Fall Vortex Program

December 5^th

Thursday, December 5, the Heroes Rising Outdoors along with EmpoweRanch held its 7th of 8 VORTEX sessions. At check-in this week, we answered our normal weekly question of how we were feeling, and the question of the day was what is something that was a thorn in the past couple of weeks for you, and what was something that was a rose for you in the past couple of weeks. This helped the participants to understand that even though there are thorns in life, there are also roses amidst them.

After check-in everyone got to go out and say hello to the horses, getting a chance to groom them if they wished. It was time for the day's activity when the grooming was finished. This is one of themost challenging activities for the participants to go through in the whole VORTEX session. We set out a line of logs, and then through nonverbal and silent communication, have to work as a team to see how many times they can lead Dancer across the logs. This really focuses on honing in on communication through hand signals and applied pressure to lead Dancer where they want her to go. There were several different times they tried this with different time increments. They were successful every time leading Dancer across the logs. The last time they were asked to set a goal of how many times they could lead Dancer across, and they ended up beating their goal! Their teamwork was awesome to watch.

December 17^th

Thursday, December 12, the Heroes Rising Outdoors along with EmpoweRanch held its final VORTEX session for the fall class. We had our end of the program potluck BBQ, so before check-in we were able to stuff ourselves with some amazing food. We had a special guest with us as one of our volunteer’s dad, Mr. Mike, played the banjo and sang for us as we ate.

At check-in, we had our weekly question of how we were feeling, and the question of the week was what will you take away from this VORTEX session and what will you leave behind from this VORTEX session. It was really cool to hear some of the answers that followed. Although a smaller group for our fall session, this has been a really good one.

Our final activity we had the veterans and volunteers set up an obstacle course together. Then each participant got a chance to lead horses through it. Each person was able to get the horsesthrough the obstacle course perfectly. We then presented each participant with a certificate of completion for the course. We would like to thank the volunteers for this program and participants alike for being able to commit to the entire 8-week program. Lasting friendships were strengthened and formed, and new members of the AES/EmpoweRanch family were added.

We have a spring VORTEX session starting in February and running through March. If you are interested, please contact me at russj@arizonaelksociety.org for more information.

New HRO Opportunities

Our Heroes Rising Outdoors Program is growing exponentially, and we would like to let you know about some of the upcoming opportunities that we have in the near future. We are excited about the rapid growth that this program is having, and we look forward to be able to offer even more programs to our veterans in the near future.

Each class and trip that we put on are limited to the first 8 veterans to commit. The reason we limit our class size is because of the size of our conference room and so that we can maintain a good student to instructor ratio. This will give our veterans a better learning experience overall.

February 28, 2025  we will be holding our 1st annual HRO Fundraiser Golf Tournament. All proceeds will go to the Heroes Rising Outdoors program.

If you are interested in any of these events, please contact russj@arizonaelksociety.org for more information.

New Volunteer Incentive Program

Starting on  January 1, 2024 we are implemented a Volunteer Incentive Program! This is how it works. For every hour of volunteer time that you put in, you will receive 1 volunteer token (these will not be physical tokens, but virtual tokens). Each token received will allow you one entry into a monthly raffle. The drawings for these raffles will be held on the 1st of every month. (Example: You volunteered 20 hours in December, so you have 20 tokens that will give you 20 entries into January 1st volunteer raffle) The goal will be to have the drawing on the 1st of the month or the closest business day following the 1st. The prizes will vary and the winner will be notified by email and/or phone.

We would love for you to take part in some of our projects this summer. We camp 2 nights, feed you all weekend, and have a great time working and relaxing at camp together. We have something for everyone to do at these projects. Not everything is manual labor. We have camp cook opportunities, driving a ranger to make sure everyone is staying hydrated, and much more. If interested, please email russj@arizonaelksociety.org.

Upcoming Events & Volunteer Needs 

Would you like to help conserve Arizona's elk population and protect their habitats? 

Do you believe in leaving a long-lasting outdoor legacy for future generations? 

If yes, then you can make a difference by joining the Arizona Elk Society today!

As a member, you will be supporting AES's four core initiatives: Habitat Projects, Youth Education, Water for Arizona's Wildlife and Heroes Rising Outdoors. 

Our youth programs aim to educate and inspire the next generation to become conservationists. We also work towards improving and safeguarding elk habitats across Arizona through our habitat restoration projects. Our Heroes Rising Outdoors initiative provides outdoor experiences to Arizona's wounded veterans and our "Water for Arizona's Wildlife" initiative ensures that elk and other wildlife have access to dependable water sources.

Your membership helps us in implementing these vital initiatives!     Join