The Following is this week’s I AM, YOU ARE, WE ARE Honoree by Ashton Greer and Nicole Van Hyfte
“I’ve always been the type of person that when you have an idea, you take it and run with it.” Dave Hughes had an idea almost 6 years ago, and he did just that. Being a veteran after the nine years that Dave served in the United States Coastguard, he noticed that we had an epidemic in Vermilion County of young veterans taking their lives. He had this idea to pair service dogs with veterans dealing with PTSD. He took this idea to the American Legion Post 203 in Georgetown to see if they could take something like this on. They said yes, and Mission K9 Warrior was born.
The goal for the first year was to raise enough funds to train one dog. The cost for one dog is $15,000. The community rallied around the program, and they ended up raising enough for two dogs. Now, less than six years later, they have raised enough money for 18 dogs. Dave chairs the 10-person committee and continues to grow the program with big plans in the future.
Dave is always in the community making his mission known. In his spare time, he likes to woodwork and go fishing. “Vermilion County is an extremely patriotic community, and that encourages me. The folks in this county show up for us.” He recalls a story from one of the veterans who received a dog telling him that the program saved his marriage, his job, and his life. “That is the epitome of the program: to save lives and to save families.”
Dave was born and raised in Vermilion County. He lives in Georgetown with his wife, Marguerite. They have three children, Chris, Luke, and Hayley. Dave worked for Hyster-Yale for 31 years after getting out of the services. When asked why he came back to Vermilion County he said, “I wanted to get back to my family. I enjoy my hometown roots.”
Thank you, Dave, for your service, and for the support you provide to others who have served.
For more information on Mission K9 Warrior, you can visit www.amlegion203il.orgor look up “Mission K9 Warrior” on Facebook.
If you have someone you would like to share,
visit https://forms.gle/deCPiQ1cxn1pDLhZ9
or contact Ashton Greer, City of Danville agreer@cityofdanville.org or
Nicole Van Hyfte, Vermilion Advantage nvanhyfte@vermilionadvantage.com.
