By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
U.S. Army veteran Lucas Goddard recognized his time outdoors after his tour helped him recover from the stress of his military service.
A Sitkan, he felt strongly that time in the Alaska wilderness would offer a similar benefit to other veterans and first responders, but he knew not many could swing the high cost of a trip to Alaska.
“We just decided why not start a nonprofit, to bring veterans up here to get in touch with nature, have some healing through nature,” Goddard said. “Live in the moment – not worried about the past, not worried about the future.”
Attending a Waypoint for Veterans picnic at the Halibut Point Recreation Area earlier this summer are, from left, Lucas Goddard, Mark Winter, Michael Standridge, Troy Wingard, Jason Whitmire, Vince Winter, Karl Okerlund, Christopher Durante and Dave Gilbert. (Sentinel Photo)
To that end, he and his wife Mary founded a nonprofit called Waypoint for Veterans, which ran its first programs this summer.
One was a trip to Sitka for a group of four veterans and first responders. They went kayaking, fishing and hiking in the Southeast Alaska outdoors, and had time together over campfires. The other was a trip to Sitka as a getaway for a veteran and his family.
It was a bit of a trial run, but Goddard said the feedback showed that both trips were successful. They plan to make next year’s experiences even better.
Lucas Goddard said the idea for the new 501(c)3 came from the reunions he and his fellow veterans would have every few years, and he realized how important it was to spend time with other veterans with similar experiences and to have time to relax. A trip to Alaska was planned for 2018, but some of the group had to cancel when they found how much it would cost.
Goddard and his wife Mary started working to form the nonprofit, put plans in motion for raising funds, applied for grants, and sought donations from community members, other nonprofits and businesses.
Trips were planned for Sitka for 2020 and 2021, but both were canceled because of the pandemic.
After his time in the Army Goddard noticed how much time he spent in the woods, and the time it offered him for solitude and reflection. He loved serving as a kayak guide, and being outdoors in general, and thought about his fellow veterans and those serving in the emergency response fields.
“When I’m up here I’m always in the woods,” he said. “I feel like there’s a healing aspect. ... If they’ve seen combat or worked as an EMT or firefighter, they’re probably dealing with something they’re struggling with. When you’re outside you’re taking in what’s around you, what you can be thankful for. Especially people with families – being thankful and not taking it for granted. I think it’s a great thing for people to go into the outdoors and get grounded, to realize surroundings but not be on alert.”
The Goddards were pleased to see their project come to fruition this summer.
The four men on the camping trip to the Tom Young cabin at Goddard were veterans, and two were also first responders.
Local veteran Dave Gilbert was the co-leader of the trip, and the group went fishing with Jeremy Downie. They went hiking and kayaking and visited the hot springs. Food was donated by Sea Mart. When they returned to town they hiked Beaver Lake trail, and capped the trip off with a first-responders picnic at Halibut Point Recreation Area, sponsored by AC Lakeside.
“One of the most healing things on a trip is time you spend with other veterans, around a campfire and being in the woods,” Lucas said.
The family of four on the second trip spent time at the beach and had excursions to the Sitka Sound Science Center and the Alaska Raptor Center, and stayed at Camp Starlight. They enjoyed a Whale’s Song Expeditions tour where they saw orcas and humpbacks, a treat for the 3- and 5-year-old kids as well as the parents, Lucas said. The Goddards and the visitors had a venison burger cookout together.
“It’s important to do stuff for the families because they see the brunt (of stressful service) as well,” Lucas said.
“It’s really about being outdoors and connecting with people with similar experiences,” Mary said.
The more he and Mary thought about it, the more they could see how the program could benefit people with post-traumatic stress from their military service or as emergency first responders.
Goddard, 41, was born and raised in Sitka. Of Tlingit and Aleut descent, he grew up enjoying the outdoors, including fishing, boating, hunting and hiking. He graduated from Sitka High School in 2000, and enlisted in the U.S. Army the same year. His goal was to serve as a ranger. He completed basic training and ranger school at Fort Benning, Georgia.
“When I started Ranger school, 9-11 happened,” he said. He served with the 2nd platoon, “Marauders” B Company, 3/327 Infantry, 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
He was deployed to Iraq in 2003, traveling in helicopters from southern to northern Iraq, and was in Mosul his last eight months. He got out of the Army in 2004 and served a year in the National Guard.
He moved back to Sitka, spent a semester at college in Juneau, cooked in the Virgin Islands, and lived in Portland, Oregon, to train in restaurant management at Le Cordon Bleu culinary institute. After moving back to Sitka, he met Mary, and worked with her in the restaurant business. Lucas also worked for the Baranof Island Housing Authority, where he has served as the housing manager, consultant and project manager. He and his wife have a son, Ryker, 6.
Lucas and Mary said they used word of mouth for the programs in the first year, but plan to advertise the program more broadly in future years. While Lucas feels there is a great need to offer the trips to veterans and emergency responders, both he and Mary see opportunities to expand on the concept to offer outdoor experiences to others as part of a healing process.
Lucas said he hopes the trips this summer have a lasting healing effect on the participants, and thinks they have.
One veteran, Jason Whitmire, cited “foraging for wild berries” as a highlight, as well as fishing with Downie, and spending time with fellow veterans.
“I had never met any of these men before and now I feel like I have friends for life,” he wrote in a short survey about Adventure Week. “I feel as close to them as some of the guys I served with. From pizza at the brewery, shopping for gifts, the tubs, kayaking – it was never awkward. It was a joy just being around the men I was around. We are already planning trips that will bring us back together.”
Michael Higgenbottom, an Army veteran from Los Angeles, had an “amazing, life-changing experience” with his family – his wife, Tiffany, their 3-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter..
“It’s the first time my family have been able to go on vacation,” he told the Sentinel today. “To have the experience together was life-changing. It was great for the kids to experience something different: seeing the bears, eagles, whales – we got to see both orcas and humbpack whales.”
Back home, Higgenbottom is in a family of actors, and is a sales account manager. He said the trip was a welcome break from their lives in L.A., and he and his family continue to think about their time here, and hope to come back again. He’s looking forward to promoting the work of Waypoint for Veterans through an upcoming company newsletter and live event.
The website for information or to make donations is waypointforveterans.com
