OpsLens Deck of 52 Most Wanted Post 9/11 Frontline Leaders
In 2018, as a spin-off and salute to the original 2003 deck of 52 Most Wanted playing cards, let’s honor post 9/11 frontline leaders here at home. Once a week, for 52 weeks this year, OpsLens will post a card highlighting one of the 52 Most Wanted Post 9/11 Frontline Leaders. You’ll learn the top facts about their business or organization, as well as why they made the list, which comes down to impact, scalability, health and unique selling proposition.
I encourage you to look for these weekly updates, share the card with your network, and support or buy the products and services they offer. See the 52 Most Wanted Post 9/11 Frontline Leaders launch story here.
4 of Hearts | Pat Tillman Foundation
Pat Tillman
The frontline that service members step up to is often clear, recognized, and honored by our society. Yet every service member I know would immediately give credit to his or her family and friends, loved ones who must rise to another level of challenges by supporting them. These unsung heroes have transcended the ranks and become frontline leaders in their own right. And the earliest national example of this was Pat Tillman’s Gold Star family and friends. Pat was already a living legacy in 2002 when he put an all-star NFL football career on hold after the September 11 attacks and enlisted in the U.S. Army to serve his country as a Special Operations Ranger. The typical descriptors of “role model” and “leader” were simply not sufficient to describe him as a man, for both who he was and how he lived. All the more reason why his devastating death by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004, and then the military’s epic failure in disclosing the truth, broke the heart of this nation.
In their grief, his family and friends established the Pat Tillman Foundation to help carry forward his life’s story. And just like the namesake of the fallen hero it represents, the Foundation made a monumental “mission refocus” in 2008, which made it a history maker. The board of directors, led by Pat’s widow, Marie, decided their niche would be to support veterans and spouses through educational scholarships, tools, and a support network. This shift propelled it to become the country’s leading, most reputable, sought-after scholars program. Each year, for the past ten years, up to 60 new visionary Tillman Scholars are added to the community, competitively selected candidates who embody and have the potential to build upon the strength of character, academic excellence, and commitment to service that Pat was known for. Since the program’s inception, there are now more than 520 Tillman Scholars at more than 100 institutions nationwide.
Applications to become a 2018 Tillman Scholar will open Feb. 1, 2018 and close March 1, 2018 at 11:59p.m. PT.
The impact this foundation is making rises above extraordinary in how it unites and empowers remarkable active-duty service members, veterans and spouses as the next generation of public and private sector leaders committed to service beyond self.
The Pat Tillman Foundation is a frontline leader that should be on your list of most wanted organizations to support in 2018.
Frontline Leader (Founder(s)): Pat Tillman Gold Star Family & Friends.
Name of Company/Organization: Pat Tillman Foundation, founded 2004.
Location: Tempe, Arizona and Chicago, Illinois.
Post 9/11 Service Connection: Gold Star Family (U.S. Army, Ranger).
Tours of Duty: Iraq and Afghanistan.
One sentence tagline & mission statement: Unite and empower remarkable military veterans and spouses as the next generation of public and private sector leaders committed to service beyond self.
Company / organization website: https://pattillmanfoundation.org/
Pat Tillman
“Somewhere inside, we have a voice. It leads us in the direction of who we wish to become. But it is up to us whether or not to follow.” – Pat Tillman
