business Opportunity Specialist

Sacramento District Office
U.S. Small Business Administration
(916) 735-1701
Cell (202) 604-5043
oksana.zubrytska@sba.gov

Mahalo Nikki,

Kevin🍍🇺🇸

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VOB Roundtable Recap — September 29, 2026

We had a full room and a lively one this week: lots of wins to celebrate, several first-timers, a deep dive into how social media actually works in 2026, and some real progress on the VOB platform to share.

Clay Hicks (CEO & Founder, H7 Network, and a VOB board member; clayton@h7network.com; h7network.com) led us off and went straight to celebrations. Nikki Gianni (Air Force veteran and The GovCon Architect, helping small businesses win and keep government contracts; nikki.gianni@gmail.com; nikkigianni.com) signed a new client yesterday. It was someone she had lost earlier because of a partner's pricing. She found a better-fit teammate on LinkedIn, and together they won the work back. Bill Haase (Founder, Money Mindset Media, and author of Our Mindset on Money; info@moneymindsetmedia.com; moneymindsetmedia.com) announced a three-part podcast series with his co-host PJ on GLP-1s, covering both the health side and the economic side. He also has a new pen pal, Brené Brown, who wrote to him about his book. He had no idea who she was. Apparently she has a huge following on social media.😱

GB De Leon (Army veteran and independent health and life insurance broker with USA Benefits Group; gdeleon@usabg.net; usabg.com/gdeleon) shared that a BNI and LinkedIn connection led him to a wealth manager with more than 30 clients who need term coverage. He met with them last week, and it could grow his book considerably. David Mohammed (Army combat medic veteran and founder of Mo-Blind Solutions, a digital marketing and AI business solutions firm in Tampa; david@mo-blind.com; mo-blind.com) spent last week at the Military Influencer Conference in Tampa. He came home with new contacts and two orders he expects to close. Alicia thanked him for the photos he sent to VOB.

Tax and books came up more than once in the introductions. Mark Salmon (Enrolled Agent and owner of Mark's Tax Service in Alpharetta, GA; mark@marksalmon.tax; marksalmon.tax) reminded us that he can represent individuals and businesses before the IRS in any state, on any issue. Dorothy Smith (Air Force veteran, EA, and founder of DMS Bookkeeping in Memphis; dorothy@dmsbizhelp.com; dmsbizhelp.com) had the most specific ask of the day: she's looking for bookkeepers who don't want to do taxes, because taxes are all she wants to do. Deb Plennert (founder of Precision With Honor Bookkeeping; deb@pwhbk.com; precisionwithhonorbookkeeping.com) summed up her approach as transparent, trustworthy, and thorough. She is also working with QRF Up, and has just started a graduate program in leadership.

On the coaching and growth side, Ed Jarecki (Army Reserve veteran and President of Jarecki Business Coaching & Concepts; ed@jareckibcc.com; jareckibcc.com) described his two roles. At Valicor US he works on emotional intelligence technology for healthcare and VA hospitals, focused on PTSD patients. In his own practice, he uses his CLEAR+ framework to help small and mid-sized businesses build a foundation that scales. Shaun Penrod (Navy veteran and fractional CMO with Boundless Connections Marketing; shaunpenrod@gmail.com; boundlessconnectionsmarketing.com) helps companies that are preparing to sell, or were just bought, put a solid marketing foundation in place through a program he calls the Keel. He hinted at more news in a couple of weeks.

Patrick McCrann (leadership coach and founder and head coach of Endurance Nation, with 20+ years of building and running peer communities; patrick@patrickjohnmccrann.com; patrickjohnmccrann.com) attended as Frank's and my guest. He came to learn how he might support the squad and platoon model we're building for the incubator.

Some of the most mission-driven work of the morning came next. Mark Spenelli (Army veteran building Nature's Edge GlampGround, an RV and retreat destination for veterans and first responders; natures.edge.glampground@gmail.com; naturesedgeglampground.com) also works with QRFUp on crisis prevention for veterans and first responders. Lisa Murphy (co-founder of L2L Academy at Leprechaun Lane and founder of Limited to Limitless; lisa.murphy@limitedtolimitless.com; limitedtolimitless.com; leprechaunlanetc.com) was a first-timer this week. She just received 501(c)(3) status for a program on her 10-acre farm for disabled and disadvantaged veterans. The goal is to move 150 veterans a year onto certification tracks in the trades, equestrian work, adaptive sports, and dog training and handling. Her immediate asks are grant writing and professional facility design to make sure everything is accessible. She also has three Dobermans available for medical service work. Deb connected the dots right away: the program lines up closely with QRF Up's plans, and she knows a VA-approved trainer of dog trainers Mike Halapy at Highland Canine Training in Harmony, NC (mike@highlandcanine.com; highlandcanine.com). I want to meet him myself. GB added that QRF Up has a contact with a large training complex who may know someone for facility design.

Then Alicia Nordman (social media manager and short-form video specialist in St. Augustine, FL; alicia.nordman@gmail.com; aliciassocials.com) flagged a new Google press release on funding for veterans. It covers courses and trades training, separate from the Google Ads benefit. She then gave us a mini-masterclass on what the platforms reward right now: before-and-after videos, short clips with trending audio, YouTube for search visibility, and one keyword phrase repeated in every caption. Mark Salmon asked the question of the day: if AI is so smart, why can't it count weeks? Bill closed the segment with a strong endorsement: if you're on social media, talk to Alicia.

Two more people were able to swing by in the 2nd half. Rich Moyers (founder of Business Profit Max; rich@businessprofitmax.com; businessprofitmax.com), on his third Roundtable, has already introduced us to great people and is warming up three more. Chris Hunt (Navy veteran and CEO of Blue Prairie Synergy Solutions, providing program management, systems engineering, cybersecurity, and technology support for government and regulated organizations; christopher.r.hunt@bpsynsollc.com; bpsynsollc.com) signed his first subcontract teaming agreement yesterday and has two proposals in progress. He also said this was the best dialog he's heard in a long time, which we'll take.

VOB update. Frank has started our East Coast and Central squads, and we're setting up the West Coast now (as well as filling in more members to the existing squads) Here in Hawaii we formed a sub-squad we're calling Task Force Pineapple.😉🍍
If you're in the incubator, you'll soon get notice of your squad assignment. We're grouping by time zone for now.

Our content portal is live on the website. Open the site on your phone, tap the portal link, and upload photos and video directly. That avoids email compression and file-size limits. Alicia has put together a content request list, which I'll post on Community News and email out. We're also starting some fun community campaigns. First, upload your boot camp graduation photo. Second, share your "why" — the veteran you honor, and a favorite saying of theirs if you have one. Mine is my grandfather.

Deb also gave us a preview of an upcoming guest, Brian Nichols of Veteran Hiring Solutions. Veterans pay nothing for his placement help, and he has a 97% one-year retention rate. The timing is good: the VOB job board should be live by tomorrow afternoon. Employers and staffing agencies will be able to post listings, and job seekers can post résumés. I will post details after my meeting with Shankar tomorrow. 👍

Everyone is encouraged to complete their free VOB member profile. I can see that several people have registered but have not yet finished setting up their profiles. If anyone runs into difficulty completing their profile, adding a business listing, posting Community News, or navigating the site, please reach out — I'm happy to help.

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 🍍🇺🇸

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Back-to-Back Half Marathons, and Faster on Day Two

Congrats to Jake Droge, "The Flagman," on running back-to-back half marathons on September 19–20: Saturday in New Castle, Indiana, and Sunday in Toledo, Ohio.

Saturday was brutal. It was 65 degrees at the start with 91% humidity, and Jake was still feeling it well into the night. Plenty of people would have called it a weekend. Jake lined up again Sunday morning, because as he puts it, "it starts with a step."

In Toledo it started raining around mile 6, and the rain kept him cool. He finished 10 minutes faster than he did the day before.

Two races on back-to-back days, and he was faster on the second one. What a stud!

Jake is a U.S. Army veteran who served as a medic with the South Dakota Army National Guard. He's working toward running a half marathon in all 50 states while carrying the American flag. Indiana and Ohio are two more on the board.

Congrats, Jake. Now rest those feet. 🍍🇺🇸

#VeteranOwnedBusiness #VOBNetwork #TheFlagman #HalfMarathon #Veterans

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VOB Roundtable Recap — September 22, 2026

This week's Roundtable brought more new faces, a few welcome returns, and one theme that kept coming back all hour: getting seen. Social media algorithms, AI search results, the right job posting reaching the right military spouse — the room kept circling back to visibility, and people kept offering to help each other get there.

We opened with two first-time attendees. Dr. Bere Waller (Air Force veteran and licensed acupuncturist running her own practice in Rockville, MD; Bere@walleracu.com; walleracu.com) found us through BNI, most likely by way of our board member Mike Garrity, who is active in BNI up in Maryland. She's about two years into her solo practice, and we'll be setting up a longer one-on-one. Jarrett Cieslak (artisan bladesmith and owner of Fire Beard Forge in Harford County, MD; jarrett@firebeardforge.com; firebeardforge.com) came to us through Richard Moyers, also via BNI. Jarrett makes one-of-a-kind and small-batch pieces in metal, wood, and leather, from knives and barware to branded keychains and luggage tags. He got into blacksmithing from Hollywood prop master Tony Swatton's videos. He also makes the weapons for ArmoredAF, a Maryland nonprofit that uses full-plate armored combat to help veterans with PTSD through training and camaraderie. That one brought back memories of my own armored combat days, flat on my back under a collapsed shield wall with three or four guys piled on top of me. lol

Cybersecurity had a strong showing too. Luis Aguilar (Army veteran and founder of CyberOps Specialists, a penetration testing firm; ag@csspecialists.vet; csspecialists.vet) is back after about a year away and getting back into his cybersecurity business. I want to get him together with Todd Mitchell. and David Mohammed (Army veteran and founder of Mo-Blind Solutions in Tampa; david@mo-blind.com; mo-blind.com) spent 22 years in cybersecurity at AT&T. Now he helps businesses show up in Google and AI search through SEO, AEO (answer engine optimization), and GEO (generative engine optimization), along with chatbots, AI phone agents, and automation. Luis asked to connect with David after the call, and I'll send an email introduction so they have each other's info. David is also at the Military Influencer Conference (MIC) in Tampa this week and posted a free ticket link in the chat.

Bill Haase (author of Our Mindset on Money and host of the Money Mindset Media podcast; bill@billhaase.com; moneymindsetmedia.com) shared a new interview he recorded with a Sydney-based YouTube host who has about 250,000 followers. It runs an hour and 17 minutes because the host didn't want to stop. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ8SGRtrmBw Bill heads back to Australia and New Zealand in November for more speaking. With his web and IT guy PJ Ewing (founder of Chief Marketing Outsource, a marketing and web design firm for small and mid-sized businesses; pjewingnyc@gmail.com) now on board as a partner, he's on TikTok, posting clips, and seeing a lot more views. Bill asked Alicia Nordman (social media manager and short-form video specialist leading VOB's social media campaign; alicia.nordman@gmail.com; socialmedia@vobnetwork.org; aliciassocials.com) to confirm a few things, and she gave the room a quick masterclass. Post about once a day, or a few times a week depending on the platform. Upload natively from your phone instead of through schedulers, and use stories. Put links in the comments, not in the post, because the algorithms suppress posts with links and hammer anything that reads like sales. My advice to Bill: bring PJ to that meeting with Alicia. We're also putting together a VOB promo with Bill as the voice, since his radio background makes him a natural. Alicia will set it up as a collab post so it lands on both his accounts and VOB's.

That led into our biggest VOB update. The content upload link is now live on the VOBNetwork.org homepage. Scroll down past the Zoom link for this meeting, and you'll find it just above the scrolling photos. You can drag photos and video straight from your phone into the portal, no email required. Alicia was clear about what we need: no sales pitches, PowerPoints, or logo-heavy content. Send creator-style clips and B-roll instead: your dog, a sunset, the clouds, whatever you've got, kept to 30 seconds or less. She has a list of easy trending video ideas you can shoot on your phone, and she's looking for someone to take on the paper airplane one right away. She'll also help anyone who wants to script a short talking-head video. Consider yourself voluntold. 😉

The AI conversation picked up from there. Mark Miracle (Marine Corps combat veteran, 1987–1993, and owner of Miracle Sales Advisory, helping B2B small businesses build or fix their sales engine; mmiracle@salesxceleration.com) kept his intro short and sweet. Then he told us he spent about two weeks preparing a presentation for the Colorado Economic Development Council, and got two slides in before it turned into a 45-minute Q&A. It was a great meeting, and a good reminder of how much better a real conversation is than a slide deck. Bill noted that NotebookLM helped us build an acceptable presentation in under half an hour on a project last week. Mark said most of his prep time goes into rehearsal, not building slides, and he hasn't found an AI tool for practicing yet. Mike "Buzz" Mallon (Marine Corps veteran and founder of Storyteller Promotions in Houston; info@storytellerpromotions.com; storytellerpromotions.com) added that NotebookLM's audio overview is a great tool and that you can download the script too. Mike also invited everyone to Tropic Thunder, his networking group that meets Thursdays at 9:00 AM Central.

Lisa Bowers (founder of Office Allies, providing executive-level admin support up to fractional COO for entrepreneurs; lisa@officealliesllc.com; officealliesllc.com) is back and hiring. She has two remote, part-time openings. One is general admin (schedules, email, back-office processing). The other focuses on social media and light graphic design in Canva. Every role is remote but must be U.S.-based, which includes military spouses stationed on U.S. bases overseas. She especially likes hiring military spouses because they can work from anywhere, and she's willing to train the right person. Email her for the full job description, and know that how you write that first email is part of the interview. Bill is sending his daughter her way, and David may know some candidates. David also shared that he's been asked to be a brand ambassador for VirtForce, which specializes in remote careers for military spouses and veterans. That ties into another update: our job board should be live in about two weeks. Employers will be able to post listings and job seekers can post resumes, all searchable by city, state, and military base, just like our other directories. In the meantime, if you have a job opening or any other ask, sign in, click Dashboard, and post it to Community News yourself.

We wrapped with two regulars. Dorothy Smith (retired Air Force, enrolled agent, and owner of DMS Bookkeeping in Memphis, TN; dorothy@dmsbizhelp.com; dmsbizhelp.com) made it through tax season without the stress. Taxes are her favorite part of the work, and as an EA she represents clients who owe back taxes before the IRS.

Mark Spenelli (Army veteran, founder of Nature's Edge Group, and part of QRF Up; natures.edge.glampground@gmail.com; naturesedgeglampground.com) shared the latest on Nature's Edge, a RV park and tiny home cabin community project he and his wife are building for veterans, first responders, and active-duty military. He also updated us on the all-veteran NASCAR Truck Series crew QRF Up is fundraising for, from the driver to the transporter team. The Homestead race in Miami is off because they didn't hit the fundraising goal in time, so they're now raising funds for the 2027 season across ARCA and the Truck Series. QRF Up, which focuses on suicide and crisis prevention for veterans and first responders, just launched its new website at qrfup.org. Its app connects anyone who needs help with a licensed counselor or doctor at the push of a button. Alicia put in her request right away: she wants video from the track, sprint car races included, for both VOB and QRF Up.

Before next week, a quick to-do list:

Finish your member profile. It's free, and it's how other members find you. If you're stuck on your profile, your business listing, or posting to Community News, reach out and I'll walk you through it.
Share your content. Upload your photos and videos through the Content Portal on the VOBNetwork.org homepage, right below the Roundtable Zoom link. Short, unpolished clips are exactly what we need.

Every week this group proves the same thing: when veterans and supporters show up for each other, missions move faster. I'll see you next Tuesday.

Mahalo,

Kevin 🍍🇺🇸

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Jake Droge Hits States 23 and 24 This Weekend — Two Races, One Mission

This weekend, VOB Veteran Jake Droge — known to us as "The Flagman" — is running two half marathons in two states, carrying an American flag the whole way, as part of his goal to complete a half-marathon in all 50 states.

September 19–20, Jake runs the Henry Community Health New Castle Mini in New Castle, Indiana, then heads straight to the Garmin Marathon Series Toledo Half in Toledo, Ohio. That's states 23 and 24 down, back to back, in a single weekend.

Jake's a veteran of the U.S. Army and the South Dakota Army National Guard, and he carries that flag for a reason — every mile is a nod to the veterans and military spouse-led businesses he spotlights along the way. If you're anywhere near New Castle or Toledo this weekend, get out there and cheer him on.

Good luck, Jake — go get 23 and 24.

Check out this news clip of Jake at one of his previous races. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lho6BRLdcXc

Way to Go Jake!!! 🇺🇸

Kevin 🍍🇺🇸

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News Details

Henry Alvarado

At Ease HQ Foundation Launches Free Veteran & Caregiver Dive Programs

Discussion

Related News

Empowering Veteran Business Owners: SBA Resources,

VOB Roundtable Recap — September 29, 2026

Back-to-Back Half Marathons, and Faster on Day Two

VOB Roundtable Recap — September 22, 2026

Jake Droge Hits States 23 and 24 This Weekend — Two Races, One Mission

News Details

Henry Alvarado

At Ease HQ Foundation Launches Free Veteran & Caregiver Dive Programs

Discussion

Related News

Empowering Veteran Business Owners: SBA Resources,

VOB Roundtable Recap — September 29, 2026

Back-to-Back Half Marathons, and Faster on Day Two

VOB Roundtable Recap — September 22, 2026

Jake Droge Hits States 23 and 24 This Weekend — Two Races, One Mission

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