In early April, WTA partner Ruff Tuff Products sent a team to Moab, Utah, to install custom seat covers in one pickup, a car, and three UTVs for two organizations which exist to help veterans.
Snow fell that morning in greater Salt Lake City as the team set out in beautiful Spanish Fork Canyon in the Wasatch Mountains. But soon the clouds turned to sunshine and the snowy roads cleared, and the red rock cliffs around Moab came into view.
In Moab they met Dave and Sue Frey, founders of Veterans Charity Ride and AdventureVet.
The region’s solitude and unique natural beauty are therapy for the veterans who make the trek to Moab, says Dave Frey, who has run VCR and AdventureVet since 2014.
“We have this incredible scenery and … wide open spaces. So that helps provide that therapeutic environment,” he explains. “We came up with an idea to offer Motorcycle Therapy and recreational therapy for amputees and severely wounded combat veterans to get them back up to life and living again.”
Veterans Charity Ride takes a group of 15-20 combat veterans each year on a motorcycle ride from Moab to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. AdventureVet is a smaller operation. It hosts between six and eight veterans at a time. These squads take excursions in the Utah desert, where the natural setting encourages talk about life and its struggles among the squad and their mentors.
“We bring in … mentors that have been through the program, and those guys help the new guys with their issues and just understanding that life is worth living,” says Frey.
The Ruff Tuff team was not only graced with the spectacular backdrop of the monumental red cliffs, but also enjoyed meeting a squad of AdventureVet participants from Texas. Dave Frey told them the secret to the therapeutic portion of AdventureVet is how much emphasis is put on having a fun time and enjoying life, and how little is put on talking about problems.
“There’s nobody running around with a clipboard in a white lab coat, or analyzing anybody,” Frey says. “Let’s just get together, and let’s loosen up, get out in the environment. And that right there creates a phenomenon that allows the guys to open up a little bit more.”
“What Dave and Sue do for veterans resonates with us,” said Davina Spencer, an owner of Ruff Tuff. “Veterans have been part of the Ruff Tuff family since our founding in 1976, and we look for ways to reach out to veterans and help them. We were honored to spend a day here.”
Ruff Tuff is a family-owned company in West Valley City, Utah, which manufactures American’s Finest Custom Seat Covers™ for cars, trucks, SUVs, and UTVs. Every stitch of every seat cover is sewn in the USA.
To donate to Veterans Charity Ride or AdventureVet, visit veteranscharityride.org or adventurevet.org
