About This Virtual Event Series
Rolling Stone Salute to Service presented by PMI is a three part panel and performance series built to support our Veterans. Kicking off on Veterans day, the discussions will center around celebrating the Veteran community as well as the progress that has been made across different sectors to more inclusively support them. The conversations will be moderated by Rolling Stone Editors and will include appearances from musicians and entertainers with deep connections to Veteran support causes as well as representatives from various Veterans associations. Led by champions for the community, this series is designed for engaged thought leaders to tune in and hear these unique panel participants discuss today's veteran journey.
Guests will include Rolling Stone editors Jamil Smith, Jerry Portwood and Joseph Hudak, in addition to special guests Trace Adkins, Lea DeLaria, Justin Moore, S.G. Goodman, Michael Ray, Justin Brown, Julz Carey (American Veterans For Equal Rights), Donna Brock (U.S. Army Women’s Foundation), Ken Falke (Boulder Crest), Margaret C. Harrell, PhD (Bob Woodruff Foundation), and Joe Chenelly (AMVETS).
Register
Must be 21+ to Register
Veteran Advocacy & Support
Tuesday December 1st | 12pm PT/3pm ET
Facilitated by Rolling Stone editor Joseph Hudak. Tune in to hear a lively discussion regarding modern day Veteran support, the current Veteran experience in America as well as personal stories from guests on their involvement in the cause.
Did you know December 1st is Giving Tuesday? Each year, nonprofits, small businesses, corporations, schools, and faith-based organizations all over the world celebrate this global day of giving. Many of the organizations participating in Salute to Service depend on contributions to continue their important work. Giving Tuesday is the perfect time to connect with them and learn how you can help! You can find more information on these organizations below.
Joseph Hudak
Editor, Rolling Stone
Joseph Hudak is an editor at Rolling Stone, overseeing the magazine's Nashville office and the Rolling Stone Country website, which covers the country and Americana genres.
Trace Adkins
Country Music Icon
Three-time Academy of Country Music Award winner and GRAMMY nominee Trace Adkins has sold more than 11 million albums and charted more than 20 singles in his 25 years in Nashville. The Grand Ole Opry member is also a spokesman for the Wounded Warrior Project, along with performing for U.S. service members across 12 USO Tours. The Louisiana native released his latest EP Ain’t That Kind of Cowboy in October 2020 on Verge Records, the follow-up to 2017’s Something’s Going On.
Joe Chenelly
AMVETS Executive Director
Joe Chenelly is the first veteran of combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq to lead one of the nation’s four largest veterans service organizations. As the senior staff member in AMVETS, Joe works with grassroots leaders around the county and the top officials in Washington, D.C. He is a Marine Corps veteran.
Margaret Harrell, PhD
Chief Program Officer, Bob Woodruff Foundation
Dr. Margaret Harrell is currently the Chief Program Officer at the Bob Woodruff Foundation. She previously served as a senior Pentagon appointee in the Obama Administration and as a senior researcher at the RAND Corporation. Dr. Harrell has published more than 70 articles, books, and reports pertaining to veteran and military service members, families, and caregivers.
Salute to Minority Veterans
Previously Livestreamed
Moderated by Rolling Stone editor Jamil Smith, this conversation will focus on the increasing number of women, minorities and LGBTQ Veterans and their experience and the mirrored experiences of minority talent and their personal journeys.
Jamil Smith
Senior Writer
Jamil Smith is a Senior Writer at Rolling Stone, where he covers national affairs and culture. He recently wrote the cover story for Rolling Stone on the Black Lives Matter movement, which received national acclaim. Throughout his career as a journalist and Emmy Award-winning television producer, he has explored the intersection of politics and identity, specializing in reported analysis and commentary about United States politics, social justice, and cultural identity.
Lea DeLaria
Actor, Comedian
Lea DeLaria seems to have achieved overnight stardom with her three time, SAG Award winning, stand-out role as ‘Carrie ‘Big Boo’ Black’ in the Netflix hit series “Orange is the New Black.” However, DeLaria’s multi- faceted career as a comedian, actress and jazz musician, has in fact, spanned decades earning her credits on shows of the caliber of “Shameless,” “Broad City,” “Friends,” and “Will and Grace”. Lea holds the distinction of being the first openly gay comic on television in America. Follow Lea on Twitter and Instagram @realleadelaria.
Donna Brock
CSM (Retired), US Army, AWF Treasurer & BOD
Retired Army Veterans of 35 years and serving as the Treasurer and on the Board of Directors for Army Women's Foundation. Presently works as an Executive Leadership Coach, Senior Leadership Facilitator, and is a Community Coach for Together With Veterans a program working on Suicide prevention and awareness in the Rural communities across America.
Julz Carey
President, American Veterans for Equal Rights
Julz Carey retired from the Coast Guard in 1997. She is self employed as a home inspector in WA State, and volunteers with several veteran and business organizations. She is married and enjoys spending time with family, friends, and the outdoors.
S.G. Goodman
Musician
Raised in Western Kentucky on the Mississippi River Delta, in a strict church going family, Goodman went from singing in church three times a week to a prominent, politically active member of the Murray, KY indie scene. An impassioned and idiosyncratic voice, sharing her personal tales of heartache, protest, estrangement and reconciliation. Her debut album, Old Time Feeling (produced with Jim James) seeks to debunk rural stereotypes with razor-sharp social commentary, as well as reflecting on sexuality and the notion you can love your community even though you might disagree with them.
Veteran Mental Health Awareness
Previously Livestreamed
Led by Rolling Stone editor Jerry Portwood, this roundtable will discuss the need for increased awareness and response to veteran mental health as well as the role this conversation takes place in the national dialogue on mental health as a whole.
Jerry Portwood
Digital Director
Jerry Portwood is the digital director at Rolling Stone and, along with working across our many areas of coverage, he continues to cover the intersection of culture and LGBTQ issues.
Justin Moore
Multi-PLATINUM Selling Country Entertainer
Multi-PLATINUM selling country artist Justin Moore has built a loyal fanbase over the past decade with his traditional Country sound and captivating live shows.His fifth studio album, LATE NIGHTS AND LONGNECKS, reached top of the charts upon its release with the standout military tribute single “The Ones That Didn’t Make It Back Home” becoming his eighth No. 1 song. Shortly after, the album’s “Why We Drink” became Moore’s ninth No. 1 single, and he recently released “We Didn’t Have Much,” previewing a forthcoming record, due 2021. For more information, visit JustinMooreMusic.com.
Ken Falke
Founder and Chairman, Boulder Crest
Ken Falke is a 21-year retired US Navy Master Chief Petty Officer and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technician, or bomb disposal specialist. Ken led men on thousands of high-risk military operations to include diving and parachuting missions. After leaving the Navy, Ken started and sold two award winning companies and founded two nonprofit organizations. Today Ken is the Chairman of the Board for Boulder Crest Foundation. Ken is a husband of 37 years, a father to two beautiful daughters and the grandfather to four amazing grandkids.
Michael Ray
Country Music Hitmaker
Michael Ray has built an impressive foundation in four short years with three No. 1 songs including “Kiss You in the Morning,” “Think a Little Less” and “One That Got Away,” along with “Get to You” and “Her World or Mine” bringing his tally to five Gold-certified singles. Now, two hit albums into that all-too-rare blend of critically acclaimed and commercially successful career, Ray has released “Whiskey And Rain,” the first single off of his upcoming project produced by GRAMMY-nominated producer Ross Copperman, cementing Ray as the bridge between vintage country cool and modern country’s best sounds.
Justin Brown
CEO, The Nimitz Group
Justin Brown is the Founder and CEO of The Nimitz Group and the Founder of the HillVets Foundation. Justin, a Navy veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, was the Democratic Staff Director for the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs and the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity. He has over a decade of veterans’ focused experience and advocacy.
Foundations
U.S Army Women’s Foundation
The U.S.Army Women's Foundation is a private, non-profit organization established in 1969, and headquartered in Fort Lee, VA.Our mission is to promote public interest in the Army and recognize and honor the service of all U.S. Army women, past and present. We work to accomplish this by honoring, empowering, and connecting today's Army women and Veterans through our professional programs such as our Scholarship and Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony, Leader Development programs, Webinars, Speaker's Bureau, and outreach via social media, eNewsletters, and our website.
awfdn.org
American Veterans For Equal Rights
Founded in 1990, American Veterans for Equal Rights is the oldest and largest chapter-based, all-volunteer national Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Veterans Service Organization in the United States, and the nation’s only LGBT VSO recognized by the Veterans Administration.
aver.us
Boulder Crest Foundation
Boulder Crest Foundation is a veteran-led organization that uses the proven science of Posttraumatic Growth to heal, train, and advocate for combat veterans, first responders, and their families, who have experienced trauma. Boulder Crest develops, delivers, and is scaling transformative programs to ensure these remarkable men and women transform struggle into strength and lifelong growth, so they can live the great lives they deserve. More broadly, Boulder Crest is working to drive change across the mental health system, in pursuit of a system that is accessible, effective, and healthy.
bouldercrest.org
The Nimitz Group
The Nimitz Group is the largest boutique government and communications firm focused on veteran policy issues. The firm has played a leading role in tackling the mental health and suicide epidemic facing our nation’s service members and veterans. In early 2020, they launched the Nimitz Report, to discuss and highlight the suicide epidemic and to work to create meaningful change at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Video
AMVETS
Founded by World War II veterans in 1944, today AMVETS is the nation’s most inclusive veterans service organization, fighting for the interests of more than 19 million military veterans and their families. Every veteran has a home in AMVETS regardless of when or where you served.
amvets.org
Bob Woodruff Foundation
Combat injuries present very real and complicated new realities. But our nation’s wounded, ill and injured veterans and their families are not broken. They are relentless—determined to once again lead meaningful lives. The Bob Woodruff Foundation asks people to stand up for heroes so that we can find, fund, and shape innovative programs that help our impacted veterans, service members and their families thrive.
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