AWE And The Smokey Generation With Bethany Hannah

Today on the show: Bethany Hannah stops by on the show to talk about what the American Wildfire Experience and The Smokey Generation is, the history of how it started, and to officially announce the winners of the 2022 Smokey Generation storytelling micro-grants!

Show Notes

Wildland firefighters tend to be a magnanimous, larger than life, and compassionate crowd... Our stories, legacies, triumphs, and tribulations  are oftentimes passed along through a very tribal, and (almost exclusively) verbal means.

That's where The American Wildfire Experience comes in... To catalog and preserve this verbal history through digital storytelling...

The American Wildfire Experience is a nonprofit organization who's roots are deep within the wildland firefighting community. Its primary mission is to support the wildland firefighters, and the communities they serve, by capturing the story of wildfire through digital media...

Today on The Anchor Point Podcast: We get to hear the history of the AWE and The Smokey Generation's start, its purpose, its future projects, and we get to announce the winners of the 2022 Smokey Generation Micro-Grants.

A little about Bethany:

"Bethany Hannah is the executive director of the American Wildfire Experience and founder of The Smokey Generation. She has been involved in the wildland fire community since 1998 and has a passion for empowering others to take bold action.

 

The American Wildfire Experience (AWE) is a small non-profit rooted in understanding, examining, and telling the story of wildland fire. Our mission is to support wildland firefighters and the communities they serve."

Congratulations to all of the recipients of the AWE/Smokey Generation Micro-grant award winners this year! I look forward to seeing all of the projects come to fruition, and preserved in a digital space.

Also, I want to say:  "The Anchor Point Podcast would like to thank the AWE, it's board members, and Bethany Hannah for the honor of being awarded the 'AWE 2022 Ralph Langlois Impact Award' for mental health focus... This is a huge honor, and my gratitude is beyond measure!

In honor of the people that, both past and present, lived and breathed the hardships of fighting wildland fire - I would like to dedicate this award to the people that struggle, or have struggled, with mental health challenges and the darkness that you may have experienced... I especially wish to honor and dedicate this award to the friends, mentors, and fire family that are no longer with us.

For everyone out there: Always know that there are many peaks and valleys in our journey of life... And as my good friend, Ben Strahan, has said before: 'The valleys are a dark and low place... But, what's the strange beauty of the dark and lowly valley's of our lives? Well, the only place we can look from there, is up'.

In acceptance of this award - I will be donating the full amount of the grant back to the AWE so that someone else may be able to build upon the foundation of this project that preserves the legacy, and tells the story, of the many wildland firefighters across the globe who go unrecognized in their efforts..."

You know the drill...

Stay safe, stay savage... 

Enjoy!


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Sponsors:

The Anchor Point Podcast is supported by the following wonderful folks...

Mystery Ranch
Need badass packs? Then look no further than Mystery Ranch!
https://www.mysteryranch.com

Hotshot Brewery
Wanna pick up our Anchor Point Podcast merch or need killer coffee? Hit up Hotshot Brewery!!!
https://www.hotshotbrewing.com

Not sponsors of The Anchor Point Podcast, but great organizations:

The Wildland Firefighter Foundation
And, as always, please consider supporting this great nonprofit organization - The Wildland Firefighter Foundation!
https://wffoundation.org

The Smokey Generation
Wanna get some history and knowledge on Wildland Fire? Hit up The Smokey Generation!
http://wildfire-experience.org

What is The Anchor Point Podcast?

Discover the premier and original podcast dedicated to wildland firefighting, the vibrant culture surrounding wildland firefighters, firefighter mental health and physical performance, and the wilderness - The Anchor Point Podcast... Join our global community as we delve into the captivating stories of Wildland Firefighters, shed light on career opportunities, promote fire prevention awareness, educate the public, and openly discuss the mental health struggles and triumphs faced by firefighters on and off duty. Immerse yourself in our unscripted and unedited long-form interviews, where we leave no topic unexplored.

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