Fragout Podcast

Todd Smits and I met 7 years ago in Appleton. He was one of the many Homeless Veterans I’ve helped over the last 17+ years. Todd served 7 Years in the NAVY. He was in the Fleet for 2 years, and did 5 years in Naval Special Warfare as a SWCC Boat Operator. Todd shared his incredible life story loosing both parents at a young age, going to jail, deployments, transitioning, and so much more. Todd recently graduated from college and has turned his life around 180 degrees with a lot of hard work! I am so proud of him.

Jessica Lynch OG Iraq War Veteran, Prisoner Of War, Purple Heart recipient. She is the first POW rescue since WW2 and the first ever Female POW rescue. We covered so much ground and many topics. She is a wonderful woman veteran and great ambassador to our veteran community.

Phenomenal Podcast with my new friend Lindsey Lundgaard. Lindsey is the widow of Mitch Lundgaard. Mitch was a firefighter/EMT that was killed in the line of duty May 15, 2019. Lindsey came on to talk about Mitch, children, overcoming grief, moving forward, and giving back. We spoke about how people handle grief is many different ways, she handled a very tragic and complex situation with grace and compassion. She was very honest about how she felt at various moments in the last 5 years. I learned a lot and honored to share this story. Please check out the foundation

I spoke to some good friends and my aunt Erin on my birthday. We just had some great topics and laughed a lot. My birthday was a lot of fun. I got to talk to an old friend Marty, who I served with in my first infantry unit. That was a great part of my day. We will get him on for a full podcast.

Great podcast with Andy VanHandel, Army Veteran and SkyDiving Instructor. He’s been skydiving for 25 years and has 3700 jumps, 2000 are tandems. We had a great conversation about skydiving, his service, and Freedom Freefall coming up for veterans!

Great podcast with Jon Winker founder of Resilience Racing. Jon was on the podcast 4.5 years ago. His organization has seen some great growth. They take amputee veterans and put them in custom race cars, specifically Ford Mustangs. They have special hand controls and other technology. They have great partnership with Road America. We will be working on getting veterans to Road America this summer for “Hot Laps”. 20 min laps, doing 170mph. Veterans are the passenger and get an experience of a lifetime!

I called my friend Ben Killoy and completely surprised him. It was nice to catch up with Ben and hearing what he has going on in his life, including a new baby. Ben is a life coach for Fathers and teaches leadership. He is an excellent podcast host. Proud of him and his achievements.

Called Dean owner of Tailgate Foodie, one of our sponsors. They make amazing Rubs and seasonings right here in Wisconsin. Dean is an Iraq Veteran. They've seen huge growth since we had Dean on the show. Wanted to follow up and chat with Dean. Please check out Tailgate Foodie.

I called my friend Danny Z to check in on him and see how his business is doing and dove into his story. He was previously on the podcast but this was before he left Corporate America. He posted a picture on LinkedIn and it went viral. I am beyond proud of Danny and is hardwork.

Tim La Sage is back!! After 4+ years and 200 episodes he came back on and was the most honest and vulnerable I’ve ever seen him. We went 3.5 hours. He now holds the record for longest podcast. Tim spent most of his life preparing for war and fighting in combat, but now he’s trying to find his peace. This podcast was beautiful, honest, vulnerable, pure, and fun. The conversation we had today is what we all should strive to have with everyone we love. I’m proud of Tim.

I called my friends Curt and Jeff on this 3rd installment of the SITREP. Jeff and I talked about turkey hunting and how he is motivated to go out and try to get a Tom this year. I gave him some pointers on turkey hunting. Curt and I have an event on Feb 29th in Madison, WI. So we talked about that and his various other events he has going on.

Veterans don’t miss this chance at small business training, mentors, and cash for your business! Are you a Veteran who owns a small business? Are you a Veteran with an idea for a business? Yes? Then apply to participate in the E-seed Express for Veterans series at the Fox Valley Technical College Venture Center. During this small business and entrepreneur training you will learn the better art of small business management while you grow your network and access resources. Upon successful completion in the E-seed Express for Veterans series, each Veteran is eligible to receive $1,000.00 towards the launch and/or growth of their small business! The E-seed Express for Veterans series is made possible through a grant from the David L. and Rita E. Nelson Family Fund within the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region and kicks off on April first, no fooling, with limited availability for twelve Veterans. Apply NOW. he course dates will run Mondays, April 1 through June 10. Log on to www.FVTC.edu/VentureCenter or call Amy at 920-735-2594 to apply!

On this episode I called Tom Farley and we caught on all the amazing things he is doing with his full time job. We also talked about his brother Chris and his legacy. We talked about the upcoming even in May in Appleton that Tom will be speaking at twice! This was a fun call.

On this episode I called my friends Joe Wesner and Dan NewBerry. Joe is the founder of ultimate Veteran Adventures in Ohio. He takes veterans on various hunts around the country. I called him and checked in on him. He is only 1 bird away from the Waterfowl Grand Slam. I also called Dan Newberry. He recently opened a boxing gym in Milwaukee called 22 Fitness Boxing. Helping people and veterans become healthy and learn to box. I am super proud of both these guys.

Great podcast with Shad Loch founder of Take'Em Outdoors. Shad Founded the org about 18 years ago and has taken many veterans and terminally ill children on hunts all around the state of Wisconsin and the country. We had a great time talking about the impact he has made on the many veterans and children he’s met along the way. I was lucky enough to go to Wyoming for an antelope hunt with Shad in 2022.

Very fun podcast with Air Force Veteran Jeff Bowers. Jeff served for 8 years, 1 deployment to Iraq in 2005/2006 at Camp Bucca. We spoke about this humble beginnings and post military life. We both shared a lot of personal feelings, thoughts, and emotions on this episode. We also had some cocktails while recording. We agreed veterans need to do a better job of taking care of themselves physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. We laughed a lot on this one.

Jesse Frewerd served in the Army, and he’s an OG Iraq war veteran he served in Iraq in 2003. Jesse is a singer/songwriter. He shared the highs and lows about his service, transition, and his new life purpose of singing and writing songs. This was a very fun podcast. He even sang on the podcast, it was awesome!

Excellent podcast with my friends, business partners, and primary podcast sponsors Mike Cox and Brian Hofmann owners of MortgageNerds.com. We did a deep dive into the VA Home Loan, VA Construction Loan, VA Renovation Loan, Why Brokers Are Better, Asking the Right Questions, and so much more. Mike and Brian travel the state and educate veterans and service members on the VA Home Loan daily! They are at Fort McCoy monthly and we have built a healthy relationship with the CVSOs of Wisconsin. The VA Home Loan is super confusing and robust, the family at Mortgage Nerds is here to help you. This was a very fun and educational podcast.

Jesse Cuff joined me for his 4th podcast here at the studio. Jesse is an Army/Afghanistan veteran and currently the CVSO of Waupaca County Veterans Service Office. We talked about current events, politics, veteran community, and his conspiracy theories. I don’t usually talk about some of these topics but I save it for Jesse because we have fun with it, and he’s also very level headed. It was fun to catch up and share some healthy laughs. Jesse still holds the record for the longest podcast which is 3 hours 10 mins and now he’s the only guest with 4 separate episodes

Keegan served in the Marine Corps and deployed to South American and Iraq. He’s an Appleton Firefighter/Paramedic. Keegan has also fought and beat stage 4 Lung cancer. Keegan’s story is hard to quantify in words. He changed his diet, workout, and lifestyle to beat cancer. There’s many people who look up to him and respect him. One of the strongest and bravest men I know. I want to thank him for spending 2.5 hours with me just sharing stories and his journey. Happy 248th Birthday to the United States Marine Corps