For November, I want to take this opportunity to recognize the brave men and women who serve in our military as well as a very special team member, which is the COO of our company and a great personal friend, Jonathan Kim.

I have a lot of respect for our veterans. I consider the time they serve our country to be such an honorable commitment. How they’re able to be away from their families for long periods of time is beyond me. Many of our veterans complete their service and return home to normalcy. Others, unfortunately, will have experienced things that most of us will never have to, and because of it, will experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Because of the struggle with PTSD that some of our veterans face, our nation currently loses 20 to 22 veterans a day to suicide. This is unacceptable in my opinion. Since 2008 through 2017 our nation has lost more than 60,000 veterans to suicide, more than were killed in combat during the entire Vietnam war. Let that number sink in for a moment.

Back in 2014, I was asked by my good friend, The Czar of Talk Radio, Michael Berry, to serve on the board of directors at Camp Hope, where he serves as the national spokesperson for the organization. Camp Hope (PTSD Foundation of America) provides interim housing for our combat veterans suffering from combat-related PTSD. I consider it an honor to have the opportunity to give back to our heroes who’ve already given so much to our nation. Camp Hope was founded in May 2012 by businessman, Gene Birdwell, of Birdwell Construction. Camp Hope is run by an incredible and dedicated staff. Executive Director David Maulsby, and his team of counselors and volunteers, do an outstanding job of creating a sanctuary for any veteran in need of help. Camp Hope’s staff is a unique team of combat veterans and pastoral staff who are trained in working with victims of trauma and post-traumatic stress in a caring and positive environment.

When I first got involved with Camp Hope one of the first things I noticed was the residents didn’t have a “real” gym to work out in. There was a very small, closet-like area, inside the mess hall that was filled with a lot of donated home gym equipment. When I saw this I knew our veterans deserved something much better. I asked the board of directors to allocate space inside a new building being constructed next door to the mess hall so that Gringo’s and Jimmy Changas could help facilitate a new state-of-the-art gym for the residents of Camp Hope.

This is where Jonathan Kim comes into the picture, and why I wanted to include him in my gratitude post along with our veterans. There’s a saying I heard once – If you want something done quickly, then find the busiest person you know and they’ll get it done! Jonathan began immediately reaching out to many of our vendors; Sysco Foodservice, U.S. Foods, Ben E. Keith, Houston Avocado, Martin Food Service, and many others, asking them to consider making a small contribution to the gym project at Camp Hope. Within hours Jonathan was able to raise over $60,000 which allowed us to equip the entire gym with all brand new Cybex equipment. During a BBQ Cook-off fundraiser at Camp Hope we held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in front of the gym and surprised Jonathan by unveiling the name “The Jonathan Kim Gym”. He was extremely touched by this recognition.

The next story I’m going to share about Jonathan will illustrate not only his love for our Veterans, but also his focus and determination for excellence, no matter what the challenge he is facing. In December 2017, Jonathan and I were at the office talking about a book I had just finished reading called – Living With A Seal – by Jesse Itzler, owner of the Atlanta Hawks and husband of Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx. The Seal turned out to be an ultra-marathoner by the name of David Goggins hired by Jesse to train him like a seal for 31 days. In 2013 David Goggins set a Guinness World Record when he completed 4,030 pullups in 17 hours. Because Jonathan works out regularly, and he is always up for a challenge, I asked him how many pull-ups did he think he could do in one day? While he was thinking about it I mentioned that we (We! Haha!) could create a fundraiser out of this challenge for Camp Hope and call it Pull-Ups for a Purpose. That was all I had to say, he was in.  

Jonathan decided his goal would be to complete 2,000 pull-ups, and he would do it on Memorial Day 2018 inside the Jonathan Kim Gym at Camp Hope. Starting in January 2018 Jonathan began his training both physically and mentally, in order to prepare himself for this incredible feat. His training over the next 5 months was like watching a mad man on a mission, his workouts lasted hours.

On Memorial Day 2018, Jonathan and his support team, led by John Fernandez, arrived at Camp Hope early in the morning to begin the 10 plus hour Pull-Up for a Purpose challenge. His plan consisted of (4) pull-ups per minute for 60 minutes straight, rest for 15 minutes, and then repeat. Needless to say the veterans at Camp Hope were there to witness this incredible feat and as the day went on more and more people gathered to watch. Things were going according to plan until pull-up number 600, when he started to feel symptoms of dehydration causing his muscles to cramp up. He attributed this to eating a lot of crawfish the night before!  He was so determined to finish what he started that he was not going to let that stop him. Between each set, he would have to apply ice and have his arms massaged. The fatigue Jonathan was experiencing was very obvious towards the end of his challenge. Everyone in the room could tell that he was in severe pain. At around pull-up number 1,842 I made the decision to step in and tell Jonathan that he did it, that he had accomplished the challenge.

I had never before in my life witnessed someone so determined to finish what they set out to do, and who was not going to quit, no matter what. Jonathan could have easily been a Navy Seal. Jonathan was disappointed in himself that he didn’t complete his goal of 2000 pull-ups. Several of the residents at Camp Hope were so impressed that Jonathan would do this for them, that without a word being spoken several veterans stepped up and took turns to finish the remaining 158 pull-ups, reaching Jonathan’s goal of 2000. When Jonathan saw what the veterans had just done it gave him the strength to do one more pull-up to complete the challenge at 2001 pull-ups. Everyone in attendance that day, who witnessed this incredible exhibition of grit and determination, was so touched that there was not a dry eye in the gym. Jonathan Kim’s effort helped raise over $106,000 dollars for our veterans at Camp Hope, and more importantly, helped bring awareness to our community that help is available for our veterans suffering from PTSD.

One of my favorite movie scenes is from a movie that came out the same year Gringo’s opened for business in 1993 called Schindler’s List. The movie is about a very wealthy German industrialist, Oscar Schindler, who would bribe German officers by allowing over 1200 Jews to work in his factory, thereby saving their lives by preventing them from going to the concentration camps during WWII. The scene that made an impact on me was the one at the very end of the movie when Oscar Schindler was about to leave the city because of the allied forces closing in and the war was coming to an end. With his car loaded down with whatever worldly possessions he could fit in it, he began to say goodbye to many of the Jews that worked for him. One of the workers walked up to Oscar and presented him with a ring and on the inside of it were the words written in Hebrew – For whoever saves one life, saves the world entire. At that moment, Oscar Schindler has a moment of realization; although he had saved many lives from the concentration camps, his riches could have saved even more.

Every one of us can do our small part to help our veterans dealing with PTSD. If Camp Hope is able to save a soldier from taking his own life, then think about the future generations it has also saved. I’m eternally grateful for our veterans who have served our country. I am also extremely grateful that Jonathan joined our leadership team in June of 2000. He is not only my right-hand man, but he is also my piece of mind. I did promise Jonathan I would never again challenge him to perform another insane feat because I know if I did, he would do it, especially if it were to help our veterans.

If you are a veteran or know a veteran who’s exhibiting symptoms of PTSD, please call Camp Hope’s 24-hour hotline 1-877-717-PTSD.