Tag Archives: military

Veterans Appreciation Weekend at Angel Fire Resort 20-22 Feb 2015

Posted on February 4, 2015 | Leave a comment

This will be a magical ski weekend in beautiful Angel Fire, NM! — Sponsored by Not Forgotten Outreach of Taos, the National Veterans Wellness and Healing Center, and Angel Fire Resort.

Come visit with your fellow vets! Offer is good for all vets, active duty and retired, National Guard, and families.

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A portion of the crowd at the Taos Ski Valley event last month!

The Good Deal includes:

  • $25.00 Full Day Lift Ticket
  • ½ Price Rental Ski/Board Equipment
  • ½ Price Group Ski/Ride Lessons
  • $83/night at the Lodge at Angel Fire Resort (844-218-4107)
  • Free Adaptive Ski Lessons (2-weeks adv. reservation, angelfireresort.com/adaptive-lesson-request)
  • Free Adaptive Ski Equipment (Courtesy of Adaptive Sports Program New Mexico)
  • Free Dinner for 230 Military Family Members
  • Live Music following Dinner
  • Free Hot Drinks and Snacks at Base
  • Non-Ski Events: Tubing, Sledding, Snowshoeing

Special Appearance by:

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Dana Bowman, former US Army Golden Knight and Double Amputee

Dana will kick off Saturday morning with an American flag parachute entry! His website is at: http://www.danabowman.com/

http://www.angelfireresort.com/event/forgotten-outreach-appreciate-weekend/

Learn about the National Veterans Wellness and Healing Center, located in Angel Fire: http://veteranswellnessandhealing.org/

Don’t miss it! The Taos Ski Valley event hosted over 750 vets and family members from Florida to Washington State! See you there!

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Veterans Appreciation Weekend at Taos Ski Valley

Posted on February 3, 2015 | 2 comments

During the weekend of 24-25 January 2015, some 750 veterans, active duty and retired military, families and friends gathered at the Taos Ski Valley to feast, celebrate and recreate. Organized by disabled veteran Don Peters, founder of Not Forgotten, an organization dedicated motivate injured vets to participate in recreational activities to promote healing, and aided by the Taos Ski Valley (TSV), the Town of Taos, local VFW Post 3259, the Taos Milagro Rotary and others, the weekend was a smashing success. Here’s the full article and photos:

http://www.taosnews.com/sports/article_52fb2422-a896-11e4-854e-bf362f331e7b.html

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Vets and families arrived from as far away as Florida and Washington State to engage in winter sports and camaraderie with fellow vets. TSV provided discounted lift tickets, lessons and free equipment rentals. The Grand Junction (Colorado) VA provided special adaptive ski equipment for the disabled vets.

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Don Peters, seated, in the foreground

The success of the Not Forgotten/TSV Veterans Appreciation Weekend program is spawning other similar initiatives. Neighboring Village of Angel Fire is hosting its own version of the Appreciation Weekend on February 20-21-22 in Angel Fire, partnering with the Angel Fire Resort and local businesses and organizations. All veterans, families, and friends will be welcomed. Here is the info for that weekend. Come on up/down/or over from wherever you are now and meet and play with fellow vets:

http://www.angelfireresort.com/event/forgotten-outreach-appreciate-weekend/

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Sergeant Dana Bowman, U.S. Army (ret)

Posted on December 31, 2014 | Leave a comment

Sergeant First Class Dana Bowman, U.S. Army (ret) stopped into Angel Fire this past week to ski with his family. While there’s nothing particularly unusual about a man taking his kids skiing during the holidays, Sgt Bowman has another story to tell. He is a double amputee. A former Special Forces soldier and member of the Golden Knights, the fabled Army parachute demonstration team, Sgt Bowman lost both his legs in a parachuting accident in 1994.

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Here is a photo of LTC Chuck Howe and me showing Dana around the New Mexico Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park, courtesy of the Sangre de Cristo Chronicle. Please note the UH-1 Huey lurking in the background!

Dana does not believe the simple loss of his legs should stop him from living his life. After his accident, he fought his way back into the Army, becoming the first double amputee able to re-enlist. After he retired, he attended college where he earned his bachelor’s degree and pilot’s license in fixed and rotary wing aircraft. Now he travels the country as a motivational speaker to spread his “incredible story of spirit and determination,” often parachuting into an event. He is quite a guy!

Enough from me, here’s Dana’s story and website. See for yourself: http://www.danabowman.com/

Dana believes, as I do, that we must band together to aid our wounded comrades. He was not in Angel Fire by accident. He was here to learn about the National Wellness and Healing Center and to visit the New Mexico Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park (both of which I have written about on this blog site). He held discussions with LTC Chuck Howe, U.S. Army (ret), president of both the Wellness Center and the David Westphall Foundation which helps run the Vietnam Memorial about a possible parachute jump into Angel Fire to kick off a veteran’s PTS retreat or a Memorial Day ceremony at the Memorial. Stay tuned for more updates on this!

Here is the link to the National Veterans Wellness and Healing Center:

http://veteranswellnessandhealing.org/

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