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Believe in Heroes Through the Wounded Warrior Project

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

One of the new trademarked slogans of the Wounded Warrior Project is Believe in Heroes™.  We borrowed this short write-up from the Wounded Warrior website.  Please read, and if you can, Donate to the Wounded Warriors to our American Heroes.  AutoGov - through the Tough Mudder and Wounded Warrior Project and Under Armour - will always support our heroes!

At 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918, "the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month," a cease-fire came into effect that would end World War I. For this reason, the date is generally regarded as the end of "the war to end all wars." Eighty-three years later, on September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists hijacked and crashed four commercial airliners, killing thousands of Americans. The events of that day would inspire droves of brave men and women to answer the call to duty to enlist in our country's all-volunteer armed services.

All veterans face challenges as they return to society, and today's wounded warriors are meeting extraordinary obstacles. These include visible, physical injuries as well as invisible ones, like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Our challenge goes beyond just raising awareness for veterans, but by addressing the real hurdles our warriors face as they return to civilian life.

Believe in Heroes™ is a Wounded Warrior Project™ initiative that calls on Americans to recognize the enormous sacrifices made by our newest generation of veterans and to honor the service of these individual over a two-month campaign leading up to Veterans Day. The Believe in Heroes campaign will provide the American public with an opportunity to show their support and appreciation of our veterans in their communities, and across the nation.

Trace Adkins believes in heroes and has supported the Wounded Warrior Project with his song, "Till the Last Shot's Fired.  Sung with the West Point Glee Club and brought to life here with this amazing photography.

Happy Thanksgiving from AutoGov to you! God Bless America!

Mudder than the Rest

About a week ago I had one of those life experiences that become rarer and rarer as the years pass – a surprising and inspiring one.  Our company joined with another Austin Texas based small business, The Human Machine Athletic Club, to do the Tough Mudder.  We blogged and tweeted about it as race day drew near, excited and nervous, and proud to be raising money for the Wounded Warriors. 

Our team of 11 spanned ages in four decades and we needed each and every one of us to get through the race.  Our team had sheer strength and athletic ability, determination, humor, strategy, and maybe even a little wisdom.  It took us three hours.  We all groaned in disbelief at mile three.  Really, really?  And at about mile eight my colleague Susannah began to chant “I’m done with the fun.”  We were wet and muddy and cold. 

Mile 10.  We crossed the finish line together. We were happy.  It was a great morning.

I’ve been thinking about it ever since and it occurred to me that maybe we are like the race. As two small businesses in the worst recession in how many years, we have survived mile three and run past mile eight – tough, tenacious, and scrappy.  We’ve persevered and come up with clever ways to survive – low on cash but with a firm belief that our businesses are worth saving and that we offer value to the world and to the marketplace.  We’re wet and cold and muddy, yet somehow happy and we’re still standing.

So… a tremendous thanks to my teammates – Adam, Gregg, JW, Jon, Katie, Margaret, Mike, Pat, Susannah, and Taylor -- for a great race and for reminding me about the rewards of teamwork and hard work and believing --- that much is possible and maybe even the hard stuff might just turn out to be fun.

AutoGov's Tough Mudder Mascot