Ben Albright, everybody, and it's time to talk about the heroes. Thank you, which I keep calling a heroes welcome for some reason. And I don't know why.
People have long compared me to a younger son.
Ever, not one time compared you to a younger hotter, Enrique, except you you're looking in the mirror. You're like, am I a younger hotter?
In?
Actually?
But does that mean he's saying he's better on a podcast, but when he's live he's gone awful? Is that I'm saying I also dated Anna Krdkova?
You wish let me come on.
Nobody buying that one either, No, nobody's buying that.
You're not laying that down now. Ben Albright, who he love to tease because he well all, he's created something of a reputation for being that guy who likes to argue and complain about things.
M don't call me Tony Hcliff.
But by the way, and what they don't know about Ben Albright is his softer Inny goose Guey Center, the part where you actually on occasion gets his little teeny tiny heart to come up three sizes too big. And then he does something super nice every year and that is a Heroes thank you.
Yeah, you know. I mean I think most people who know me know I'm a veteran as well, and I try to involve myself in a lot of veterans causes. I'm actually gonna be mceing the Denver Veterans Day Parade this year.
That's very exciting for you.
So super yeah. I am super honored by that. Like I'm actually like super yeah. Talked about it's like this is like throwing out the first pitch for.
Me, you get to Yeah.
But yeah, so Heroes thank You with something that it was actually created by Jeff Johnson here and Jeff had approached me about it when I first came on at KOA because the first year had been done with some other people and he knew as a VET, and I was only like right away, yes, let's do this, let's do this. And we have managed to expand this thing.
I mean like from the second year we did objectives like triple We now give I think four times the beneficiaries now because we get great sponsors for this stuff every year. But basically we're handing out a couple of thousand dollars checks twenty five hundred depending on the year whatever. The sponsors are willing to get in there too, you know, veterans and first responders to families in need around the
holiday season. And man, we love doing it. We get some get to be some great people doing this and surprise people. It's great. This is the surprise and the people and just the emotional reaction they have.
And let me ask you a question. How many of the veterans that you have had a chance to go give the giant check to and do we have an account with a giant check?
Do we have a giant to have check? We don't. By the way, you can't take those giant checks to the banks. They will not care, just ignore you.
Look at why din't you just ride out on that giant check? He wrote in ont Forge one of the giant knobs kids. Not this year anyway, those charges have been expunded. So how many of the guys or gals that you've given checks too have said something along the lines of, you know, somebody else should get that, because that's my issue? And I say issue or with air quotes with veterans is they always think somebody deserves it more right.
There's a lot of that privately, you know, that kind of stuff. But to these nominations come in from their family, so I don't want to do that, they don't want to be so it kind of it kind of works out that way, a little bit that we have to give. You know, you can't give this away buddy your family. Yeah, exactly, but there has been that. A matter of fact, we did have one winner turned down their award and have it donated somewhere else. We did have that.
That's awesome. Don't get me wrong when I say that. I always feel like I don't want to be the person who makes a person who gets one of these checks feel like, well, I have to donate it. No, I want you to keep the money and spend it however you want to spend it. But if it makes you feel good to donate it and you can do that, that's wonderful too. I never want to make someone feel bad about getting one of these checks, because I think
that everybody that you've given them to. The stories are heart wrenching.
We do video of it.
We put it on the blog later so you can see it. It's just it's nice to appreciate people who did most of them did their service and they just are quietly going about their lives and not making a big deal out of it and not you know, expecting anything, right, And those to me are the people that deserve it the.
Most absolutely and get being able to be able to do that and see you know, the faces. It's I think it's a ve like. You don't want the constant adulation, right, or at least I don't want to speak for all its I don't want it, but I do as much as I ham it up, you know, all the time. I really don't and and but you do. It is nice to be appreciated every once in a while and remember that, hey, these people appreciate that I did this or that I you know, those kinds of things, and it.
Is certainly is nice.
And then the addition, you know, especially for the ones that really needed it, there's been some just I mean some gut wrenching stories on Some of these family lost their home. This was able to float them. So this money was able to float them through tell their insurance came in because their home had burned in a fire. There was a young lady whose husband had was the
hero who was nominated, who had unfortunately committed suicide. Gone for US health time committed suis I'd leave a ham and their young daughter alone, and this is you know, to help them, help get them through, you know, get through these There's been some gut wrenching stories with some of this stuff. We're glad and I you know, for me, it's not just about this. I try to follow up with these people as much as I can. You're after year.
Some of them I've been unable to. One of them passed away shortly after they got the award, but but following up, try to follow up and see where their lives would go on and see what I can do to help, you know, if there's anything else I can do to help, you know, kind of behind the scenes, and it just connects. I think it just connects people, and I think that's great. One of the.
Things that you know, we we have here in Colorado that I think in many cases, I've talked to so many veterans' charities and there are so many veterans' charities that do different things and they help different people. And one of the things that you know, I want to do a better job about. And I try to set
a show goal for the next year. So I'm already looking at twenty twenty five, and I'm going to try and feature a veteran's charity every month, just letting people know what's out there, not necessarily so you are forced to give them money. They all need money, trust me, they would love a donation. But to also reinforce all the veterans out there. There is so much help. A vast majority of it is veteran directed. So it's like
you have these organizations. It pains me so much to know that so many veterans are still struggling and that our suicide rates are so high, when there are so many people ready, willing and able. They're on the starting blocks to help in any way you can. So if you are a veteran or you know someone who's struggling, first of all, reach out, just reach out, and there aren't there are so many people who want to help you.
But this check would be a great way to honor any veteran in your life, Old Yong veterans.
I think we've expanded to first responders to try to help out with that. I'm aout one hundred on that, but go ahead, and you know, go ahead and put those nominations in any way by way at least, so you know, you can go to ka Colorado dot com slash contests and you'll see the little link there and then you can you can put in the nomination stories.
This year, we're letting people do video nominations as well, because somebody, you know, you don't necessarily want to sit there and type out the war and piece of nomination stories sometimes and sometimes it's easier just to say it, you know. So we're letting people do video nominations too if they want to do that, and accepting those. But yeah, we have the money, we have the sponsors, We have the ability to get this money out to people who
need We just don't know who needs it. So we need you guys to step up to the plate and tell us who needs it and we can get that money out to them and hopefully make the holiday season just a little bit brighter for people who need it.
So I put a link at the very very bottom of the blog. I put the video that you and Nick Ferguson did together, and it has linked to the contest page. So if you can't find it, just let me know and I'll make sure that you get it. I have another question, can people nominate themselves.
I don't see any reason why not has anyone ever nominated themselves, and not till my knowledge, we read all of them, and I don't remember anyone read. I don't remember. I don't recall in six years of doing this, recall reading anyone nominating themselves. And I think that there's kind of a reticence to maybe do that sometimes, feeling like you know, right, but yeah, you're absolutely nominated. So if you need help, man, please feel free to nominated.
We're not going to do that as just says ask for help if you need it. Yeah, that's like the new should be the new motto of the VA ask for help if you need it. There's a billion people waiting to help you, right, And so yeah, we're.
Not viewing that as there's anything on, you know, self aggrandizement. If you're nominating yourself, I promise you, and I can understand as a vet how you'd be hesitant to do that sometimes, but no, please, if you if you need it, please feel free to nominate yourself. We'd love to make sure that that you know that you got the money if you need it.
I nominate myself for stuff all the time. Most of it's not stuff I'm qualified for, But you never know.
I did dominate that.
I can see true of the year. I don't know, maybe you might, I can dry.
I believe exactly been all right.
Appreciate you, Appreciate this. Thanks for making time for us to check that out.