The Foundation
The first news story that I can remember was the fall of the Berlin Wall. I was only three at the time and had no real understanding of the significance of this event until much later. When I was six, Saddam invaded Kuwait, and I remember feeling something big was happening as men from our church prepared for a possibly massive war. There were patriotic expressions everywhere, and I first heard Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American" during this time - still get chills when I hear it. Fast forward to October 1993, I was in the 3rd grade when the Battle of Mogadishu raged, but I was keenly aware of it all. It was around this time that I determined I wanted to serve in the military, but it all started out as a little boy playing soldier with his friends. When I reached high school, I began planning to join the Air Force as I had also grown interested in flying. During my senior year in high school, as I walked into Lynn University's flight school in Boca Raton, I watched the TV monitor which usually displayed weather as the second plane hit the World Trade Center. I graduated and enlisted soon after as unassigned airborne infantry afraid that I would miss "my moment" of patriotic duty. I served with the 25th Infantry Division's 1st Battalion 14th Infantry "Golden Dragons" on a 14-month deployment to Iraq where we served with distinction as a theatre-wide quick reaction force. The experiences of that deployment, the Army training, and my upbringing in a patriotic household, have led me to approach my professional life with empathy and a desire to serve my community.
The Opportunity
After being honorably discharged from the Army in October 2006, I was like many other veterans who have no plan upon leaving active duty service. I moved back home with my parents and received my mortgage broker's license in South Florida in the summer of 2007. I watched perplexed as the underpinning issues that led to the financial crisis of 2008 played out around me. After that collapse, I worked for a business which sold and rented construction equipment to contractors working between Miami and Palm Beach, and as I advanced through the ranks of that company, I realized I was better suited being my own boss. In December 2011, I received my license as a Freight Broker, and began arranging transportation of vehicles for individuals and small businesses as Plymouth Auto Transport. By 2013, I had come to realize the majority of my clients were military families paying to ship their personal vehicles to their new duty station out-of-pocket with no government reimbursement. At this time, I also met another Army veteran, and together we formed what would become Transport for Troops. Our mission was simply to help military families with these uncovered moving expenses. Plymouth Transportation remains a licensed freight broker and provides discounts to all military and veterans as well as monthly contributions to the mission of Transport for Troops.
The Mission
In January 2018, after nearly 30 months of effort convincing the IRS of the legitimacy of our mission, Transport for Troops was recognized as a charitable organization and awarded our 501(c)(3). We immediately began working to secure partnerships with other service providers and possible donors, however, the COVID pandemic held much of these efforts back. During the pandemic, we continued to make commitments to the limited number of requests for support that we received. In December 2021, we restarted our efforts to secure support, and by November 2022, we had raised more than $50,000 in cash and $375,000 worth of in-kind donations to help us cover 170 aid requests. Our goal is to increase public awareness of and support for our mission. With more than 400,000 military families on the move each year, the need is great, and I am continually encouraged in my mission to see Transport for Troops rise to meet each need as more people hear of our goals and help in any way they can. As of 2024, Transport for Troops has provided more than $1,000,000 in free services and discounts through our partner sponsors to thousands of military families. I am truly grateful to be an American, a veteran, and a part of this effort to assist those who serve our great nation. To learn more, visit www.transportfortroops.org.
