MidSouth Jeep Club

Hi, my name is Jason and I'm the Founder/President of Wheelers For The Wounded. Though currently in Fallujah, Iraq, upon my return to the U.S. I will begin a 6 month trip around the States, meet up with off-road clubs from around the country, and take wounded veterans off-roading and camping for a weekend. I was inspired to do this when a Marine in my team lost both his legs to an IED. What started out with just me traveling around the States to relax after serving 22 months in Iraq, and taking my friend off-roading for a weekend has grown into its current form as word spread.

As it stands right now, there will be approximately 27 events in 25 States. I have included Arkansas in my plans and would like to hold the event at Superlift. A fellow off-road enthusiast recommended your website to me, said you all had a good group of people here, and that you all may want to be involved with the program.

Although the main trip won't begin until April 2009 (due to many reasons, the least of which being that I'll remain in Iraq until March 2009), in between now and then, clubs hosting main events will be holding fund raisers such as charity trail runs. The club will keep 100% of the money raised to use at the main event.

I currently have sponsorship from such companies as TeraFlex, Hi-Lift, KC HiLiTES, Bushwacker, and many others. At the conclusion of each month of the trip I will be writing an article about that month's events which will be published in Four Wheeler magazine. I've also been contacted by a multi-media company who wants to film a documentary about the program with plans to release it on DVD and have it shown on a cable television network. While I'm hardly looking to become famous, the secondary goal of the program is to inspire others to do something nice for our men and women in uniform.

I'm posting this here to see if this is something you all might be interested in. If you would like to know more, you can visit my websites (listed below). There is a forum on the main website that you can get more information from as well. The forum is not meant to take any "traffic" away from this, or any other, forum. All that is allowed on the forum is friendly banter and planning for WFTW charity and main events.

If you have any questions, you can ask them here. However, due to the number of forums information about this program is on, combined with my sometimes limited internet access, it would be best if you were to ask the question on my forum (I'll probably see it first there).

Thank you all and I hope you'll want to participate in this worthy program to share a weekend of fun and excitement with our country's heroes.

Jason,

It was mentioned that you might be planning on april 18-20th at Superlift ORV park as a tentative date? Is this true?

If so we are having a large run out there in conjunction with the Arkansas Crawlers and the Lone Star Jeep Club (DFW TX area). I imagine we'll have 40-50 rigs out there just with our club alone, with both other clubs likely bringing 20-30 rigs each.

If your schedule permits that date we would love to work with you on this project in any way we can.

Thanks immensely for what you guys are doing over there, and what you're planning on doing over here...

Uhhh, Matt? He's talking next year, 2009

This is a fantastic idea...

"That's what I said.. I said Booty Traps!"

Jason... I have a strong suspicion we would get behind any efforts in any manner you needed our help with.

Yup, I'll be out in Cali then, hopefully I can help out there.

The Arkansas event is tentatively scheduled for April 18-19, 2009.

Obviously, I cannot plan an event myself all the way from Iraq. So, I'm relying on respectable, organized, and motivated off-road clubs to plan the event in their State. I have clubs who have stepped up to host events in various States, but none in Arkansas yet. If I do not find a club there to host an event, then there will not be one.

I want clubs that volunteer to host an event to know up front what they're getting themselves into here...it's going to be some work. There is quite a bit of coordination needing to be done, but I think it will be very rewarding for the club in the long run. Any club hosting an event will certainly have a feeling of accomplishment and will have the joy in knowing they've helped a group of people in our country who are often forgotten about.

Here are some things to consider prior to volunteering to be Event Hosts/Trail Guides:

1. Your club should have knowledge of an off-road park and/or enough trails to keep us busy for two days. Your club should also know the location of a campground located near the event site. It is okay if your club is based in a location other than where the event will take place, as long as your members do not mind the drive to get there. I want to see the best your State has to offer!

2. Your club should practice responsible wheeling and follow the guidelines set forth by Tread Lightly! These will be family friendly events. Children are welcomed and therefore proper behavior will be expected. Due to vehicles being involved (not to mention the law) there will be no alcohol allowed while on the trails.

3. Due to the many different types of off-road vehicles that will be participating, your club should not discriminate between make/model of vehicles. Yes, it is okay if you have the word "Jeep," "Toyota," "Hummer," etc, in your clubs name, but the event will be open to all types of vehicles. In other words, it will be a "run what your brung" event.

4. Due to articles and pictures of the events being published in Four Wheeler magazine, your club should approve of themselves, their vehicles, the club's name, and possibly your member's names being in that magazine as well as other publications and news media outlets (newspapers, television, websites, etc). Everyone participating in an event will be required to sign a release form for this purpose.

5. Your club will be responsible for contacting your State's VA hospitals, military posts, VFW Posts, and other similar organizations to spread the word to wounded military members so that those who would like to participate will have the opportunity to do so.

6. While not required, your club should consider hosting two charity trail runs between now and the main event. This will not only raise money for a military charity, but help to spread the word about the program and give the club an opportunity to practice run some of the trails they might like to run during the main event.

And here is a list of positions that people in your club should fill to help things run smoothly...

1. Public Relations Officer - This person would be in charge of contacting various clubs throughout your State to make them aware of this program and see if they would like to help with the coordination and/or attend the event. This person would also be in charge of contacting your local news agencies (television and newspaper) to see if they would like to cover the main event (they wouldn't have to stay the whole weekend...but perhaps be present during the opening ceremonies of each event).

2. Special Activities Officer - This person would be in charge of contacting companies who may wish to get involved by providing a way for children to have fun at the events...like having one of those bounce house things.

3. Military Officer - This person could be in charge of contacting all the military bases in the State. There are units at the bases called "Warrior Transition Units" that help wounded military men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. They could also contact the VA hospitals and VFW Posts.

4. Health & Welfare Officer - This person would be in charge of contacting the local fire departments in the area where the event will be hosted. We should have a first aid station set up at each event and I have yet to meet a group of firemen who would turn down the opportunity to help out wounded veterans. I'm sure they will jump at the chance.

5. Chow Hall Officer - While breakfast and lunch will be left up to each participant, the event hosts should provide dinner for everyone. This person would be in charge of contacting local grocery stores to get food and drinks donated for the event. As the time of the main event gets closer, you will know how many people to expect to attend and can plan accordingly. This person will also be in charge of finding chefs for the dinner. The VFW would probably be willing to attend the event and cook for everyone on large grills that can be rented.

6. Lights Out Officer - This person will be in charge of finding a camping area that will hold all the participates. They should contact the campsite and make sure that they have enough spaces for the amount of people attending the event. They should try to get the campsite to "donate" the sites for the weekend of the event, or possibly get a reduced rate. The sites should be reserved prior to the event. The last thing we want is 50 people not having a place to sleep because the campsite is full.

7. Savings & Loan Officer - This person will be in charge of keeping track of the funds raised during the charity trail runs. They will distribute the funds to the other officers of the club as needed (for instance to the Public Relations Officer to print fliers, or to the Lights Out Officer to pay for the campsite fees, etc). This person will also be in charge of thinking up ways to raise funds. Nobody should have to pay for anything at the main events...not even for camping if at all possible. I've decided that 100% of the funds raised through the charity trial runs will be used by the clubs for use during the main event. If any funds are left over, then that can be donated, but only after the main event for that State is completed.

If you all are willing to accept this challenge, then I would need your club President or his/her designee (whomever he/she would like to be my point of contact throughout the program) to email me at jason@wheelersforthewounded.org with their full name and phone number.

Thank you all for your interest and, once again, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Forgot to add this...it's the link for the Arkansas section of the forum. Not much interest from your State thus far, though the program is in its early stages and I think it will grow as word spreads.

http://wheelersforthewounded.org/forum/ ... ,18.0.html

Jason, I think we'll be able to meet all those requirements pretty easily. In our case it's more of a regional thing then a state thing. Hot Springs is closer then the good wheeling opportunities in TN like Tellico, so that's where we play. Eastern TN may be able to get some clubs together and help out also.

I went to Tellico back in March 2007 and liked it a lot...great place. There's actually an event scheduled for Tellico, so if those in eastern Tennessee would like to attend that, they can get in touch with the event host there. All they'd have to do is sign up on the forum and post in the Tellico section. As of now, it's scheduled for 3 days, but will be extended to 4 days if the event host deems it necessary.

I'm glad you all would like to get involved Fyathyrio. I've heard a lot about the Superlift park and would feel bad if I missed out on wheeling there. If Matt (he is you're club's President, yes?) could email me his info so that I could speak briefly with him on the phone, then we can get this going.

As a disabled veteran myself, I am all for helping and supporting this cause. If we decide to accept this mission (which I'm guessing we will), we'll probably need to form a committee to assign or accept the various positions listed above.

Ye ole club officers? What say ye? We in?

I hope you realize that you will be considered one of our "honored guests" at the event. You will be the 3rd wounded veteran who is also an off-road enthusiast...two others have already signed up on the forum and I'm sure more will follow after yourself.

Thanks for your service!

Does the pope Sh1t in the woods?

Of course I'm in!


*edit. Would be cool if you could get the Air Force Times/ Army Times / Marine Times / Navy Times, or Stars and Stripes to do a spread on it. I will see if my squadron is interested in sponsoring the event, maybe they can provide the food, cooking, and grills.

I ain't never been honored b'fore. (fake Mississippi accent) Jason - looking forward to it!

I actually wrote an article that was published in the "Wild West" newsletter...a publication here in western Iraq. I have already planned on contacting the various military news publications you mentioned above, but want to wait another month or two so that I'll have more of the details worked out. While some people think it's a "long ways off," it's good that we have plenty of time to plan because it's not going to be easy for me to coordinate such a large program lasting half a year.

It would be terrific if your squadron were to get involved! A military presence at the events would be nice. One club has contacted their local military recruiting office and they are looking into setting up a wall climbing thing there for the kids, which would be fun.

Before I forget, I should point out that I'm not in the military. I'm a private contractor for the Department of State and am assigned to various Marine and Army units. Though, I did serve 12 years in the Army and am a veteran of the 1st Gulf War. I also served two tours in Bosnia and 1 in support of the Kosovo peacekeeping mission. So, I do have a military background. I was medically separated from the military in May of 2001 when I fractured 2 vertebrae in my back and 1 in my neck.

I realize I'll be gone when this happens, but my vote is "In there like swimwear!" I've been in for nearly 23 years now, and luckily I'm not one of the "honored guests" yet...but the wife had her career with the Marines cut short because of an injury. We'll catch you in SoCal!

Jason,

I can't speak for everyone but given the support our officers have already shown I'd say it's safe to assume we're you're guys on this one. My contact information is being sent via private message to you here. Please feel free to call me anytime and we can discuss this further.

I will say that we are a large enough club with a great relationship with the staff at Superlift ORV so we'll have no problems filling the needed staff or guiding within the park.

Keep an eye on your PM folder and we look forward to working with you on this project.

matt

I was checking out his forum on this to learn more about SoCal and noticed he's already talked to the Crawlers. We've done joint things with them before, looks like we may again. It's been a pretty good combo, SL ORV, MSJ, and AC.

Thanks Matt...I just sent a reply.

Yes, I've posted on the Arkansas Crawlers forum, though that was quite a long time ago when the program was in its infancy. I think, during that time, people didn't expect for the program to get as big as it has. Heck, even I didn't expect to get as big as it has.

The AC club seems to have a great crew and if you all would like to enlist their help, that would be fine by me. I want to make it clear that YOU ALL have final say in EVERYTHING that will take place at the event. If you would rather hold the event somewhere other than Superlift, then you may do so. If you want to serve chicken rather than fish, then that's you're call as well.

The ONLY thing I will insist on is the date of the event due to me having to coordinate that with about 26 other clubs. What I would suggest is, if you'd like to hold the event at Superlift, then get with them and lock in that date (April 18-19). Once that is done, I will lock in the date for your event...and once locked it, I promise you it will not change.

http://www.wheelersforthewounded.org is the main site (link to forum on there). It's a work in progress...I know next to nothing about website design, so it's taking a little while.

For those of you who have a MySpace account, you can check out http://www.myspace.com/wheelersforthewounded.