BIG SKY BRAVERY WOULDN'T BE WHAT IT IS TODAY WITHOUT THE HARD WORK AND DEDICATION OF OUR VOLUNTEERS. TO CELEBRATE THEIR GENEROSITY & INTRODUCE YOU TO SOME INCREDIBLE INDIVIDUALS, WE INVITE YOU TO READ OUR MONTHLY VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT!

This month’s volunteer: Skip Soderholm

I began volunteering for Big Sky Bravery in 2018, about three months after going through a BSB Task Force as a recipient. I was so moved by the friendships, decompression, and joy I received from the program, that I wanted to give back and allow other SOF members to experience this amazing program.

As a recipient of BSB’s program, I have experienced first-hand the benefits these programs bring to our Special Operations Soldiers. I know the toll that two decades of war have had on our men and women in uniform. I volunteer in the hope that I can help impact the lives of our nation’s heroes, as much as my life has been impacted by Big Sky Bravery.

The most impactful moment I have experienced while volunteering was a deep conversation I had with a recipient one night during a Task Force. We had just spent the day together fly fishing on the Yellowstone River and were relaxing by a fire. He described to me a time when he lost a solider in an IED attack and the guilt he had been carrying all these years. To be trusted by this great American with his feelings and to be there for him in that moment felt really special.

BSB’s motto: “Give More Than You Take”, is something that I have tried to live my life by. It is the reason I served our country in the military for 25 years. Volunteering with BSB is a way that I can continue to serve.

Outside of BSB, I am the Chief Operating Officer of Red Research Group (RRG) in Southern Pines, North Carolina. RRG is an antenna manufacturing company that also provides communications training to government customers. I am also the owner of Patriot Artworks, where I make wooden American flag art pieces.

When I’m not volunteering with BSB, you’ll find me either in my wood shop woodworking, hanging out with my beautiful wife, or traveling back to Montana to hang out with the great friends I’ve made there.