BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID:-//github.com/ical-org/ical.net//NONSGML ical.net 5.1.4//EN VERSION:2.0 BEGIN:VEVENT DESCRIPTION:Speaker:  SSG Logan Hilgers\, ARNG (ret.)\, Community Outreac h Coordinator Title and Organization:  Growing Veterans Topic:  Growin g Veterans: Connect\, Grow\, Heal Organization Bio: Growing Veterans was f ounded by a combat-wounded USMC veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan\, Christop her Brown\, and a former mental health counselor turned farmer\, Christina Wolf. Together\, they agreed that using the farm as the catalyst for huma n connection and veteran reintegration could have a powerful impact on the health and well-being of not only vets returning home\, but the world. Th ey were crazy enough to believe it could happen\, and just smart enough to pull it off. 13 years later\, Growing Veterans is still connecting\, grow ing\, and healing veterans and volunteers with two farms. Our farms are lo cated in Lynden\, WA and Greenbank\, WA. Over 90% of our organically grown produce is donated to local food banks\, fighting food scarcity within ou r communities. Growing Veterans' mission is to empower veterans and volunt eers to cultivate purpose and belonging by growing food\, community\, and each other. The vision is to end isolation that leads to suicide. You don' t have to be a veteran to get involved\; no experience needed\, just a des ire to connect\, heal\, and grow. We believe everything we need to accompl ish this vision can be found within a healthy\, cohesive community. Person al Bio: Logan was raised in Central Wisconsin and enlisted shortly after S eptember 11th\, 2001. Logan served 2002-2022 as both an Artilleryman and a Food Supply Specialist. During his time in the National Guard\, he was de ployed to Iraq twice\, activated for the Operation Jumpstart Border Missio n\, Hurricane Irma recovery mission\, the Seattle Protests\, and a COVID r elief mission. He firmly believes in helping all in need with compassion a nd an open mind. Even though he retired from the uniformed services over t hree years ago\, he continues to serve the communities in his life. During his time in the ARNG\, he earned an Associate's in Nutrition from Glendal e Community College and a Bachelor's in Special and Elementary Education f rom Northern Arizona University. After spending 10 years as a special educ ation teacher\, he started working with Growing Veterans in October of 202 4. He is a proud father of his two-year-old son\, Floyd\, and a devoted hu sband to his wife\, Nicole. His self-healing mission is to offer his best to his family day in and day out. DTEND:20250714T203000Z DTSTAMP:20261021T101909Z DTSTART:20250714T190000Z LOCATION:WCC Phyllis & Charles Self Learning Commons Center Room 160 SEQUENCE:1 SUMMARY:SSG Logan A. Hilgers ARNG (Retired) UID:bd30fb4b-8ac3-4f9d-b957-0bfe586b0bf4 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

Speaker: \; \;SSG Logan Hilgers\, ARNG (ret.)\, Community Outreach Coordinator

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Title and Organization: \; \;Growing Veterans

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Topic: \; \;Growing Veterans: Connect\, Grow\ , Heal

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Organization Bio:

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Growing Vete rans was founded by a combat-wounded USMC veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan\ , Christopher Brown\, and a former mental health counselor turned farmer\, Christina Wolf. Together\, they agreed that using the farm as the catalys t for human connection and veteran reintegration could have a powerful imp act on the health and well-being of not only vets returning home\, but the world. They were crazy enough to believe it could happen\, and just smart enough to pull it off.

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13 years later\, Growing Veterans is sti ll connecting\, growing\, and healing veterans and volunteers with two far ms. Our farms are located in Lynden\, WA and Greenbank\, WA. Over 90% of o ur organically grown produce is donated to local food banks\, fighting foo d scarcity within our communities.

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Growing Veterans'\; missio n is to empower veterans and volunteers to cultivate purpose and belonging by growing food\, community\, and each other. The vision is to end isolat ion that leads to suicide. You don'\;t have to be a veteran to get invo lved\; no experience needed\, just a desire to connect\, heal\, and grow. We believe everything we need to accomplish this vision can be found withi n a healthy\, cohesive community.

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Personal Bio:

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Logan was raised in Central Wisconsin and enlisted shortly afte r September 11th\, 2001. Logan served 2002-2022 as both an Artilleryman an d a Food Supply Specialist. During his time in the National Guard\, he was deployed to Iraq twice\, activated for the Operation Jumpstart Border Mis sion\, Hurricane Irma recovery mission\, the Seattle Protests\, and a COVI D relief mission. He firmly believes in helping all in need with compassio n and an open mind. Even though he retired from the uniformed services ove r three years ago\, he continues to serve the communities in his life. Dur ing his time in the ARNG\, he earned an Associate'\;s in Nutrition from Glendale Community College and a Bachelor'\;s in Special and Elementar y Education from Northern Arizona University. After spending 10 years as a special education teacher\, he started working with Growing Veterans in O ctober of 2024. He is a proud father of his two-year-old son\, Floyd\, and a devoted husband to his wife\, Nicole. His self-healing mission is to of fer his best to his family day in and day out.

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