Eagle Rare Honors Veteran Who Helps Others Get Through The Hard Times

Editor’s Note: Eagle Rare asked me to be a judge on the panel which helped pick who won the 2018 Eagle Rare Life Award.

Each year the Eagle Rare bourbon brand tied to Buffalo Trace chooses an individual that’s said to lead a rare life based upon the six brand pillars: courage, character, leadership, heroism, survival and devotion. This person is picked in part by a panel of judges from a group of all extremely qualified people, all of whom each represent one of the previously mentioned pillars – from them the final winner is chosen and wins a $50,000 donation to his or her charity. For this year the grand award was given to Jake Clark from Save A Warrior.

Clark is said to have “laid his life on the line 24/7 his entire adult life, serving in the US Army, Secret Service, Los Angeles Police Department, FBI and the National Guard. Following service, he entered the corporate world and by outward appearances led a successful life, but internally battled suicidal thoughts. After finding his own inner peace, Clark chose to liquidate his saving and devote his life to inspiring and teaching others who have lost all hope that they can survive the trauma of war and life on the streets.

Clark created the Save a Warrior foundation in 2012 with the mission to empower Warriors to lead meaningful and purposeful lives, give them the tools needed to survive any past stress and trauma and instill the desire in them to become servant leaders. Since creating Save a Warrior, Clark has saved the lives of hundreds of Warriors who were suicidal, many with prior attempts.”

“It is our privilege to announce Jake Clark as the grand prize winner of the eighth annual Rare Life Award,” said Kris Comstock, Eagle Rare senior marketing director, in a prepared statement. “Through his inspiring personal story and his involvement with Save a Warrior, Jake has truly exemplified what it means to live a rare life. His commitment to preventing suicide among Warriors suffering from PTSD has proven just how much difference one person can make in this world, and we’re honored to bestow him with this award.”

The other winners you can read more about below. It should be noted as well Eagle Rare has donated more than $400,000 to 49 different charities through the Rare Life Award’s history.

• COURAGE: Tracey Huff, Liberty Jump Team (Texas): A veteran of special forces in several combat battles, Huff is the founder of an organization which stages commemorative parachute jumps at sites of military battles. Huff brings veterans to well-known battlefields to help remember the battles in which  they fought. In June he is bringing a group of veterans to Normandy to that famous battlefield to reflect on their experience in the war and allow them to heal. He has taken veterans all over the world for commemorative jumps.
• CHARACTER, Jen Hidinger, The Giving Kitchen (Georgia): After her husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer, Jen started a foundation to carry on his legacy and support the Atlanta restaurant community in times of crisis. Her devotion to this cause has created a tight-knit community of restaurant workers in the Atlanta area and beyond. Through her organization, Hidinger is able to help restaurant workers who are dealing with hardships like illness, accidents or natural disasters, much like she did.
• LEADERSHIP: Melissa Spicer, Clear Path for Veterans (New York): After struggling with personal health issues, Spicer found solace in warrior culture. Even without a personal military connection, Melissa, Co-Founder of Clear Path for Veterans, personally funded the acquisition of a 75-acre property in order to provide a place to help Veterans, active service members and their families by providing a myriad of programs and services. Each program and service relies on one of three methods: self-empowerment, peer-to-peer support and community involvement.
• HEROISM: Molly Lindquist, Consano (Oregon): In October of 2011, Lindquist was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32. As her two young daughters were now at a greater risk to develop this disease, Molly looked for ways to donate to specific medical research projects that might help her girls. When she could not find an easy way to donate to innovative medical research programs, she decided to create a non-profit, crowd-funding platform that would enable individuals to donate directly to a specific medical research project in a variety of disease categories.
• SURVIVAL: Lon Hodge, Operation Fetch (Colorado): Lon Hodge is a medically retired, 100% disabled veteran whose physical injuries and PTSD resulted in years of stress and anxiety. He was given Gander, a labradoodle rescue from a No Kill shelter who had been trained as a service dog. Together, they have traveled the United States for Operation Fetch to encourage education and awareness for PTSD, veteran suicide, service dogs and persons with visible and invisible disabilities.
• DEVOTION: Betty Chinn, The Betty Chinn Homeless Foundation (California): Chinn’s purpose is simple: to show the homeless who live in her hometown of Eureka love, comfort and basic humanity. Twice a day, seven days a week and nearly 365 days a year, Betty serves a meal and a hot cup of coffee to hundreds of disadvantaged people. Betty’s mission also extends far beyond food as she gives out shoes, clothes, blankets, hygiene products, phone cards and generally whatever is needed.