Serving Veterans

Operation Victor Echo Tango is the “dream child” of Chris Wilburn, his wife, Amy, and partner in the organization said.

The couple started OVET in 2017 as a nonprofit with the mission of providing support to veterans, including financial assistance, housing concerns, job placement, medical issues and connecting them to outside resources.

Chris is “an Army brat. He’s the only one of four kids who was born state-side,” Amy said.

She also has experience with military in the the family. Her uncle was in the Navy, another in the Army, and recently, a cousin retired from the Navy.

“While it didn’t affect me nuclearly like it did him, it was still a part of our lives,” she said.

Amy said that she and Chris saw a need in the area and wanted to fill it, to give back to veterans in their six-county coverage area, which includes Hopkins, Delta, Franklin, Hunt, Rains and Wood counties.

“The veterans play a big part in our lives. There’s not anybody who’s not touched by a veteran, but unfortunately, as a society, we tend to forget them. It shouldn’t be that way,” Amy said.

Part of OVET’s goal is to provide assistance for those needs in a respectful way and build a local community of interconnected veteran-to-veteran support.

The veterans they help, Amy said, “They have a skill set, too. … They get to pay it forward. It takes away the feeling of being a charity case. … We don’t expect our clients to give back. … Pay it forward, because someone else is going to need help. That is really one of our core values. We want to empower them, get them on a stable foundation.”

OVET has received so much support since its inception that they have grown faster than expected.

“We’ve been taking on new board members and the new life — we used to be running to chase the snowball, and now we’re running to get out of the way,” Amy said.

Theirs is the only one of its kind in the area, Amy explained. They work closely with each of the six counties’ veterans services officers, especially when the assistance needed is related to Veterans Affairs, and maintain a “symbiotic relationship” in order to provide the best support possible for individual veterans seeking assistance.

“Sometimes people don’t have months to wait for a decision [from the VA]. … In fact, a lot of our veterans, if they have not seen their VSO [Veteran Services Officer], that’s the first stop we tell them to make. They may be eligible for things we don’t even know about,” Amy said.

And the Wilburns keep OVET going through area fundraisers. No outside funding is available for what they do.

Their biggest fundraiser is the Barbecue Cook-off, which is taking place today, Saturday, Nov. 9 at Heritage Park, 416 Jackson St. north in Sulphur Springs.

This is their fourth year hosting the cook-off, and this year, all the proceeds will benefit OVET.

There are an expected 28 teams competing this year. At the 2018 event, they had 18-20 teams.

The atmosphere, Amy said, is intended to feel “kind of like a festival.” They will have clowns, face painters, a cake walk and a rock climbing wall provided by the National Guard among other activities.

Anyone not interested in eating the all-you-can-eat barbecue has the option of Mexican food, burgers and hot dogs, or barbecue sandwiches with sides from food vendors that will be on-site.

Additionally, Amy said, they expect 12-14 other area vendors to browse and shop.

Formal judging for the barbecue cook-off began this morning, and service to the public starts at 1 p.m. The public also gets to choose and cast votes for their favorite cook team.

All-you-can-eat barbecue bracelets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 years and younger. Military veterans, active duty and children under 2 years are free. Those who don’t want the barbecue can still attend for a $2 fee at the gate.

Another fundraiser currently underway is OVET’s annual pie sale, which ends Friday, Nov. 22. Order forms are available at Grocery Supply and the OVET office inside the Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce in downtown Sulphur Springs. Pie flavors available are buttermilk, chess, lemon chess, coconut chess, pumpkin and sweet potato for $10 each and pecan pie  for $20 each. Multiple pies orders may be placed.

Pies will be ready for pick-up at Atwood’s on Wednesday, Nov. 27. Other fundraisers include a bake sale and a hot dog cook-out at the beginning of the year and a barbecue lunch fundraiser a few months later. 

Their new fundraising  coordinator, Annette Wilburn, “has been brainstorming, and I know we’re going to have more fundraisers coming in the new year,” Amy said, including a possible varmint hunt.

For more information about OVET’s services, contact their office at 903-558-100 or visit their website at operationvictorecho
tango.org.