Troops First lives up to its name: More than $1.2 mill raised to support nonprofit aimed at preventing suicides

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is Part 1 of a 2- part series on the Troops First Foundation, its mission and the soldiers they serve. Today’s article deals with the Foundation’s goals and efforts; Part 2 delves into the people it has helped, including local soldiers and combat survivors.

George Strait took the stage and wowed the crowd. Gourmet food lined seven serving areas. Drinks flowed, and tales of rounds of golf were told, evoking laughter and envy.

The annual Vaqueros Del Mar Golf Tournament went off without a hitch at Tapatio Springs Hill Country Resort this week, raising more than $1.2 million for the Troops First Foundation.

Troops First CEO Rick

“Isolation is the enemy in this epidemic of suicide. We know that a phone call or a conversation, at the right time, could be life-changing, life-saving.” Rick Kell Troops First CEO

Former Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan, right, and three-time Super Bowl champion wide receiver Ed McCaffrey pump up the crowd at Tapatio Springs Resort Wednesday for bidding on a “Dream Team” golf outing for four in Cabo San Lucas with Shanahan, Kyle Juszczyk, George Kittle and McCaffrey’s son, Christian McCaffrey.

Star photos by Jeff B. Flinn

George Strait took to the Tapatio Springs stage to entertain the Vaqueros Del Mar Tournament players, sponsors and guests.

Kell was on hand for the three-day event, in from the Foundation’s home office in Fredrick, Maryland.

“We’re here to do some pretty significant fund-raising, it’s tremendous,” Kell said. “The people here, they get it, they care about the troops and their families. And they have been very supportive for 13 years.”

Since 2012, Tapatio Springs’ Tom Cusick, Strait and David Feherty have hosted a golfing tournament and concert to benefit Feherty’s Troops First Foundation.

Kell explained the motive behind the creation of Troops First.

“The idea was to build trust and create programs that were relevant and not duplicating what other people were doing,” he said.

The organization’s service dog program has paired more than 60 dogs with veterans around the country.

Soldiers spend a week in Wisconsin learning and bonding with the dog before “our guy comes back to his house for a couple days” to make sure the dog is properly integrated into the home atmosphere.

There’s a housing initiative, the Petry Village of Honor in Riverdale, Maryland, about 35 miles from Walter Reed Hospital.

“It’s seven individual family homes. The idea is to be there and reset. We take care of everything except a utility bill,” he said. “That’s their buy-in, there’s got to be a buy-in.”

But the primary focus of Troops First is its suicide prevention efforts.

“Isolation is the enemy in this epidemic of suicide we face today,” Kell said. “We know that a phone call or a conversation at the right time could be life-changing, life-saving.”

“Warrior Call” on the surface is about suicide prevention, “but what it's really about is beating isolation.”

Kell said Troops First has seen at least 10,000 activeduty troops yearly, taking guys like Boerne native and Army veteran Chris Schwope and (double amputee and blind golfer) Matt Bradford along to tell their stories.

“The whole idea is to motivate and inspire people who need help to raise their hands, get connected to their chaplain or the mental health providers who are on the post and start having a conversation,” he said.

A trip to Langley Air Force Base next month will put Kell and his Troops First crew before about 4,000 airmen.

“If we see 4,000 airmen at Langley, we’re going to take 4,000 cards that has our Warrior Call pledge on one side — ‘Make A Call, Take A Call, HaveAn Honest Conversation’ — and, on the flipside, is the number of an organization called Vets For Warriors,” he said.

Vets For Warriors is a 24/7 call center that was started by retired Army Maj. Gen. Mark Graham and his wife, who lost two sons within months of each other, one in combat and one to suicide.

Run out of Rutgers University, everyone who answers the phone there is a veteran.

“No matter who you are and what your program is, you need to have a willing participant who wants to get help, who acknowledges, ‘I’m in a bad place, I need help.’ What our team does, is help people evaluate, ‘Is that me?’” NEXT – In Part 2, we’ll meet Chris Schwope, a Boerne High graduate and Army veteran who makes the rounds with Troops First, and Kendall County Sheriff’s Office investigator Chad Sells, the recipient of a special Troops First award.