Hill County Veterans Alliance
The Hill Country Veterans Alliance is a nonprofit organization that was put together by a group of likeminded people with the common goal of helping our veterans and our community.
501(c)(3) 86-3522280
Meet Our Officers
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President
TJ Weeks, founder of organization and Army veteran
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Vice President
Jerimie Williams, Air Force veteran
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Financial Officer
Chris Ratliff, Son, and grandson of a Veteran
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Coordinator
Drew Fulk, Navy veteran
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Adjutant
Kris Weeks, co-founder of organization, veteran wife.
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Historian
Wynnett Williams, veteran mom
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Sergeant in Arms
“Doc” Matthew Meyer- Marine, Army & Navy veteran
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Co- Historian
Billy Shelton
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Co-Coordinator
Russell Hair, Air Force Veteran
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Media Offical
Halee Head, Daughter of a Veteran
WHO WE ARE
I’m TJ Weeks, President of Hill Country Veterans Alliance. In 2006 I was deployed to Iraq, where we spent 18 months fighting for our country. I was medically discharged for severe PTSD. After 8 years of trying to settle a war in my own head, I decided to try to get the gang back together again for a hoorah. It all started with a simple facebook post and I was then messaged by many individuals and companies wanting to donate and sponsor the event. After a few days of thinking about it - we are all brothers and sisters in arms - I decided to take them up on it and the search for a venue began.
During the search for a venue, I was messaged by Ron Conyer from the Priddy American Legion. We went that next day to look at it, agreed it was the best place to hold our first event, and we decided to call it Soldier’s Dinner. We never intended to make it an annual event, so we gave 100% of profits back to the legion to keep it with a Veteran nonprofit.
The event was a huge success, people were talking about it, and we even made the front page of the local newspaper. It didn’t take too many messages before we knew we needed to consider planning another one. Priddy American Legion agreed to allow us to hold the event there again. To our surprise, Soldier’s Dinner #2 was another successful event and even better than the previous year. More Veterans were in attendance as well more community members to support a good cause. By the end of the second Soldier’s Dinner, we knew we couldn’t pay out of pocket for it any longer and talked to the legion about doing a split of profits, so that we had something to build with. This was agreed upon and would help us and the Legion and was a win-win situation. We pushed forward and did the third Soldier’s Dinner, keeping it the same as before. We were quick to apply for our 501(c)(3) to become our own nonprofit with the thought of future events in addition to Soldier’s Dinner. After a few months, we got our nonprofit approval. We continued to provide support to the Legion. The Legion was the best place to begin this event and we were so grateful that they allowed us to start this journey there. Our journey has prompted us to continue supporting other local Veteran nonprofits.
It was hard managing the time and effort with just myself and my wife, so we started Hill Country Veterans Alliance. We accumulated volunteers, started our own meetings, elected officers by votes from the volunteers, and of course their approval accepting the position.
We instantly started planning to be a bigger part of the community. We started pursuing avenues we could be a part of and organizing new ones.
We joined BBQ cook-offs because it was something that brought me peace and something that I’ve always enjoyed doing. Jerimie Williams and I cooked as a team in these events. We organized a gun safety course for kids, asking Veterans to help instruct. We also got involved with parades that were held in town and some of our officers joined the Chamber of Commerce.
We decided to plan our own cook-off. It was weird being on the other side of the table, but we enjoyed getting to see the competition and handing out plaques and trophies.
As part of HCVA we also created The Helping Hero Program to help community members, not just Veterans. We donate wood for those families in need of heat over the winter, have food drives, cooked a Thanksgiving meal for the community and handed out more than 100 plates, delivering some of them to elders who couldn’t get out. We spend a lot of time helping New Horizons Ranch, working with the youth to setup bake sales, fish fries, etc., and help them raise money for summer trips. We have cooked for school functions, done public speaking at some of the schools, and put out flags at cemeteries for Memorial Day. In conjunction with other Veteran non-profit organizations, we gather donations, such as window units, refrigerators, mop sinks, display cases, stoves, and assist with paying bills and buying food.
Over the years, we have been recognized for our work for and with Veterans and the community. In order to have more opportunities to expand our organization, we are pursuing possible locations for future events to be held all in one place.
Kane Hodder, aka Jason Vorhees from the movie franchise “Friday the 13th”, has endorsed HCVA in a video. We have been in contact with numerous celebrities for additional endorsements. Although we’re not getting endorsed with funds, they’re donating their time to help spread the word of what we do. The more we are talked about, the more interest, the more donations and the more we are capable of doing for our Veterans and community.
Some large organizations only give cents on the dollar back to Veterans. 100% of HCVA donations and sponsorships go into the organization to help our Veterans and communities far and wide. There is absolutely nothing going in anyone’s pocket, no paycheck, just hard work to make everything happen.
HCVA will continue to support the community and Veterans. We plan on seeking out other endeavors to be involved in to make a difference. Our officers and volunteers are dedicated and passionate about growing our organization to benefit Veterans, our community, and those who need assistance.
Donations welcome
Members of the Goldthwaite Chamber of Commerce