I have now created a file for 'harvested' stories in the TRM Story Vault. In this file sits our first harvested story which I shared on Veterans Day to the Homeless Community which includes about 5 homeless veterans. Thankful to @Ken Kiernan @Maria Luisa Henao and @Brian Kludas for their input and support. Some notes of the outtake: ~ Knowing this was the first time they were offering a Veterans Day program for the homeless veterans, and the nature of the population we would encounter, I was able to ask one of my team members who has a background in law enforcement to accompany me. I am so thankful I did! Having him there brought my level of stress down by 75%. From the second I drove in the parking lot, I immediately sensed several issues of which I would need to address. ~ Upon arrival, we learned the place where we were to setup had changed. This room was really too small for the amount of people which were in it. There was no formal place for a speaker, or a system in place for the speaker. My team member and I immediately put a plan in place for me to use my phone for the notes I would use for presenting. We had to make several on the fly adjustments. I credit my ability to do this to the many years I taught as an adjunct professor. There was no microphone, so I was dependent upon my natural voice to deliver the message. ~ Once things got started for the program, they had a hard time getting the crowd to settle down. I knew the second I took the floor I was going to have to use my gentle, commanding voice to get their attention. Trust me, as soon as I took the floor, you could feel the energy in the room shift. ~ Having worked my pitch ahead of time, I was confident this was going to go well. I was overprepared, and prepared to make cuts on the way. ~ My sanctuary place of retreat following my presentation was to a table where my teammate was sitting. I sat down and took three long breaths... thankfully, the crowd was hungry and headed to the food! We had a handful of induvial who came and visited with us thanking us for our time, and our service, and for sharing my story.

Earlier this year prior to my introduction to Scott’s community, I completed a 90 day civic engagement cohort for military women. As such, our communications aside from the time we were completing the cohort are social media. This stands to reason, however, an important factor to how I have developed relationships with a few gals who I keep in touch with. These people add meaningful purpose and support to the work we accomplish. I have to confess that LinkedIn is one of the primary methods I use to connect with others. This was posted to LinkedIn today, and I felt you would appreciate it. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/veteransday-militarycommunity-cler-ugcPost-7526277492731559936-msj2?utm_medium=ios_app&rcm=ACoAAAqCBcUBIeUWf0Wr4Y9jxl_9pQnqBOq3efY&utm_source=social_share_send&utm_campaign=messages

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/xvDeZyZBuGB_tGNNwBnapxf1Bb2n8CO4WZXGp5dF7iq1K7EXHufF8nzVyP92FB-D.I2GIHojkSftmfd7U?pwd=DNYpINQhk9UbGyAdAwAAIAAAAFObFzJP4KrDchD9uENpbP5QM7LorEgyPTGbVyR3aI2qIcszh6s_4INDQeIuP8i2bzAwMDAwNA

As this Beta program nears a close, I'd be curious to get y'alls takeaways/thoughts/remarks going over the past few weeks - what news tools might you have in your toolbox? Which one's got sharpened/honed? Which ones did you say "oh, I didn't know I could use that that way!" Personally, I think there's a tremendous value-add here. The in-depth explanations and grammar alone offer a "leg up" that already puts you at an unfair advantage, then there's the electricity from being in the same room as proven leaders like @Scott Mann @Ken Kiernan @Rickie Richey @Brian Kludas and the lot, and on the same token, leading, working and learning alongside people who are all here for the same purpose: to become better connectors. And when we're all running towards the same goal - when the guy//gal next to you is running fast - you're like, "oh, I wanna run fast, too."

UPDATED Information! Re: 11/2/2026 - I need to run this! Who is available? Working on a story for this occasion. Here is what I have learned so far: The Sidewalk Showers project is specifically geared for the homeless population in our area. At this time, the population includes 5 to 8 veterans. The sponsoring organization, Altrusa, has never done this before, so they have no idea what to plan for or expect. I was told to plan on 10 to 15 minutes. My plan: I posted a PDF with my personal story. I completed a discovery call and was on track with the message I wrote here. I am going to add more about what Veteran's Day means, in honoring our veterans. I was able to talk to her about regarding the set-up, when I can go to the place to walk around, and run that list. Further information I will gather will be based on the 'what is it about this program that drew them to provide this program' I may need a security guard due to the nature of some issues we have been dealing with in our area. I am prefacing with this information. Please read through the PDF, and give feedback!