ELKINS, W.Va. — Sometimes, no good deed goes unpunished. However, for Dave Whittaker a measure of frustration was simply a spark to start a fire of his own. Whittaker is the founder and CEO of the newly minted non-profit organization Warriors in the Field.
“I’ve never been much of a follower,” he said on Saturday’s edition of Northside Automotive West Virginia Outdoors. “I’m the kind of guy who will grab a machete and hack my own way through the forest.”
The new Warriors in the Field organization aims to say thank you to all veterans in a unique way, by taking them hunting and fishing. Whittaker, who owns All American Auto Sales in Elkins and Valley Rent-a-Car, was inspired to create the organization when he tried to make a donation to a similar organization and was met with a stone wall.
“I wanted to run an ad campaign with my car lot and use it to make another donation to an organization similar to this,” he said. “They didn’t want to have much to do with it. I’m pretty head strong, so I got with my attorney and my accountant and a year later we are now an official public charity, non-profit organization, designated by the IRS.”
Whittaker believed there was a need that has been unfilled for those veterans who are outdoorsmen. He said there were several organizations who do great work to take care of wounded veterans and a number of organizations and government programs established to benefit certain classifications of vets. He was most concerned about those who join, serve, come home, and meld back into society. Whittaker said a lot of veterans are among us and unless you specifically knew their story, you’d never know the contributions they have made to our freedom.
“They go over there, they do what’s right for their country, they come back and there is nothing wrong with them, and they just kind of blend in the mix. Nobody gives them any recognition,” said Whittaker. “This is just the Warriors in the Field way of saying, ‘Thanks, we appreciate what you’ve done.’ We didn’t know any other way of doing it.”
The organization is just getting off the ground, but they’ve already taken a couple of veterans on guided wild boar hunts down south. Whittaker hopes to work with partners who join on to make more hunts or fishing trips possible. He said since gaining the non-profit status from the IRS donations have also started to roll in. They’ll operate with donations and periodic fundraisers to serve as many vets as possible.
Veterans cannot be self-nominated for the program and a committee will be selective of those nominated based on what the organization can afford as they move forward. Whittaker said just because a nominee isn’t immediately selected doesn’t preclude them from being selected at a later date as funding and time allow.
You can learn more about Warriors in the Field by liking and following their Facebook page by clicking here.