David King welcomes our guests, and shares our purpose and contact information on Facebook.
Scott Goodman of Heros New Hope Foundation is introduced. The organization’s mission is to get disabled veterans out of their homes, and participating in hunting and fishing events. He serves veterans from all over the country at no cost. All expenses are paid, as well as offering free access to equipment. The nonprofit is powered by a Board of Directors who were all volunteer. Local businesses offer support, and volunteers to help guide and take care of the veterans.
Overview
Scott describes the type of hunting scopes that are used on his rifles. The system is one that’s easy to set up and is stable even between shots. He also describes challenges in taking hunting courses to obtain a license. Scott also tells how he advocates for blind hunters. He is also been instrumental in having state laws changed to your accessible scopes on a wide range of weapons.
Event Accommodations
Participants fish Saturday Sunday and Monday. Deer hunting season usually runs the week before Thanksgiving. At his main location in Sullivan Indiana, Scott can accommodate participants in his home. If there are more than five, a bunkhouse is available on the property. They have over 3000 acres of private land available, in addition to over 700 acres of state land. With contributions from other landowners, Scott has over 2500 acres available for hunting and fishing. Anything that is harvested is processed locally, and local supporters will pay to have it shipped to the veteran’s home if desired.
We opened the floor to questions from our participants.
Scott answers the question of how to find his group. The website address is HerosNewHope.org. On Facebook he can be found at: Heroes New Hope Foundation on Facebook. He encourages veterans to contact him either through the web, or his personal email or phone number.
What if a veteran doesn’t have everything they need? The organization also offers hunting and fishing supplies.
What kind of fish is available to catch? Bass, crappie, bluegill, catfish and others. The catch is usually filleted for a fish fry, extra can be given to a local charity, or packaged to be sent to the veteran’s home.
What if a prize fish or trophy is caught or hunted? Scott describes a little bit of how taxidermy services can be performed.
What costs are covered? The organization covers hunting license fees.
Adaptive fishing products are briefly discussed. A product is available that helps with fishermen of any disability level.
Scott talks about how his organization has even changed people in his community as he helps veterans.
The best thing that can come of this interview today is to help get the word out so other veterans can enjoy outdoor recreation. Scott tells a hunting story of one of the veterans he took on a fishing trip.
To close our session, David reminds us of our next session. Mark today for June 13 next month for more about adaptive sports.
Veterans share a few moments of conversation, and Raymer Alice pitches the next steps for his podcast. The Blind Spot by Ray Marella’s . thebelindspot@gmail.com.
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active-duty Marine Corps. Missouri air National Guard.
Hillsboro, Illinois
Keith was a sergeant of an infantry platoon, and for a short time acting platoon commander. In the air National Guard, he was an air traffic control radar maintenance man. While never seeing combat himself, he personally trained many who went to serve in that role.
In preparing for his career in the Air National Guard, Keith was honor grad at his tech school. A similar level of certification that would equate to a two-year degree in electronic technology. On his way to completing retirement, he reached a proficiency as a seven level and his military occupation specialty. His service was cut short due to blindness. After a long and difficult battle, he was finally able to be rated as service-connected.
Keith is a member of the BVA, as well as County and statewide groups that advocate for blind people. Namely, the Madison County Association of the blind, and the Illinois Council of the blind.
Relying on his technical skills learned in the military, he taught himself how to code in HTML, JavaScript and to some degree in PHP. He keeps busy by developing websites in his own server space, as well as being active in podcast production.
Keith has also been proficient in using most common operating systems. Including Windows, Macintosh, iOS, Lennix and UNIX systems.