Page 15 - Desert Oracle Feburary 2019

heart-breaking scene of the formation of empty military boots to the seemingly endless number of
names participants wrote on the wall of remembrance for those that were lost to suicide. Although
suicide may hit close to home for many of us, being around so many good people during this event
brought hope, light, and a greater resolve to continue our mission.

With that mission in mind, we also provided and successfully held a free Equine Therapy Clinic
for veterans. It was held at the beautiful Price Station ranch where Country Thunder is held in Florence.
The event was very special as renowned horse trainer, Vietnam veteran, and retired police officer Randy
Helm brought his incredible knowledge, experience, and expertise to assist these veterans. Veterans
were provided with their own horse, tack, lunch, as well as refreshments throughout the clinic; all
completely free to the veterans. It was a pleasure to see the veterans progress from the ground to the
saddle as they built confidence in themselves and the horses. We are excited to be holding our second
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free Equine Therapy Clinic with Randy Helm on January 19 .

We remain profoundly grateful to the Mesa United Way for their hard work on our behalf,
particularly CEO Mark Young and CFO Richard James and his team. Their assistance has been critical
as we have grown and continue to grow. We appreciate the MUW for connecting us with the
International Coach Federation. We have enjoyed getting to know our assigned coach Linda Martin and
her veteran husband Kevin Brown. We look at them as part of the Archangel family and thank them for
their assistance, for they have helped us to “tighten our shot group” as we say in the military and
become a stronger, more efficient, and more capable organization. Such a connection might not have
been seen without the MUW’s invitation. Indeed, MUW is a part of all of our projects in one way or
another and we offer a sincere thank you to them.

In addition to all of these events and projects, we continue to focus on reaching out through our
website and Facebook pages as well as our recently created Archangel Twitter and YouTube accounts.
Although these accounts are young, at just a couple months old, we are seeing tremendous support as
we put the shovel in the ground to build these new outlets. On YouTube we have started a series called
Gathering the Angels where we interview angels in the community doing great work, with the hope of
expanding their audience by talking about the ongoing resources and good projects in the community.
Our first episode was with Paralyzed Veterans of America – Arizona Chapter which featured Peter
Quinn, an Air Force veteran and the Executive Director of AZPVA. He is an exceptional man. Our
second episode featured Jamie Podratz and Army veteran George Campbell of Save the Family, a
wonderful non-profit celebrating their 30 year of helping families in the community. Jamie and George
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are shining examples in the remarkable work they perform every day for our communities.

As we wrap up 2018 our hearts are full of love and memories. We look forward to continuing
growing our friendships and working together to make our incredible world an even better place for
military, veterans, and first responders. As we do so, we will no doubt impact them and the lives of their
families, friends, and communities and change the world, for in the end we are One Team! One Fight!

Much love,

Sean Stoddard
President/CEO
The Archangels
137 E University Road
Mesa, Arizona 85201
sstoddard@archangel.rocks
480-570-8347