Story by Nate Skinner, for Lone Star Outdoor News
This story originally appeared in the July 9 issue of LSON
Veterans Xtreme Adventures, or VXA, focuses on building a community of support in the Dallas-Fort Worth area where veterans can develop relationships through outdoor adventures. President Josh Derden said VXA’s mission revolves around the acronym, ACT.
“The letter A stands for adventure,” Derden said. “It involves getting veterans outdoors on some sort of hunt. We also do events that revolve around fishing, or even a round of golf on occasion.”
The letter C stands for camaraderie. The veterans participating on a hunt build relationships with other vets who may be going through the same life struggles or have already gone through similar struggles.
“Through the camaraderie, we are able to help with providing therapy, which is what the letter T stands for,” Derden said. “The act of participating on a hunt and spending time outdoors with other veterans also tends to be very therapeutic for vets.”
Derden said the goal of VXA is to build a community of veterans that supports other veterans.
“We want folks that participate on a hunt to continue to want to be a part of VXA,” he said. “The idea is that after vets participate on a hunt, they would want to come back and volunteer at another event. We want to see this movement continue to grow.”
Several individuals within the VXA team keep the organization and its events operating smoothly, many of whom are veterans themselves. All of the VXA team members who guide hunts are veterans.
Matt Yates operates as the landowner liaison, coordinating hunts with landowners and finding people willing to work with VXA to provide quality hunting opportunities to veterans.
Matt Chupp is one of the newest additions to the VXA team.
“He is our veteran outreach specialist, meaning he’s the individual that makes
the first contact with a veteran who reaches out to us about wanting to attend a hunt or an event,” Derden explained. “He gets to know the veteran and their background, and then funnels them into the VXA program. Our number one priority is safety, and Chupp definitely puts in the time to get to know each veteran before we have them out on a hunt.”
Alex San Martino handles the social media platforms and website, and serves as event coordinator.
“Without her, we would be like a boat without a rudder,” Derden said.
When planning a hunt, Derden is mindful about the mix of veterans that he brings together.
“I always try to coordinate a hunt with vets that have some similarities, usually based on the branch of military they served in or the type of service that they did or are still currently doing,” he said. “With that being said, I do try to compose a group that has a good blend of experiences. For example, if I’m taking four vets on a hunt, I’ll try to get a mixture of individuals that are currently on active duty, as well as individuals that have both recently retired or have been out of the service for many years. We’ve found the lessons that they can learn from one another about transitioning out of the military, by sharing where they are at in their different stages of life, are invaluable.”
Army veteran Larry Sutherland recently attended a VXA hog hunt in the Corsicana area, and was able to harvest a wild pig.
“It was neat to see that there were landowners willing to give back to the community in order to allow some veterans to come hunt on their property,” Sutherland said. “It was also evident from the get-go that the experience was not really about the hunt itself, but more about veterans like myself getting the opportunity to spend time and fellowship with other veterans. When you’re sitting in a blind with other individuals who have had similar experiences as you have, it just becomes natural to open up about things that you might not talk about to others that do not have a military background. There’s no gaps to fill or things to explain, because the other veteran knows exactly where you’re coming from.”
Sutherland said we are in a unique time period where seemingly everyone knows a veteran.
“We all know veterans, and most of them are veterans who deployed,” he said. “We are at a crucial stage in Texas where veterans need to know about events that are providing opportunities for them to find support.”
