Spirit of a Hero was founded in 2012 after an inspiring young soldier, Travis Mills,
touched the hearts of Rick and Tancy Turner.
Rick Turner, a Journeyman Electrician by trade, was on a lunch break when he picked
up the newspaper and read the story of SSGT Travis Mills who had lost all four limbs
as the result of an IED blast. The story immediately caught Rick's attention as a former
82nd Airborne Paratrooper and Purple Heart Recipient himself. The emotions of war
and loss immediately flooded Rick's memory and he knew he had to do something to
help!
Rick and his wife, Tancy, began planning a motorcycle ride and benefit for Travis and
his family. Through hard work, perseverance, many supporters, and the hand of God,
Rick and his wife raised over $33,000 for Travis and his family. An outpouring of suppo
rt and requests to continue on with fundraising efforts led the Turner’s to creating the
Spirit of a Hero Foundation.
The core of this foundation is the spirit a warrior has despite the circumstances. Travis
was the first to show this spirit but will not be the last. Every man and woman who
serves in our military to protect our freedom is a hero. We hope that every one of the
m also has the spirit that Travis Mills has shown again and again...the Spirit of a Hero!
United States Army Staff Sergeant
Travis Mills of the 82nd Airborne
on his third tour of duty in Afghanistan, was critically injured on
April 10th by an IED (improvised
explosive device) while on patrol,
losing portions of both legs and
both arms. He is only the fifth
quadruple amputee, from the wars
in Iraq and Afghanistan, to survive
his injuries.
Travis has a wonderful family who
continues to encourage him to
keep working to be the best he
can be.
Travis has created his own nonprofit to help other amputees
reach the same milestones he has
been able to reach.
On July 6, 2012, while on dismounted patrol, I stepped on an improvised explosive device, or IED,
while clearing a building known for producing and storing these deadly weapons. The blast resulted in amputation of both legs above the knees. I underwent several surgeries while in Afghanistan,
and later in Germany, where I spent seven days in and out of the ICU. Once stable, I was transported to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, where I currently
live with my mother.
In the blink of an eye, my daily routine morphed from performing the duties of my beloved role
as an infantry soldier into a rigorous, challenging schedule of rehabilitation and physical therapy.
When questioned about my motivation to push forward and my ultimate goal, people appear surprised by the simplicity of the answer. All I want is to have a normal life, doing the things I love
with the people I love. I want to hunt and fish and camp again. I want to go back to school,
earn a degree, and embark on a new career. I want to propose to, and begin a new life with the
woman I love. All I want is to live simply and be happy. Every day is a gift, and I intend to
cherish every moment, both large and small.”
On December 9, 2011, I was part of a dismounted patrol just north
of Sangin, Afghanistan. During the patrol we identified indicators of
possible IED’s in an alley way of the complex of the compounds we
were traversing through. After setting up security and briefing my team
member on the plan, I began to interrogate the suspicious area. I
located the first IED and was able to render the device safe. I
collected the switch, and the power source before reducing the
explosive hazards in place. After the first detonation I made my way
back down the alley and located a second device. While attempting
to render that device safe it detonated with me kneeling over it.
As a result of the detonation I spent the next two weeks in a coma.
When I woke up from the coma I was at Walter Reed at Bethesda,
Maryland. My injuries from the blast include amputations to both arms,
right mid forearm and left mid humerus. I suffered a broken neck,
several broken bones in my face, to include my jaw. I lost total vision
in my left eye, as well as burns to my face, neck and shoulder. My left
A/C joint was completely destroyed. I also suffered severe nerve damage to my left arm leaving it completely paralyzed. “
Marcus has now dedicated his life to researching and helping other warriors who suffer from severe Post Traumatic Stress. Spirit of a Hero remodeled his parent’s home in Weatherford, Texas so Marcus would have
an ADA compliant house to come home to.
"My name is Omar Milan. I was born in Fort Worth and raised
in Mansfield, Texas. I graduated from Mansfield High School in
2000. Shortly after I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.
I became a Field Radio Operator assigned to India Battery
3rd BN 10th Marines at Camp Lejeune. During my enlistment, I
served one combat tour to Iraq for the invasion in 2003. Soon
after the deployment, my wife Michelle and I were married. We
then had our first beautiful daughter, Rachel, in 2004. I was
honorably discharged from the Marine Corps that year, however
civilian life didn’t suit me well. I reenlisted in the Air Force
where I became an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician.
In May 2008, I transitioned back to the Marine Corps as an
EOD Technician assigned to the 2nd EOD Company Camp Lejeune. We had our second beautiful daughter Vanessa the same
year. While at 2nd EOD Company, I deployed with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit providing EOD support. I also deployed
to Afghanistan in 2009 and 2011.
During my second deployment to Afghanistan I was injured. My
injuries occurred on January 9, 2012 as I was conducting a
post blast analysis. During the analysis of the scene I discovered
a secondary IED. I proceeded to dispose of this IED. During its
disposal, I stepped on a third IED at the scene. The third IED
then pushed me onto a fourth IED. I sustained a below the
knee amputation on my right leg, soft tissue and nerve damage
to my left leg, damage to left hand with loss of index finger,
and damage to right arm with loss of the elbow and nerve
damage. In addition, I suffered a concussion with the loss of
consciousness, a pelvic fracture, and a fracture to the left clavicle. With my wife and daughters by my side, I spent 2 years at
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD
undergoing countless surgeries and rehabilitation.
In January 2014 I retired from the Marine Corps and moved
back to Texas. I plan to attend college, majoring in Chemistry.
In my free time I enjoy fishing, woodworking, playing video
games, and spending time with my wife and our daughters."
Omar and Michelle were living in a 2-bedroom apartment when
we met them. With the funds raised, Spirit of a Hero was able
to put them into a lease house for a year and a half until
their "forever home" is complete.
At age 18, Rick Turner decided he wanted to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and join the
United States Army and become a part of the elite 82nd Airborne Division. Rick graduated jump
school in Fort Benning, Georgia in July 1989. Five months after graduation Rick was deployed
with the 82nd Airborne Division to Panama. Within two weeks of being in Panama Rick was shot
in the back of the head by a sniper. He received a Purple Heart for his injuries, and after three
months at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, Rick returned to Fort Bragg,
North Carolina. Rick was only back at Fort Bragg a few weeks before being deployed again to
Iraq, where he spent the next 18 months. After returning to the United States, Rick chose to be
discharged from the Army and return to Texas.
Rick spent the next several years working as an electrician, trying to put memories of the war
behind him. In March of 2012, while on an electrical job, Rick stopped to have lunch in the building’s deli. There was a Dallas Morning News open to an article about a 24-year old 82nd Airborne
paratrooper who had stepped on an IED and lost all four limbs. The memories of war came
flooding back and Rick knew he had to take action to help this young man, his wife and their
infant daughter. Rick and his wife Tancy began planning a motorcycle ride and benefit for Travis
and his family. Over $32,000 was raised for Travis and his family. An outpouring of support and
requests to continue on with fundraising efforts led to the Turner’s creating Spirit of a Hero Foundation. Rick is not only the founder of Spirit of a Hero, he is also very active in
Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association, a member of the Elk’s Lodge and a Master Blue Lodge
Mason. Rick is dedicated to support our Veterans in any way he can.
Tancy Turner is Co-Founder of Spirit of a Hero and currently serves as a trusted advisor to the
Board of Directors and plays an active role in Spirit of a Hero’s vision’s. In 2012, Tancy and her
husband, Rick Turner, read a story of a young soldier who had stepped on an IED and lost all
four limbs. This young soldier’s story local newspaper inspired Rick and Tancy to do something
for our wounded service members.
Aside from founding Spirit of a Hero, Tancy and her husband are active members of Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association, where Tancy serves as a Commander of the Auxiliary, The Elks
Lodge, and active members of their church, helping start a motorcycle ministry called Holy
Hoodlums. Tancy has a servant’s heart and is dedicated to our Veterans. Tancy and Rick have a
blended family of eight. Tancy is currently a Warranty Supervisor at Jostens and attends classes
at UNT with an anticipated graduation date of December 2016. Tancy her husband currently reside in Lewsiville, Texas.
Veteran’s services and benefits has always been a passion of mine, and I am so grateful to be a part of an
organization that shares my passion. I met the founders of Spirit of a Hero several years ago through my
work with the patriot rock band, Madison Rising and have been active with them ever since. I have recently
taken on the role of Secretary and am excited about the work ahead of us!
I am lucky enough to have a day job that allows me to serve our veterans as a Realtor, and have also spent
many years teaching. I think my greatest accomplishment has been creating a Veteran’s Committee at a local
school. I had the incredible privilege of watching these young minds process and nurture a true spirit of patriotism that previously was unknown to some of them and I will forever be grateful for that opportunity to
pass on a spirit of appreciation for our military and our veterans to carry on the work we do now after we
are gone.
Mike Scarlett is the owner of Scarlett Custom Homes & Remodeling located in Frisco, TX. Mike has been in the
custom home building industry for over 30 years. His interest for the industry sparked in his freshman days of
high school in 1975 where he began working for a prominent custom home builder in Laguna Beach California. Mike began working with Spirit of a Hero on the Jordan Fullmer project where he and his team of subcontractors remodeled Jordan’s home to make it more accessible to him. After the project Mike was invited
to become a Spirit of a Hero board member. Since then he has helped with our first gala as well as various o
ther events. Mike is a tremendous asset to the Spirit of a Hero board and we are blessed to have him.
Chrissy was a volunteer firefighter and EMT in her small community of Bahama, NC starting at the age of 16.
Chrissy is married to a former US Marine, Michael Hood and has two children, Olivia-5 and Brandon3. Chrissy joined the Spirit of a Hero board in November 2015, but has been involved with Spirit of a Hero
for several years. Initially, Chrissy’s involvement was as a supporter and through her company has donated a
frameless shower enclosure to each year’s recipient that reflects the specific needs of each Hero. Chrissy was
on the 2015 Spirit of a Hero Gala committee and helped to create a successful fundraising event. She is also
on the 2016 Gala committee and will continue fundraising efforts throughout the year.
With 10+ years in law enforcement and climbing the ranks to Sergeant, Natalie left law enforcement full
time and became a mother. This is where she discovered one of the most precious gifts in life, family and her
most valued role, motherhood. She often relies on one of her favorite quotes “No other success can compensate for failure in the home” to realign her priorities and keep her grounded. Fast forward several years, Natalie begins working as the National Field Fundraising Coordinator for Mothers Against Drunk Driving. During
her tenure at MADD, she learned to harness her creativity and hone her marketing , social media, and writing
skills. Now Natalie and her husband own two companies, a tactical firearms training company and a Private
Investigations and Intelligence company where she serves as the Marketing & Communications Director. Natalie’s most recent accomplishment is her role as the Volunteer Coordinator and Social Media Specialist for
Spirit fo a Hero. Although her role is fairly new, Natalie feels right at home back in the non-profit community
working for an organization and cause that is very near and dear to her heart..
Heather Garrison is a DFW native with family throughout the metroplex. She graduated from Haltom High
School then studied at TCC and Sanford Brown College. She is a medical aesthetician with over 20 years in
I was born in Utah, raised in Arizona and grew up in Texas. I graduated form the University of Arizona and
eventually attended law school at what is now called the Texas A&M School of Law. I have lived in Denton
County, Texas for 20 years. I have aggressively represented thousands of personal injury victims in a variety
of cases. I accept a variety of personal injury claims including car wrecks, truck accidents, 18-wheeler accidents, motorcycle accidents, bus crashes and construction accidents. Since 1998, thousands of Texans have trusted me to represent them with their serious legal problems. Recently, I have taken on business litigation
(plaintiff's and defense work), and landlord/tenant cases. In 2009 I ventured out into the legal world as a
sole practitioner. Reese Law Firm, PLLC was started in late 2009 and is rapidly growing into a powerful personal injury law firm focused on the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Reese Law Firm, PLLC is a boutique personal injury law firm that strives for close client relationships and has strict criteria for taking only select cases. After
signing up to 150 new cases a month, and having 30 employees at Nemeth & Reese, LLP, I became discouraged with the lack of attorney/client relationships and the overwhelming amount of staff turn-over. My goals
are client satisfaction and workplace harmony, while vigorously representing injured Texans.
As of March 2014, I have proudly served on the SPIRIT OF A HERO board of directors. I have met some great
people and have helped with a worthy cause. It’s a great honor and privilege for me to serve on the SPIRIT
OF A HERO board. I’m sure that SOAH will bring greater support and increased recognition to the heroes who
have risked their lives to defend the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
Joe is a native Dallasite who has lived and built his career in the Dallas area. After attending Jesuit College
Prep in Dallas, Joe earned a BBA from SMU in 1981. He began his career as a staff accountant in the audit
division with Ernst & Whinney shortly after graduating. After 4 promotions in 5 years at E&W, Joe worked
as Chief Financial Officer for a regional commercial real estate company and was the Director of Central
Accounting and later CFO for Trammell Crow Corporate Services, the real estate outsourcing arm of Trammell
Crow Company. Joe then joined a technology company as CFO and helped to grow sales from $3.1MM to
over $48MM. In 1994, he earned his MBA from SMU. All along the way he prepared tax returns for business
associates, friends and family. Following a brief foray into the manufacturing industry, Joe decided to implement a business plan he had developed back a SMU and open a CPA firm. After preparing 125 returns in
the inaugural year of 2003 Joe has seen his practice grow to the preparation of over 1,600 returns per
year.
Michael was born and raised in Texas, and currently lives in Denton with his three daughters. He served 5
years in the United States Navy as a Corpsman (Medic), serving in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm,
and various other military bases and hospitals including San Diego, California, Behesday, Maryland and Camp
Pendleton. After getting out of the Navy, Michael returned home and has been involved in various nonprofit organizations and Veteran's groups, and has served on the boards and created several non-profit organizations. After Rick and Tancy joined the Veteran’s motorcycle group that he is part of and after getting to
know both of them and learning about the organization they had started, Michael became a part of Spirit of
a Hero in 2012. Michael has a great amount of love and respect for our country and especially for the Veterans who have sacrifieced and served it, and he stays excited about the new opportunities to support them.
Lisa David has lived in the DFW area for over 25 years. She went to Trinity High school in Euless and currently resides in Saginaw, Texas. She has been serving as the Public Relations/Marketing board member since January 2015. She is also an active support member of the Combat Vets Motorcycle Association in Fort Worth. Lisa
also participates in many childhood cancer organizations to lend support to the families and help raise money
Born and raised in El Paso, Texas. I grew up in the Northeast part of town where I could see Fort Bliss from
across the railroad tracks. I started to like the military as a kid, I would watch the M60 tanks kick up dust
as they would drive on the tank trails at Fort Bliss.
Recently I started volunteering and offering my support to the Spirit of a Hero foundation. I like how the
foundation takes one Wounded Veteran and tries to improve His way of life. After meeting 2015 recipient,SSGT
Omar Milan, I have invited him to my home and had his family over for family events.
Our Wounded Warriors deserve the support and care from everyone! And how Spirit of a Hero reaches out to
the local communities to make this happen is excellent. It's important for me to help make decisions that impact the lives of our Wounded Warriors in a positive way.
I’m a recent transplant from Minnesota. My family has been a military family with a family member in every
war, conflict, or operation since at World War One. I believe in doing what I can to help those (and their
families) who have sacrificed so much. We are so blessed as a nation to live in America and have the rights
we do. I can never thank our combat members enough for what they have done and continue to do each
day. By being part of Spirit of a Hero, I can live the motto that Chris Kyle believed in… “It’s our duty to
serve those who serve us.”. Spirit of a Hero embodies that.