Boot Campaign Welcomes Chris Talcott as VP of Operations and Program Development

Boot Campaign Friends and Supporters –

Thanks to you, my first 90 days at the helm of our organization has been productive and full of forward progress. There have been a multitude of changes and quick wins to celebrate.

Here are just a few highlights since May 1: We have cut down on costs of our ReBOOT program by partnering with Fisher House Foundation’s Hero Miles program, to provide free flights to all participants; we have raised more than $700,000 to support our mission; we have sent 10 additional veterans through the ReBOOT pipeline, and we have added five veteran ambassadors to our fold to help share our story and awaken patriotism across the country.

I cannot thank you enough for your support and patience, listening ears and consistent cheerleading as we share the mission and message of the Boot Campaign.

I am also thrilled to introduce you to another phenomenal leader that will be joining our Boot Campaign Executive team. Chris Talcott, a 24-year Army veteran with two combat deployments to Iraq and a master’s degree in organizational psychology, will take the reigns as Vice President of Operations and Program Development for Boot Campaign on September 4.

Chris and I sat down for an “interview” so you all could get some front-line information on why he chose Boot Campaign as his next professional opportunity.

What excites you about the Boot Campaign?

The reputation of the Boot Campaign, the outreach, the opportunity to support fellow veterans through our assistance program and the ability to tell the veteran story to illicit patriotism and awareness is something that is important to me and something I would love to say I do for a living. I’ve spent the last three years at the Brain Performance Institute, part of the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas, supporting veterans, military spouses and caregivers with a non-pharmacological training to improve brain health and performance. There, we have worked directly with other non-profits, veteran service organizations, and the Department of Defense collaborators across Texas and the United States to help military families. I’m looking forward to taking that experience and learnings from those efforts and applying it the mission at Boot Campaign.

What are you looking forward to most about getting your boots on?

I spent 24+ years “wearing” my boots – the best years of my life being a servant to our Nation and being called a Soldier! It was an honor and a blessing to be in the Armed Forces serving with the greatest men and women warriors coming from the greatest Nation on Earth. I considered it a calling versus a job. Since retiring from the military, I have been looking for my next calling. The Boot Campaign’s values, mission, and goals certainly align with my dream job to continue to serve our Nation and its veterans and service members and tell their story to our communities.

What’s something folks should know about you?

I am a retired Artillery Officer and proud of being a “Redleg” and esteemed veteran member of the King of Battle!  Our mission was to provide indirect fires in support of the infantry and armor units in battle. Now that I’m retired, I’ve had to transition my “indirect” capabilities to the civilian sector.., they call it “golf.”

We have much more to do at Boot Campaign and exciting developments to come in 2018, so please join me in welcoming, Chris, to the Boot Campaign family to help take our work to the next level!