{"id":1536,"date":"2015-07-10T13:00:50","date_gmt":"2015-07-10T13:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gravityjack.com\/?p=1536"},"modified":"2023-11-29T13:01:18","modified_gmt":"2023-11-29T13:01:18","slug":"joshua-abel-ceo-joins-wolf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gravityjack.com\/news\/joshua-abel-ceo-joins-wolf\/","title":{"rendered":"Gravity Jack CEO, Josh Abel, Joins WOLF in Helping Youth of America\u2019s Fallen Heroes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What happens to the children of America\u2019s fallen heroes?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our soldiers lay their lives on the line for our country, so we can have the freedoms that allow each of us to pursue our passions every day. For that, we couldn\u2019t be more grateful. While we take time to honor these heroes on specific holidays, it\u2019s admittedly too rare that we take the time to consider, \u201cWhat are the consequences of losing our fallen heroes?\u201d It\u2019s a question that we civilians frequently take for granted because, quite honestly, the answer breaks our hearts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

To some, the answer means a child whose parent will not be able to watch them flourish and grow to become a successful young adult. The question becomes: Who will take these adolescents under their wing, honor their<\/em> sacrifice, and equip them with the valuable skill-sets required to, like their lost parent, become a true leader? The answer is WOLF<\/a> (Warrior Outdoor Leadership for the Future) — a heartwarming mentorship program, providing leadership skills to the adolescents of fallen United States Special Operation Forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, our newly appointed CEO, Josh Abel, spent a weekend traveling to the Provo River, near Park City, Utah, where his trip had one purpose: to mentor the WOLF youth on his vast knowledge of fly fishing and the life-impacting parallels it shares with leadership. Hoping that in the end, the WOLF Pack would feel loved, not forgotten and empowered as future leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cBoarding the plane to mentor the kids and teach them to fly fish, I felt solemn and excited. I have a life-long passion for fishing, but my heart hurt for the children of our fallen heroes. As I pondered the experience I was about to embark on, I came to the conclusion that, if nothing else — I hoped I could offer them a glimpse of a strong leader who genuinely cares about them,\u201d explained Josh.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Our team, here at Gravity Jack, is aware that Josh is engaged in several charity events a year, but upon his return, it was clear to all of us that he held this cause extremely near to his heart. It\u2019s times like this that our team is reminded of not just his ability in board rooms, offices, one-on-one meetings and our daily work, but how big Josh\u2019s heart is — and why he so fit to lead us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WOLF was started in 2012 by Mike Vaughn, a veteran of over twenty years in the United States Special Forces and his wife, Sara Moola. As someone extremely close to the realities that families of these heroes experience, Sara saw an educational gap that their youth were falling into. Even worse, the gap was widening due to an agonizing circumstance that is completely out of their hands. \u201cThe GI Bill provides many of these youth with higher education, but so little had been done to provide them valuable career-building experiences,\u201d said Sara. \u201cWe\u2019ve worked hard to build a plan that filled this gap, giving career tools to over 50 students who share this common fate.\u201d Almost instantly, Mike saw his wife\u2019s passion and overwhelming commitment as an opportunity to not only give back himself, but honor his fallen brothers and sisters of uniform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was not by chance that Josh got involved with WOLF. On top of their tireless efforts with WOLF, Mike and Sarah lead VATC<\/a> (Visual Awareness Technologies and Consulting), where Sara is serves as president and co-owner, and Mike as co-owner and CEO. VATC provides relevant training experiences for United States Armed Forces and several other branches of government. On several different occasions, VATC has reached out to Gravity Jack and our services, building an incredibly supportive working relationship. This mutual respect for what our companies are capable of creating eventually grew into a personal relationship where Josh directly felt Mike and Sara\u2019s passion for this cause. \u201cSara and Mike are such great people. It\u2019s no wonder they came up with such an impactful effort for this critical cause. I simply knew that I had to be involved, however I could be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who don\u2019t know Josh personally, he is a fly fishing enthusiast with over 20 years of experience and is co-owner to a blossoming fly fishing company, Catch Fly Fishing<\/a>. His passion for the sport is so apparent that those who know him closely (our entire team included) refer to him, fondly, as \u2018Trout.\u2019 Much like directing a successful business, or raising a child, fly fishing is no easy task. It takes patience, accuracy, technique and thoughtfulness. Josh knows these traits are also what make amazing leaders, and saw an opportunity to help provide the children of SOF fallen heroes with the tools to grow and develop them — ultimately becoming leaders their parents would be incredibly proud of. Josh co-led the fly fishing excursion, with help from Kirk Burton (lead of research and development at VATC) and his good friend, 26-year Air Force Veteran, Delta Airlines pilot and fellow fly fisherman, Colonel John \u2018Face\u2019 Hanna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cJosh and I have spent a lot of time together,\u201d said Hanna. \u201cHe is a caring man. We both love fishing and supporting causes that we care deeply about. I saw this as another way to lend a hand. I trust Josh, so when he reached out to me about participating in the program, I said \u2018yes\u2019 before I knew what it was. Upon learning about WOLF, the situation became even more special to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The experience began with Josh and the others offering casting instructions at theNational Ability Center soccer field in Park City. \u201cAfter lunch, we made our way to the Provo River at the base of the Jordanelle Dam. Here, the kids broke up into groups of three and put their casting lessons to the test.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of us code far better than we fly fish, so while describing his trip, Josh explained a few basics: One common style of fly fishing is known as \u2018nymphing.\u2019 This method is one of the more complex styles, because it requires a \u2018wet fly,\u2019 which sinks beneath the water\u2019s surface, rather than a \u2018dry fly\u2019 which floats on top. With the current state of the River, I felt that the nymphing style gave our youth the best chance for success.\u201d Due to it\u2019s difficulty, Josh was hesitant that this approach would discourage some of the students. \u201cDuring the casting instructions, I was concerned about some of the participants\u2019 lack of interest. Once we hit the river, the same participants I was skeptical about turned out to be the most interested. There were situations that even I, as an experienced fisherman, would have been frustrated with — but they stayed calm and pushed right through, eventually prevailing. One of the WOLF Pack girls, Maka, turned to me and said, \u2018Don\u2019t cut the wind knot. I got it!\u2019 Sure enough — five minutes later the knot was clear and the fly was back in the water waiting for another hungry brown trout to inhale the fly. It was amazingly inspiring! Although only about half the group actually brought a trout to hand, they all hooked up,\u201d a visibly smiling Josh explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The values, skills and lessons taught through mentorship provided these amazing young adults with life-long lessons. Lessons that Mike and Sara wholeheartedly believe the parents of these adolescents would have passed on to them if they were still here. \u201cWe feel this was our best year so far; the program is maturing quickly thanks to local and national support. WOLF is about building the next generation of leaders — and I think Josh, Kirk and Face may have created a few fly fishing junkies along the way,\u201d Mike Vaughn shared smiling. WOLF is special because it not only engages the students with physical activity, but incorporates the key leadership skills required to run a successful business. Simply put, the program encourages its students to have an entrepreneurial spirit and to follow their dreams — a cause we can all get behind!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WOLF members all have an unfortunate circumstance in common, but thanks to Mike, Sara, and all of the mentors, they share something deeper; something that touched Josh in such a way that shortly after the trip, Mike and Sara asked him to join the WOLF Board of Directors. Sara noted that, \u201cJosh\u2019s insight and expertise would be an amazing addition,\u201d and we couldn\u2019t agree more! Better yet, word with the team is that it\u2019s Gravity Jack\u2019s plan to become increasingly involved with the program however we can. It\u2019s a commitment that our team feels privileged to be apart of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mission doesn\u2019t end now that Josh is back in the office with us. We would like to encourage you to take a moment out of your day to learn more about WOLF and their important mission. You can do so at www.sofwolf.org<\/a>. There, you will be able to learn about their passionate team and, if you\u2019d like, make a donation. We are incredibly honored to have a CEO with the foresight to stand alongside an incredible program like WOLF. As we come off of the 4th of July weekend, his actions serve as a reminder of our troops and those who keep us safe every minute of every day. To Josh, it seems only natural that we accept the responsibility and honor of helping take care of their children.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What happens to the children of America\u2019s fallen heroes? Our soldiers lay their lives on the line for our country, so we can have the freedoms that allow each of us to pursue our passions every day. For that, we couldn\u2019t be more grateful. While we take time to honor these heroes on specific holidays, … Gravity Jack CEO, Josh Abel, Joins WOLF in Helping Youth of America\u2019s Fallen Heroes<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":1506,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nJosh Abel Joins WOLF To Help Support America's Youth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Josh Abel, CEO at Gravity Jack mentors youth through WOLF. 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