Matt Brubaker | Volunteer Spotlight
“I don’t take for granted the fact that I have been blessed to live in the greatest country on earth because many families sacrifice deeply to make that possible.”
THIS MONTH’S VOLUNTEER: Matt Brubaker
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!
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN VOLUNTEERING FOR BIG SKY BRAVERY
I’ve been involved with Big Sky Bravery since 2018, when I was introduced to Josh by a mutual friend. Since that time, I’ve been involved in supporting the staff and operations of BSB, and my firm is responsible for impact and outcomes surveys that help us measure the effectiveness of our programming on recipients. I’ve been on 3 Task Forces now and gotten something different from each one of them. Always leave blessed, reflective, and full (and tired!).
WHY DO YOU VOLUNTEER FOR BIG SKY BRAVERY?
I gained a deep respect for this country and the soldiers who protect it at a very young age. My grandpa was part of the Greatest Generation, served in the USMC, and was deployed in the Pacific liberating Japanese POW camps. I was raised with a deep sense of calling to serve and over the first 10-15 years of my career explored a few options, none of which ever ended up being the right thing for one reason or another. While my career has been a great one, I’ve always felt a sense of loss at never having been able to serve. When I met Josh and the BSB team for the first time, it was as if someone knew exactly what I was thinking and feeling. I have a deep desire to give back to the Operators AND THE FAMILIES who hold them up.
I have a first cousin (same grandpa) who just wrapped up 24 years of deployments with a long cycle in one of the units we serve at BSB. He got to attend a TF a few summers ago, and it was an amazing full-circle moment for me. I’m immensely proud of him, and because of my connection to his family, am very clear on the sacrifices they have made to make sure you and I are free to live the lives we have.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST IMPACTFUL MOMENT FOR YOU SINCE BEING INVOLVED WITH BIG SKY BRAVERY?
Sitting in a hot tub one snowy night making “man soup” with a group of Operators and hearing one tell me, “I can’t do this job forever. It’s hard, and it takes a toll on me. I really want to settle down and have some babies, but it’s a hard job, and there are a lot of bad people out there. I don’t want anyone else to have to carry this burden, so I’ll keep carrying it.” It was pure, clear, and steeped in honor. The very least I can do is to make sure that brother knows he’s got someone holding his heart.
HOW DOES OUR MOTTO “GIVE MORE THAN YOU TAKE” APPLY TO YOUR LIFE?
It’s the only rule to live by. There are spiritual implications, family implications, and patriotic ones. Bottom line: if you pour yourself out, you’ll never be empty. The older I get, the more I appreciate this and hope to instill it in my kids as well.
WHAT DO YOU NO LONGER TAKE FOR GRANTED AFTER SPENDING TIME WITH THE SOF COMMUNITY WE SERVE?
Wow. A lot. The first answer that popped into my head, though, was about my cousin’s wife, I’ll call her JB. I’ve seen how much she has carried for more than 20 years - never breaking and always filling her children and those around her with a deep sense of gratitude and patriotism. Getting to know how hard that family worked so that dad could do his job. Yes of course there’s sadness and resentment and all the normal stuff! All marriages endure that (for most of us, over much more petty stuff). For me, I don’t take for granted the fact that I have been blessed to live in the greatest country on earth because many families sacrifice deeply to make that possible.
WHAT JOB TITLE DO YOU HOLD OUTSIDE OF BEING A BIG SKY BRAVERY VOLUNTEER?
I am the CEO of a management consulting firm called FMG Leading. We help leaders and executive teams build alignment and prepare to scale rapidly. We have a pro-bono arm called FMG Gives, and we are honored to consider BSB a flagship client!
FINISH THIS SENTENCE, “WHEN I’M NOT VOLUNTEERING WITH BSB, YOU’LL FIND ME…”
Living on a sheep farm in eastern PA with my beautiful wife Rachel and our last kid at home, Teddy, who’s 11 and in the 5th grade. I’m super active, love to hunt and fish, and as I get older, I get more and more joy from teaching the next generation to clean a fish, gut a deer, and participate in the beauty of the great outdoors.
