Warrior’s Weekend, 2022
Happy fishermen show off their catches.
Thank you, Warriors!
-photo by Mike Hessong

Warrior’s Weekend Hero

Al Becker
Warrior’s Weekend Volunteer

What would cause a trucker from North Lima, Ohio to drive down just to volunteer at the Warrior’s Weekend events?

Meet Al Becker, a self-employed trucker. Concerning Warrior’s Weekend he says, “I just come down here to give the veterans one day of pleasure fishing.”
It all started in 2013 when Al picked up a load in Indianapolis. The load were air conditioners and their destination was the Warrior’s Weekend event. It was just another trip for Al, but as fate would have it, it was the beginning of an adventure… Al Becker hasn’t missed a Warrior’s Weekend since then!

As a volunteer Al does whatever needs to be done that he can do and has a background in heavy equipment and outside lighting.

Al is proud to serve his country by serving its veterans!

-Tanya DeForest

Warrior’s Weekend Hero

Kenneth Matthews

Another Warrior’s Weekend hero is a veteran from Dunn, North Carolina. His name is Kenneth Matthews.

Kenneth served in the Army for nine years and was in a National Guard Unit. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan. His last year of service was in 2014.

Kenneth received an honorable medical discharge due to PTSD. He says, “I loved the Army because I wanted to serve my country.”

Kenneth is currently enrolled at Camp Hope. Camp Hope is a nonprofit Christian program for male combat veterans who suffer from PTSD. Kenneth states that “Camp Hope is an awesome program that I wish I would have known about when I first got out of the military.”

This year’s Warrior’s Weekend was Kenneth’s first time to go fishing. His comments are: “It was a great experience being with my brothers and sisters who served in the military.”
-Tanya DeForest