Mitch Holland
My name is Mitchell W. Holland and I am president of Pineywoods Service Association.
I am married to my wife Paula Holland and have two beautiful children.
I live in Nacogdoches, TX and I am a business owner of Infinity Commercial.
I have had many family member who have served this great country in the armed forces, I however never had the honor of doing so myself. I deeply respect those who have served this country and believe they should be honored! PWSA gives me a way to do just that, to give back to those who have given so much of themselves.
I became tired of watching other organizations taking 50-70 percent of everything for themselves, so I decided to start our own 501c3 non-profit. None of our board members receive any compensation for what we do, 100 percent of everything goes back to our nations hero’s.
As long as I am apart of PWSA you have my word it will stay that way.
Gratefully,
Mitch W. Holland
Cody Hammer
Technical Advisor
In September 2001 I had a job on campus running the gym for the 0400-0800 crowd. After I closed the gym I walked to my dorm on a quiet campus. My room mate had the TV on. He usually slept till right before class; I looked at the screen and I saw one of the Towers already smoking from what the announcer could only assume was an airplane of some sort. She was conjecturing about how such a thing could happen. Then I nearly screamed as I saw the second plane plow into the other tower. I grew up in a family full of Service members and veterans. Vietnam Infantry, Long Range Reconnaissance during Bush’s war on drugs, Naval Radio operators and Black Hawk pilots, my younger brother was in a STA platoon already. My own Dad was a Sgt in the 82nd Airborne when he was wounded by a grenade in Vietnam. WWII, Vietnam, Korea, and OIF/OEF. I knew what I wanted. I also thought that based on the type of people I knew were in the service, that this war would end before I could sign up. So I decided to finish my degree before I enlisted as a Rifleman in the United States Marine Corps. Who could have known that war would last long enough that the next generation of my family would have the occasion to serve in the same battlefields as myself?
I served in Barwanah Iraq, on the banks of the Euphrates in a Mobil Assault Platoon, then again in Marjeh, Afghanistan as part of the Surge. When I got home I realized I was ready to move onto something else. I eventually found myself working for the US Army in the Corps of Engineers as a GIS Specialist. I did not know at the time that I needed to be around other Veterans. There were several Veterans that I met in the job who introduced me to members of the Pineywoods Service Association. The US Army Corps of Engineers has as one of its main missions the expectation to support America’s War Fighters. At times that means after the fight has subsided. So I have always received nothing but support from my various supervisors and managers as I volunteer my time to help make sure that PWSA and USACE have clear and swift communications. In the 10 or so years I’ve been able to volunteer with these events, I’ve had the opportunity to spend time with a variety of other Veterans. I’ve sat with a Korean War Navy Vet., a Vietnam Vet. who served in the Brown Water Navy on a river gun boat, and I helped a OIF/OEF Marine Sniper attract and harvest his first buck as we hunted from before sunrise to almost the end of legal shooting light. On one memorable hunt, I acted as a safety officer for an OIF/OEF female Marine as she helped reduce a population of wild hogs near Orange, Texas with a night vision scope. I have seen PWSA serve veterans and service members from each branch. I have seen many Veterans come through this program and I can say that all of them are impacted by the experience. Some more than others, but it comes back to the reason the PWSA came into existence in the first place. They want to give back to the people who have given of themselves for our country. It’s not the same as crossing the LOD with your squad, but there has been a common thread amongst all of these experiences. Brotherhood, Service and Patriotism. I was taught that Mission Accomplishment comes before Troop Welfare. It’s nice to have a mission that is about troop welfare.
Cody Hammer
Pineywoods Regional / GIS Specialist / Fort Worth District
Rex Williams
My name is Rex Dwayne Williams,
I’m married with three children and 8 grandchildren, we live in Garrison TX on a small family farm.
During the course of my life, I regret not joining the armed services as my father and my son did. My father served in Germany as a tank commander in the C Company, 33 Armor, 3rd Armored Division.
My son served in the Marine Corps, and was a founding member of MARSOC.
Our love for God and country runs deep in our family and for me to be able to serve our Veterans as one of the founding members of the Pineywoods Service Association is an honor and privilege.
Through our events and projects we are able to give back to those that have given so much to this great Country.
Sincerely, Rex Williams
Joe Brittain
My name is Joseph Brittain,
I am married to Tracye Brittain, we have three children and four grandchildren and live in Appleby, Texas. I am an employee of Exxon Mobil for 28 years.
My father was a WWII Veteran and served in the Philippines with the Texas National Guard. My youngest son served two tours in the Helmand province in Afghanistan with the U.S. Marine Corps.
I never joined the military myself. As a child of the 60’s and 70’s, I grew up watching the Vietnam war on the six o’clock news and the draft lottery for my older brothers. The Vietnam war was over when I graduated high school. I got married, went to trade school and the on to the oil field.
I asked my son when he volunteers for the marines why he was doing it. He told me it was something he felt like he had to do. It is the courage and character of the young men and women like him who serve this country and make sacrifices that I never had to make that keep this country strong. It’s also the reason that I felt compelled to join my friends in creating the PWSA and in some small way, to show our appreciation and gratitude for their service and sacrifices.
I feel proud and privileged to be a part of an organization whose only purpose is to serve those who have served for us.
Greg DeRouen
My name is Greg DeRouen and I’m a lifelong resident of Lumberton, Texas.
I have worked for Lower Neches Valley Authority (LNVA) in South East Texas for the past 10 years. In 2016, Terry Corbett, a co-worker at LNVA, asked my if I would be interested in cooking a meal for selected veterans at the gator hunt held at B.A. Steinhagen Lake. Since that time, I, along with my sister, Debbie Robinson, and brother-in-law, John Robinson, have been a part of every Pineywoods Service Association event in some way.
This giving organization has allowed me to combine my love for the outdoors with the honor of helping the nation’s bravest citizens. Although not a veteran myself, I have the utmost respect for those that have served. My favorite part of every encounter is the camaraderie and the fellowship between us all.
Veterans are symbolic of what makes this a great nation to live in, and we must never forget their sacrifices for our freedom.
John Robinson
My name is John Robinson,
I’m 67 years old, and married to my wife, Debra. We have two sons, Justin and Derick; and have five grandchildren. I live in Lumberton, Texas and work for a general contractor as a Project Superintendent in the Beaumont area.
I was invited to volunteer at the 2016 gator hunt and have been to every event since then. PWSA provides a wonderful service to the women and men who served our country, and I am proud to be a part of that.
John McIntosh
My name is John McIntosh,
I am a Veteran, retired from Army Special Forces after 25 years of service. I became involved with the Pineywoods Service Association (PWSA) in 2020 when a friend of mine, who is also a member of the association, invited me to attend a PWSA deer hunt that year. After that weekend, I was immediately impressed with the group’s mission, and I volunteered to help the PWSA in the future. Two years later, I was honored to be invited onto the Board of Directors.
I am also a retired paramedic from the city of Austin, where in addition to my medical duties, I served as a training officer, instructor, and technical rescue specialist with Texas Taskforce-1. I am an Aggie from the class of ’87, and despite having studied mechanical engineering; I have found that public service has been my calling.
The PWSA has provided the community with service to veterans, both young and old for years. I am blessed to have found such a bunch of good people and to support this mission. I feel that as an old soldier, it is my honor and privilege to support veterans, and through the PWSA, to support the good people in the community who feel this way also.
Shane Iverson
My name is MSG(Ret) Shane (Ivy) Iversen.
My career in the service of our great country spans 27 years and began as a United States Marine and ended as a US Army Special Forces soldier. I served in Desert Shield/Storm as well The Global War on Terrorism. I worked overseas with several different government agencies and retired in 2015. My position with the PWSA is the Veteran Liaison Officer. My job is to see that any needs you may need during the hunt are met and to facilitate a safe space for our veterans to be themselves and share their experiences among their fellow hunter veterans.
Our association is geared to show a sincere appreciation for our veteran’s services to our nation and our communities through heartfelt deeds of respect and support to our guests. You and your wellbeing are of a paramount interest to every one of our board members as well as the volunteers that work to make these events happen. We hope that as one of our veterans you walk away from us knowing that there are folks out there that support you wherever you are in your transition process. We are here not just to support you in a single event, but to provide each of our veteran guests with a sense that there is a support network available to each of you should you need us.
God bless you for your service and the sacrifices made by ear of you and your families as you went fourth into the often unknown for all of us here at home.