This segment is a Veteran Focused talk show that showcases individuals and companies in the community and is focused on Veteran leadership, service, stories and transition. Our Veteran host highlights other Veterans who serve, have served and who are doing great things in their business and in their community. Today our host, Chris Budihas, spoke with Maggie Beckerman.
Maggie Beckerman
Vice-President & Trainer at K-9Line, Inc.
Website Address: https://k9line.org
Short company description:
K-9 Line, Inc. provides free, self-paced service dog training for Veterans of any era, Gold Star Family Members, and U.S. Military Contractors. We provide our Warriors with necessary gear, training materials, and additional resources to train their own qualifying dog—or one provided through our partner programs—starting on Day 1 to build a strong, unified team.
Warriors receive in-depth education in ADA laws and Florida statutes, K9 First Aid/CPR, Public Access/CGC, and disability-specific task training. As lifelong members of the K-9 Line, Inc. family, participants receive ongoing assistance and resources.
What’s one thing we should know that makes your company unique?
We allow our applicants to utilize their own dog, if they qualify. Moving forward, we train the applicant to train their own dog, providing classes, tools, and sessions to ensure they get indepth education and one on one training. K-9Line, Inc. stays with the K9 team after graduation. They are provided with any assitance needed, per our CEO, forever being a part of the K-Line, Inc. family.
How do you define success?
Its continual. As you learn and grow, success is always changing. Allow mistakes and errors, for those are the true learning curves to point in the correct direction.
How did you get started in your field of work?
In 2017 I entered in the K-9Line, Inc. prorgam, as an applicant. I have been able to excell and grow with the foundation this Organization provided me.
What was the most impactful moment of your transition out of the military?
Working with K-9Line, Inc. from the ground up, I entered their program, graduted with my service dog, then the CEO, Sharon Lowe asked me to be a permanent addition to the K-9 Line, Family. Being able to assist other combat veterans battling their own deomons that linger with them after their military discharge, they can finally see the light. K-9 Line, Inc. has been a 9Line for so many veterans, I know it has been for me.
Transcript:
Chris:
Welcome to the Five Minute Salute. I’m your host, Chris Brutus. Today’s segment is sponsored by the Military Affairs and Veterans Department of the City of Jacksonville. Harrison Connors and his team squared away our veterans with the military benefits they earned through their service.
Talking about veterans, I have Maggie Beckerman with K9 Line. Maggie, good morning. How are you?
Maggie:
Good morning, Chris. Well, well, thanks for taking time.
Chris:
Hey, a little bit of background for our audience on you. Where are you originally from and what did you do in the military?
Maggie:
So I’m a Florida native, and I was a supply specialist at Norman. Oh, God bless you. And then, where did you serve at? I first served at Fort Stewart. And then I deployed with them to Kuwait. After that, I went over to Fort Campbell, went to Afghanistan, and then I went to the 22nd.
Chris:
Okay. Well hey, Maggie, thanks for your service to the nation. Obviously, that we can do this here today. So let’s talk about K9 Line. What is K9 Line and what’s the mission? What do you do?
Maggie:
I’m so glad you asked. So K9 Line is a nonprofit that provides free service dog training for veterans and various military contractors, helping them train their own dog to qualify them for service dog certification. We provide them with the resources they need for training and any other solutions. K9 Line was the first in the Florida sector. Really, it’s about learning how to service dog train and what’s involved.
Chris:
That’s amazing. So I’ve got to imagine, what’s the typical pipeline? I know it’s probably owner and dog dependent, but what’s the typical timeline it takes to do such a certification?
Maggie:
Because we have a selflessness program, we normally see people between six months to a year. Mind you, we have different types of disabilities we’re tending to. You have mobility disabilities, you have PTSD disabilities. For someone who’s never experienced it before, it’s going to take some time to learn that, build confidence, and understand what they’re doing and walking through the program, while also doing their life’s work, either going to school, working their job, or being a parent.
Chris:
That’s awesome. So what was the origin story for creating the nonprofit?
Maggie:
So we started off with a service member who ended up having a disability. He went to a program, went through all the schooling, bringing the bells and whistles. But unfortunately, when it was his time, they weren’t able to accommodate his disability. This organization was created because there’s a huge need for veterans and military contractors and their staff members for service dog needs everywhere.
As we grow older and learn more medically, you see that everyone wants to get in, but there’s a two-year wait or a three-year wait. So we wanted to make that quicker and more accessible to those able to do the program.
Chris:
That’s amazing. What’s the typical cost to the veteran to do this program?
Maggie:
For the veteran, we provide everything free. The training is free. The training materials are free. The resources are free.
Chris:
I love that price. Being from Middleburg, that was always my favorite price growing up.
As we talk nonprofit to the community at large, time, treasure, and talent come up. How can people help with their time, treasure, and talent to help with your mission?
Maggie:
Being honest and understanding we’re a smaller organization, every organization starts small and needs nurturing. If there are people who truly believe in the mission, we just want to help veterans and provide that quality of life.
Chris:
That’s great. What’s the demand signal right now? What’s the backlog for people who want to go through your program or an adjacent program?
Maggie:
There’s such a high demand. There are different routes you can go about getting a service dog. Our program trains for the greatest singular program, or you can have a dog that’s right for you. There are so many different avenues. But having the ability to wake up every day, have your own mission, and focus on your dog and your tasks, we notice people are coming back to life. They want to return to society, be part of their community and families, and enjoy life because they have patience with their family members. They’re tired. So we allow them to know they’re not alone.
Chris:
Is there one case that stands out to you?
Maggie:
Yes. For privacy, I won’t say names. This person came to us in urgency. Our program kicked in immediately. I gave them a call and reached out to our resources and network. Our president had a dog for them within a few weeks, which is quicker than we normally see. Not only did that person start leaving their home, they started participating in the community. They’re now going to college and are so happy. Seeing somebody enjoy life again—that’s a win. There are no words.
Chris:
Absolutely. So Maggie, how can people find K9 Line?
Maggie:
They can go to www.k9line.org and check us out. We’re also on Facebook. If you’d like to email us, you can go to [email protected] and our CEO will delegate whoever to answer those questions so people can have open communication and we can start doing something together.
Chris:
Well Maggie, thanks for taking time. I’ll put all that contact information in our show notes. Connect with Maggie and myself on social media, and take a look at their website. If you have time, treasure, or talent, be gracious and give back to our nation’s warriors and their caretakers. This is a righteous mission.
Thanks for your service to the nation and for what you’re doing for our veteran community. We appreciate it.
Maggie:
Chris, thank you so much for having me. I appreciate this opportunity and look forward to more.
Chris:
Absolutely. Folks, connect with Maggie and myself. Take a look at K9 Line and our show notes. What a great opportunity to help out our veterans and their caretakers. As Maggie stated, someone who didn’t want to leave their home is now a contributing member of their community. That’s huge.
We’ll see you next segment and live with gratitude.
The Daily News Network, Buzz Tv News, and DAILYBIZBRIEF highlight business professionals, nonprofits, veterans and community leaders on over 40 TV Segments including The Horse’s Mouth, Legacy of Leaders TV, Veterans Buzz TV, Finding Your Frequency, and Buzzworthy Businesses.
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