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A production by and for veterans to learn how to help one another task a bite out of veteran suicide. We take with veterans about their service, things they would have done different, and what advice they would give their younger self. We also highlight community resources for veterans and provide an opportunity to connect veterans with community projects to help seniors and children.
Steve, welcome to the Veterans
Club, a production for and by
veterans and first responders.
Each week, we gather as a
community to share stories,
laugh and build friendships that
can stand the test time
together, we can help prevent
veteran suicide one cup of
coffee at a time.
Thank you for tuning in to the
Veterans Club Podcast. Today.
I'm sitting with Bob Norris,
Sheriff of Kootenai County, and
a man I proudly call my friend
Bob. Thank you so much for
taking time out of your busy
schedule to talk with us today.
It's my pleasure to be here
today. Thank you so you know,
let's start off. Let's go with
the introductions. Just
introduce yourself. Tell us a
little bit about where your
journey began. What first drew
you to law enforcement. Let's go
there absolutely. So,
you know, I grew up in a small
town in a county south of Boise
called Los Angeles, California,
13th suburb, right? Yeah, 13
million people,
but small city called
bellflower. And I knew from an
early age that I wanted to come
into law enforcement. We my
parents had a small paint
business, retail paint business
in Bellflower, California, and I
worked in that for several
years. I became a deputy
explorer the Los Angeles County
Sheriff's Office. So from there,
I went back to the paint store,
and then
we had stabilized the paint
store, because we had some
pretty high interest rates back
then with the particular
president and what decade was
this? So that was about 7980
when I was a teenager, working
at the paint stores. Were some
rough years. Yeah, they 20%
interest rates, and my dad was
going to lose everything. So we
were all the family was working
there without getting paid, just
to try to pay the mortgage
trying to pay the mortgage. So
then it kind of stabilized under
a new president, and my dad
said, Hey, I know you want to be
a deputy sheriff. So you know
what? Go, follow your dream. So
I got hired with the Los Angeles
County Sheriff's Office, went to
the jail, went to patrol,
had several great assignments,
then I went back to the jail as
a sergeant and came back to
patrol as a as a sergeant. You
know, you have to start all over
again, right? Those things
happen. So we did that, and had
great assignments as a sergeant,
and then I got
promoted to Lieutenant. I didn't
have to go back to the jail, but
I went to patrol, and then I
went to another patrol station
and had some great assignments.
Let's go back to the beginning.
Let's, let's start at the draw.
You know, I we're when we're
kids, what do you want to be
when you grow up? I'm gonna want
to be an astronaut, or I want to
be a fireman, obviously you
wanted to be a policeman. What
was it specifically about law
enforcement that tickled your
funny bone? You know what? I
don't know if I can put my
finger on it, but what I can
tell you is I've always had a
desire to want to be of
assistance to somebody who
needed law enforcement services.
And I it was just part of my
DNA. Even though I didn't have
any immediate family members
that were in law enforcement, I
just feel like it was part of my
DNA, part of a calling, part of
an instinct that
said, Hey, you should be do
this. Yeah. You know, as we look
at our life.
I think golf is one of the
favorite sports of men. For this
particular reason, I'm going to
go, we're going to kind of take
a little side trip here, twisty
turny, but here we go. If golf,
if you've ever played golf, it's
honestly the worst game ever
invented. I mean, you got this,
this crooked, stupid stick that
you got to swing and hit a ball
500 yards and drop it inside a
hole that's two inches in
diameter. Whoever invented that
is a psychotic, crazy man. But
every time you're on that golf
course, you've got that one
magical swing, that one magical
hit, that golf ball flies
exactly where you thought it was
going to fly, and it's just a
perfect swing. So you know, the
next 97 swings you take are
crap, but that one golf swing
would get you back over and over
again. What's that one law
enforcement golf swing that you
remember most, that brings you
back again and again? You know
what? Catching that bad guy,
catching that bad guy before or
after he commits a crime. It is
something hard to describe, but
it's exhilarating and also
making an attempt to turn that
person's life around. To say,
hey, there is no future in this
journey that you're on right
here. This is a free way to
know.
Sure we have a specific story
you can share with us. You know?
Yeah, I do, yeah, I do.
Actually, I remember being at a
burger stand in
Southern California, and I
remember that I saw this
gangster, and he was in the
burger stand. He was sizing me
up. And I thought, okay, you
know, I had my kids with me, and
I'm thinking,
something's gonna go south here,
something's going sideways. I
can feel it, and he's sizing me
up. And I got a J frame model 60
in my pocket. This the same gun
I have right now in the pocket.
I love my Smith and Wesson. I've
got the same gun that I had back
then. And I said, Okay, I'm I'm
observing the portals of the
of the restaurant, and I've got
a plan on what I'm going to do
with my kids.
And he starts coming over here,
walking towards me, and he
sizing me up. He goes, a cop,
aren't you?
And I said, I might be. I go,
who's asking? And this guy is
tatted on his face, on his neck,
on his sleeves. And I'm
thinking, Okay, this, it's going
down, right? And he extends his
hand to shake my hand.
I pause for a second. I'm
thinking, Okay, what's going on
here? Because I want to thank
you for saving my life. He goes,
you've arrested me several
times. I got to tell you. He
goes,
made a difference, yeah, but,
boy, there for a second I
thought, Okay, this is going
down. I got five shots to make
him count, right? And I'm
thinking center body mass. But
no, he he said, Hey, he goes,
You are the reason I'm here
today. You've arrested me
several times. I finally got my
my life together and clean and
sober off of drugs and alcohol,
and he had his two kids with
him, and he said, Hey, it's
because of you. I get to have a
life with him. So that's, that's
what makes a difference. And so
my good, what a great golf shot.
I mean, right, yeah, I mean,
that's, that's, that's the
memory that we take with us
forever. And it starts from
fear, you think about it. So, I
mean, you're trained, you went
through training. You got self
defense, you know how to operate
a firearm you know, to how to
handle yourself in a rough
situation.
That's 1% 2% of the population,
the other 98%
what do they do? And they're
facing this fear every day. Look
at big cities, Chicago, the
number one murder capital in the
United States of America right
now, DC, there's more gunshots
per capita every day than any
other city in the United States
of America. I'm getting my stats
from the FBI stats. They might
be a little dated, but that's
from 2021
well, if cities were to start
properly reporting, we would see
a significant increase exactly
looking back on your service,
how did being a law enforcement
officer affect you personally?
How was your life different
because of your career choice?
Well, you know, it is fairly
arduous. You I got in the wrong
line at Career Day because a
firefighter can work 10 days a
month, and a deputy sheriff
working patrol, you could be
working 20 plus days, plus going
to court on four or five of
those days. So out of a 30 day
calendar month, you're working
like 25
or 26 days. Wow. So
often I see these firefighters,
and I think, you know what? I
got in the I got in the wrong
line and Career Day, because
these firefighters, they
generally have their career, and
then they're generally have a
side gig calendar, pin ups,
yeah, absolutely. You know, they
got a side gig that's that's
thriving, but,
yeah, it was just
kind of a calling. So, so how
did it, how did it impact your
life? What I mean, you're in
your 50s now. So how did being a
law enforcement steer you to
where you are today? It? It, you
know, the various shifts that we
have to work. You know,
certainly,
over time, take a little bit of
a toll. I am not an early
morning kind of person. My
working at 10 o'clock at night
till six o'clock in the morning
or eight o'clock in the morning.
There is something that doesn't
work with my digestive system
and and sleep pattern, and it
just does not work. But some
people thrive on it, right? Some
people love it.
So you know that in impacts your
personal life certainly strain
on family and marriages because
because of
the amount of time you're
working, and many times that you
have mandated overtime or you've
had.
Have to go to court, even if you
have something planned, that
court subpoena is a priority. So
you can't just say, hey, you
know what? We're still going to
go driving up the coast today.
No, you're not that normally
takes a back seat. Yeah, yeah,
it does. So, so I would say that
that is the the impact on
family, you know, and then
ultimately on one's health. But
the impact on family is pretty
significant. So my hands off to
any spouse who, not only law
enforcement, but of course, you
know, in our military and
for first responder family,
absolutely without a doubt. Now,
Were there moments during your
service when you faced
significant challenges? If so,
what were some of them, and how
did you overcome them?
You know? Um, there. There were
times where I just could not
work in the jail anymore, you
know, we I was going on about
two and a half years in the jail
is such a negative energy
setting. Every inmate in there
is trying to on you. They are
trying to get something from
you, whether it's additional
phone time, whether it's
additional food, whether it's
magazines or contraband you're
not supposed to bring into the
to the jail. They're always
trying to con you. And it just,
after a while, it just that's a
negative energy atmosphere.
I almost thought, You know what?
Maybe it's time for me to go to
a police department, and that
that that lasted for a period of
time. I worked through it,
and
I eventually, obviously, I
didn't, didn't go anywhere,
staying and went to patrol.
But, you know,
I love every aspect of being a
deputy sheriff. The jail was a
great experience, and I think it
made me a better Deputy Sheriff
out there in the role.
I gotta say,
you know, certainly we've had
some pretty significant critical
incidents of responding to
Cerritos air crash, you know,
from the jail, because I was
working the jail at the time,
responding to those the 1992
riots was
an event that I spent a lot of
time in Los Angeles.
But yeah, it was that was
probably some of the most
exciting times. Not the air
crash, but the riots, the riots
were exciting, you know, three
weeks because we were there for
at the beginning, obviously
towards the end, but then we had
to, had to have a sustained
presence period
of almost a month, just to sure
everything was under control.
But yeah, we've had certainly a
lot of critical incidents along
the way. Those are some of the
major ones. But how about after
911 what was what versus Rodney
King versus 911 and the
aftermath and restoring law and
order? What were the differences
between those two major events?
Pretty significant. So after
Rodney King, the obviously the
community was in civil unrest.
As opposed to 911 it was the
opposite.
There was a a national sense of
unity, because we were being
attacked in street crime,
domestic violence crime, came to
a screeching halt. Wow. And I
was working South Central Los
Angeles at the time, and it was
a phenomenon that
occurred that, and it lasted for
a few weeks.
So even in, you know, some of
those,
those areas that experience a
lot of crime,
we had this significant event
called 911
but yet crime came to a
standstill, and we didn't have
the violent crime that we did
prior to and it was a phenomenon
that occurred. It brought a
nation together.
And I do remember, I was having
a conversation with one of the
one of the fellow vets at the
Patriot core, and asking, you
know, what do we do to get back
to 912
without having to go through 911
you know? Because, yeah, you're
right. I remember, right after
the attack, we drew together as
Americans. We drew together as a
United States of America. And
you're right, it lasted for a
couple to three weeks, maybe a
month or so. And I think we have
to have a set of
cultural values that we all
agree.
Beyond
and standing for the flag, it
seems like a no brainer to you
and I, but standing for the
flag, you know, respecting one
another,
getting back to a cultural
sense of common interest with
most of us, and whether that's a
flag, national anthem, culture
at Thanksgiving and our culture
at Christmas, just find some
fundamental common denominators,
and I'll take it even deeper.
Just hold the door open for a
woman. Oh, absolutely. Often the
outside of the woman, when
you're in busy traffic, you
know, show some basic respect
for humankind. Somebody appears
injured, stop and ask if you can
help. I you know, I think that
those are basic tenets that my
parents taught me right
absolutely, that I don't see
happening that much now service,
whether whether it's in the
military or in law enforcement,
creates bonds like no other
career, in my opinion, can you
talk about a particular
friendship or group of people
that you served with that had a
lasting impact on you? Oh, yeah,
it's a brethren. No, it is
absolutely a brethren that
is cultured in a work
environment. So
generally, the boots on the
ground that are out there
providing the umbrella freedom,
that blanket of security, you
know, that's where you form
these bonds, and to this day, I
still keep in contact with a lot
of those deputies that were out
there in the field, that we were
out there taking bad guys to
jail, you know, every night.
And so it does. It does create a
Brethren, and not only within
your own unit of assignment, but
within the whole profession as a
whole, because it's just a
matter of circumstance, that of
the 1000s of traffic stops that
I did, or the
hundreds of traffic stops that a
deputy sheriff in Ada County did
you know few months ago and was
shot and killed that could have
been any one of us. So that
brethren is created by the
culture of law enforcement
profession. And even though I
didn't know that deputy, you
know, I certainly feel for the
family, and we all feel for the
family. We had quite a
contingency of deputies that
went down there. I mean, you
look at the two officers in New
York who were assassinated,
gunned down in their car, and we
had law enforcement officers,
literally from around the
country, go in to go to the
service, or 10s of 1000s of
officers the brethren,
obviously, is deep. Do you have
a specific story that you you
kind of connect with, or a
relationship that you tap into?
Because sometimes you just need
that relationship, you know, I
think it's, uh, it's not for me.
It's not one, one incident for
me, it was a culture of working
day in and day out, and night in
and night out, and going to
court with these people, and
then going to Christmas parties
with these people, and then
going to off training parties
with these people,
that whatever the significant or
critical event was, we just
worked through all that. That
was just work. You know what?
We'll get through this, whatever
it is, and
but we really create that bond
and that culture when we work
together, break bread together,
when our families get together,
and that's how we create a
culture. So for me, it wasn't
one incident, it was a culture
over time that created one of
the challenges that the Veterans
Club is trying to overcome is,
you know, veteran and first
responder loneliness
as we Gage, as we get older, our
friends die, and we're not in
the field, we're not in the
career, we're not actively
working developing those new
relationships, and as a result,
eventually it's we just either
drift apart or or they're all
gone. What do you say to the
first responder, to the retired
law enforcement officer sitting
and listening to your voice
right now? What do you say to
him who's feeling lonely? How do
you reconnect him to the
community?
I reconnect by saying, Hey,
get out and get engaged. Yes,
get out. Go to those coffee
pours that we have,
and maybe the first one or the
second one might be a little
intimidating, but
we don't want to create that
loneliness. We want people and
we want our first responders.
We.
On our military personnel to get
out there and start a
conversation. And it doesn't
have to be about anything that's
personal. It can be whatever
they feel comfortable with. But
I have some some people that
live up here, that I worked
with, that I try to get out, you
know, I say, Hey, come on, let's
go. I'm picking you up, no. And
it does work.
It does work. You know, there's
a couple of them that are pretty
stubborn, but it does work. And
I think it's important for us,
buddy system, yeah, yeah. Use
that buddy system. You know, we
have a we have a couple two,
three groups forming in the
Patriot four there in Coeur
d'Alene. We've got the ham radio
group that's forming. We got
kind of like a new subgroup in
there, guys who want to learn
how to use, is it GMR,
GMR, as well as the handheld ham
radios. So they've got that
group going. We've got a
children's literacy group going.
We've got some guys that just
sit around and talk politics.
They, you know, without those
kinds of connections, not sure
what impact we can make to the
community, but along that line,
after your service, you know,
and we're going to talk a little
bit about what you're currently
doing, but you retired. You You
moved away from the suburb of
Boise, and you moved up here to
to North Idaho,
and I failed miserably at
retirement. Yes, yeah, yeah. So
how have you continued to lead
or make an impact in your
community? Could you share, I
don't know, an initiative or a
project or something you've been
involved in that has had a real
positive effect, either on you
or the community, absolutely so
I believe that I am the most
accessible and transparent
Sheriff that this county has
ever seen.
I belong to many service
organizations, and I help within
particular committees within
those service organizations. I
belong to Coeur d'Alene Rotary,
the American Legion in Post
Falls, the boosters club over at
Coeur d'Alene Vikings have two
daughters that are currently at
Coeur d'Alene high I belong to
the micro Grange
over there in my flats. We I
belong to several Republican
clubs here in Kootenai County,
so I stay engaged in this
community. I like to help you
out with the veterans whenever I
can. We greatly appreciate that.
So there's a
strong, strong
effort on my part to want to,
well, you had a big, big event
for 911 that did, it's kind of
turned into the event the annual
affair. Can talk a little bit
about what that's turned into
and what it means to you. Yeah,
you know, when we
when 911 would come, before I
came into office, I didn't feel
like there was a whole lot of
opportunities for people to go
out and
give a day of or a time of
remembrance. So we created a 911
event, and it's intentionally
pretty short. I mean, I just
wanted to be about, you know, no
more than 30 minutes, and it's
created quite a bit of
popularity in the community. So
we started with 50. I think
we're probably at about 400 the
last time that we had it. And we
do at the black sheep mall,
Silver Lake mall, and I think
the community now looks forward
to it every year. And I think
it's important that we not
remember and not let history
change what really happened that
day, right? And we had 19
terrorist, radical terrorists
that wanted to destroy America.
They still want to destroy
America. So, um, so I think it's
important that we remember the
fundamental facts of what
happened on that day. Yeah,
without history, we're doomed to
repeat it. Absolutely. Yeah. Who
do you believe veterans and
first responders uniquely bring
to their communities when they
get involved,
you know, I think they bring a
genuine
interest to want to help their
community. You know, the
military veterans did it on a
national level, on a worldwide
level, first responders are
doing it on a local level, and
so I think there's a lot of
common denominators there. So I
think that they bring a true
servant's heart to
want to serve their community. I
think that's what they
bring. This was a tough question
to ask. I'm not I'm going to
fumble into it.
You know, I've heard some folks
say when asked, Would you
encourage your kids to join the
military today, and and some of
them, they look at the political
landscape and answer
unequivocally, no, no way. No
way. I would encourage my kid to
either become a soldier or.
Or go into law enforcement.
Where do you come down on this
question? How do you counsel the
next generation who might be
thinking about joining the youth
auxiliary squad or or looking at
becoming a law enforcement
officer? I would say, do it in a
community that supports law
enforcement because our leaders
need to support law enforcement.
Our political leaders need to
support law enforcement. The
state legislature need to
report, need to re support law
enforcement
because we don't want a
situation like in
an adjoining state called
Washington, where they're taking
our our immunity away from peace
officers, and really
compromising them financially.
So I do somebody wants to go
into law enforcement. I do
support going law enforcement,
but you have to do it in a
community and in a county and
state that supports law
enforcement, I would not want my
son or daughter to work in
California. Not want them to
work in Washington.
Absolutely on the national
level, I do believe that it
would be healthy if we had a
mandatory service.
Once you turned 18. I believe
that it would probably improve
this country, and not not on the
national scale of of improving
our numbers, I'm talking about
improving our youth, improving
our 18 year olds and and giving
them some sort of a skill that
they can use once they leave the
military, you know, and I look
back on my youth, I knew I
wanted to leave home as soon as
I legally could. It wasn't that
I didn't love my mom and dad. I
did they. They made me who I am,
but I was very independent at a
very young age, and I did not
want to stay home, and I saw
military as the way out. There
was no question, Eddie Paul's
leaving, he's going to the army.
And I look at it just did three
years. I just got college money,
got out and went went on and got
life going. And I look at those
three years as the pivot point
of my life. And it it brought so
many things in focus that even
to this day, decades later,
multiple decades later, I rely
on those lessons that I learned
when I was 18, I had a 19 year
old, recalcitrant,
I won't call him a b word, but
boy, he was, he was a pain in
the butt, and he went in the
Army, and he came out a
respectful,
respectful young man, and it did
with him wonders. So it's not
just a military. I mean, there's
Peace Corps, there's missions
overseas. I agree. I think every
everybody who turns 18 should
serve at least one year in some
form of service. So
can you share a time when your
leadership was tested in a real
world situation, either during
or after your service, and how
did you handle it? Sure You
know,
you know as your your sheriff
here, I
sometimes have to make a
decision that is based on ethics
and principle, and sometimes it
has to do with people that I
enjoy working with.
And so there, there are times
I've learned that I will
take in consideration over time,
instead of making a decision
quickly, and I tell the people
that I work with, hey, you know
what? Let's let this breathe
over the weekend. I'm not gonna
make a decision on it right now.
I just let it breathe and
and you it's difficult because
you have a set of standards and
a set of principles, and if
those principles and standards
are compromised,
then it doesn't matter how hard
it is. You have to make that
right decision to
administer discipline. And if
discipline is termination, based
on your policy, based on state
law, and based on your
protocols, but it is a tough
call. You know, it is a tough
call. It's a very, very tough
call. And I think it gets
tougher as each year piles on
our age, because we know how
difficult it would be to start
over. Now, I'm self employed. I
work out of the house, but if
all of a sudden the economy went
sideways and I had to go get a
job, would be hard. I mean, I'm
employable, I'm sure. But man, I
each year that passes that gets
harder and harder and harder. I.
When we look at
in the area of encouragement,
you know, the Veterans Club is
really all about encouragement.
We've got, it's almost like we
got a community that feels like
there's nothing we can do.
This. Is it. The question's
tough because I don't want to go
down the political route, and
I'm going to ask you a question
about why you came out of
retirement and ran for
successfully sheriff and are
rerunning to be sheriff. But as
we look at the challenges in our
community and we we resonate
back on our experience, either
in military or law enforcement,
and we know that there's more
that we can give.
How do we wrestle with the idea
that man done my time? I've
served my community, but I see
this need, and I feel like I
should step up to it. Tell us
just a little bit about how you
wrestled with that and overcame
with the decision you made and
the encouragement that you would
give to the next person, and how
they wrestle with that. You
know, I think it comes back to
having that servant's heart.
I was happily retired. Have a
small farm
here in Kootenai County, and had
goats and chickens and dogs and
and
pretty enjoyable life. And I was
part of our search and rescue
team here on cootie County, and
I enjoyed being able to give
back to the community that way.
And then I was approached by a
few people that said, Hey,
we're having bigger department
problems, and we'd like somebody
with a little bit bigger
department experience. So would
you run for sheriff? And I said,
No. I said, Absolutely not. I do
that. I have never even
considered running for public
office, and let alone sheriff.
So then a few months later, they
passed by. Say, Hey, you
reconsider? I said, No, after a
couple more months after that, I
said, All right, let's do this.
So
I I believe it is. I know what
you said. It's a servant's
heart, and we want to we built.
We feel like we have something
to offer the community and the
public felt the same way. We won
the primary by 20% back then and
and it's a four way race. So,
so yeah, I think it's we have
something that we believe we can
offer the community and the
organization. Let's
just focus on one What was one
specific thing you wanted to fix
or improve or implement when you
became sheriff and and how did
that work out in your first four
years? I wanted to put decision
making down at the lowest
possible level.
Having been part of the
organization I saw where the
command staff were making a lot
of the decisions, and that's
not, in my experience, where you
have a most the most efficient
organization. Now it's ran to
me, the most efficient is when
the lowest person that's on
scene can make a decision. And
that's what we wanted to change.
And we believe that we've
changed, that our liability
claims went from averaging
$300,000 a year to $30,000 a
year. Yeah, an extra Absolutely.
And so we credit the the deputy
or Sergeant out there on the
scene being able to make that
decision, instead of some
command staff member who's not
on scene and probably hasn't
worked patrol. You know, my
favorite subject at school was
history, and I studied Russian
history. I I'm just an animal
when it comes to studying
American history and and the the
benefits of capitalism, and it
what, what you were just
describing, kind of
reminds me of the difference
between the Russian economy and
the American economy. Again, not
getting political here. But one
is a top down decisions made at
the Politburo there at the very
top, and it trickles down and we
get bread lines that are a mile
long, and they run out of bread.
The other is a bottom up
decision making, and we have 300
different types of bread to
choose from. Choose wisely. And
we also think about the
military. The American military
is the most effective military
because of the NCOs. I mean, we
got great colonels and generals,
but it's the sergeants who make
the decisions locally. In both
of those scenarios, I have to
imagine that as you push that
decision making process down,
you improved.
Esprit de corps is the wrong
word, but the sense of
accomplishment, the sense of
love for their career. I mean,
how has the retention rate
improved? They have a vested
interest in their decision and.
And their training Absolutely.
It's done all that. So we've
done really good in stabilizing
patrol.
We were losing people left and
right, right. Now I only
currently have four vacancies in
patrol, but I started out with a
vacancy factor of about 20%
which we have about 100 so about
2020, off, 20 deputies. So we've
done really well in patrol.
We've been able to stabilize
that. We still have some work to
do in our jail, but certainly
stabilized patrol. What advice
would you give to those veterans
and first responders out there
who might be looking to step up
as leaders in their community?
What would you say to them?
I would say, get involved, and
if it's going to get a cup of
coffee, going to get a donut at
a local group or the American
Legion, get out, get involved
and find a passion and
participate in that passion.
Well, said, You know, I
think it was my dad who first
taught me, but I also had a
professor, professor, cc Bailey,
who kind of drilled this one
into me. Says, you know, Ed,
what you need to do is focus on
the very end. What do you want
people to say about you when
they eulogize you? What do you
want someone to utilize you? I'm
going to fix that. I was the
only person. Yeah, right, right,
you know, and I talk for a
living. I'm a professional voice
actor. What? What do you want
said at your eulogy that I left
the organization and the
community in a better place than
what I found? It Excellent.
Well, folks, I I cannot stress
enough, the importance of our
veterans and our first
responders staying involved,
bringing that experience,
bringing that that love of
country, the hand over the
heart, gesture of pledging
allegiance to our community, be
it in a leadership role or just
being an example on the corner,
I think that is the most pivotal
thing that we can do to improve
our overall country. On
Wednesday mornings in Coeur
d'Alene, Idaho, at life public
house, veterans and first
responders are welcome at 08 100
for a free cup of coffee and a
fantastic conversation. Come on
down. We got plenty of room, and
we have some of the most amazing
stories. We have pilots that
flew for sac we have CHP
officers who they they talk
about some great stories in
Humboldt County. They're driving
around for marijuana while it
was still illegal, and and we
have soldiers from the very
lowest who are just making sure
machines run, to those who make
sure the aircraft continue to
fly. It is truly an
inspirational moment. And if you
can spare some time on Wednesday
morning, we'd love to see you.
Bob. Do you have any final
thoughts you'd like to share?
You know what? Certainly love
our our military community. Love
our first responders, and I
encourage you to get out and
participate in one of these
coffee events. Well, Bob, thank
you so much for your service.
Thank you so much for coming on
to Veterans Club today. Thank
you, Ed. Thank you for tuning in
to the Veterans Club podcast.
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