Today we’d like to introduce you to Johnathan Weiland.
Hi Johnathan, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In 2012 Tim Weiland, my father, saw a need for his brothers and sisters in arms. As a US Marine, and a man of action, he knew he needed to do something to help them from giving in to the darkness that envelops us from time to time. Tim founded Texas Hunters For Heroes to help fellow veterans recalibrate their minds to hunting to put food on the table and be one with nature, while experiencing camaraderie and support from like-minded individuals. Rather than that which we were trained to do.
Once established, a larger nonprofit recognized the work being done and offered to bring us under their umbrella for more visibility and partnership. This led to changing the name to Support Operations Services (S.O.S.) In 2024 my father announced that he would be stepping down. For years I had been working with S.O.S. and believed in the mission. I chose to step in and take on the responsibility of running S.O.S.. However, I believed we could make it on our own and separated from the larger nonprofit and established our individuals 501(c)(3). We kept the principals, mission, and goals, but we expanded our reach to encompass not only veterans, but first responders as well. There are so many warriors out there who provide support and safety for us, we believe it’s important to support them as well.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As smooth as a helicopter ride with random wind gusts.
One of the benefits of functioning under the umbrella of a larger organizations is having the visibility and financial support.
Since stepping out as an individual 501(c)(3), gaining the community awareness and support has been slow going. We are 100% volunteer and only have a handful of individuals contributing their time and efforts to run the organization and create these events for our warriors.
Another challenge has been ensuring we have the right people who also believe in the mission and want to contribute their time and efforts for the right reasons.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Growing up I saw the dedication and purpose in my father as a US Marine, I knew that serving for my country would be my first step after high school. I was an ordnance specialist and helped ensure our troops and pilots would be able to defend themselves when they went out on missions.
After serving in the Marine Corps, I taught middle school for a few years.
Now I am working on base, the president of this amazing organization, and a mechanic outside of work to help those in need of repairs on their vehicles.
Service has always been a part of my identity, and I foresee always finding a way to contribute to my community and brothers and sisters no matter where I’m at in life.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Network and pace yourself!
You never know whether or not who you run into and introduce yourself to will be the next big supporter of the mission. Talk to everyone, share the mission, share the experiences, and share the passion.
Do not put the cart before the horse. There will be ideas and goals that you’ll want to achieve, but you just aren’t quite there yet. We put on a banquet our first year as an individual organization, we had less than 30 attendees. It was still a wonderful experience and we helped a few police officers. But our reach had not grown enough to facilitate an event of that size or nature yet.
Pricing:
- The veterans and first responders that attend our events do so at no cost to them
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.supportoperationssercives.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1DDaVCRhSo/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/support-operations-services-2025/
