This episode focuses on a conversation with Chief Executive Officer of Operation Gratitude and Retired Marine Corps Officer Kevin Schmiegel. Sherman Gillums interviews Schmiegel, examining his choice to serve our country, highlighting the characteristics of great leadership, and sharing what gratitude and service means to him. The episode dives into Schmiegel’s personal connections in regard to his mentors, his family’s choices to serve in different generations, and his call to continue to serve in a non-profit role. 

Schmiegel shares insight into the importance of actions and words like the ones President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said in this famous quote “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.” He and fellow podcast colleague, Sherman Gillums, Jr. discuss the fears of Americans today, what it takes to find the courage to serve, stories of heroes that were affected by those who give back and how the nation can unite in solidarity of service to bridge any divides and make an impact.