The Birth of The Lost Vets Rescue

Hello! My name is Willie Franklin. I am the founder of The Lost Vets Rescue. In 2016 I lost a great friend and band member. His name was Kent Bilbrey. Kent was an Air Force veteran. He was one of the most patriotic men I have ever met. Kent started getting sick in early 2016 and was seeking treatment anywhere he could get in. Doctors were treating him for acid reflux with Zantac.  We were to play a show together in Wears valley Tn. Kent didn’t show.  Later that day I got a call that Kent was found deceased on his couch. This really floored me. He wasn’t overweight! He had nothing that would suggest that he had anything life threatening going on. As we were at the memorial service, I spoke with his brother who said that the coroner told him that a simple $15.00 prescription of Lasix would have saved Kent's life! Today we rescue veterans in the memory of my friend Kent! Because of Kents life and his death we have helped over 500 veterans get the help they deserve. Please continue to pray for us and for the American Veteran who is homeless or in crisis! Thank you everyone for your continued support! -Willie Franklin

Rick Dramm is the Founder of the Conservative Club of Tellico which started 3 1/2 years ago with only 5 members and today has a membership of over 1600 Patriots.

Rick has always believed in doing everything possible to help the great men and women who served our nation so bravely in the military. Additionally, he said that his mission in life is to bring glory to Jesus Christ, his Savior and King and give God all praise. Rick's grandfather was a commercial rose grower and he followed in the footsteps of his family as President and CEO of Koehler and Dramm Wholesale Florist in Minneapolis before moving to Henderson, NV. and engaging as a successful real estate entrepreneur. Rick retired to Tennessee in 2020. 

He enjoys golf and musky fishing.

Sharon presently resides in Greenback, TN. Retired from Rooms To Go Furniture as Florida State Operations Manager. Duties included setting up new stores across the State of Florida, hiring and training all sales, office personnel, shipping and receiving. Developing a new state Distribution Center handling 17 million dollars in furniture inventory. Previously worked with charities March of Dimes, United Way, St. Judes Children's Hospital and Shriners Hospital. Attended Austin Peay State University majored in Marketing and Design.

Owner and Director for 21 years Tri State Modeling and Baton studios.

ALLEN SMITH 

SECRETARY

Allen and wife Pat reside in Lenior City, TN. Allen is a Air Force veteran enlisted in 1970. Honorably discharged in 1975 active and reserve duties. Next eight years he worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation as fleet supervisor. Other active duties can not be mentioned. Left FBI as a GS14. Also earned his private pilot license. Returned home to Syracuse, Kansas to become the Deputy Sheriff for Hamilton County for the next seven years. Returned to Kansas City to become Chief of the Fire department. Retired and moved to Lenior City, TN. where his son resides. Allen is presently a master Honey Bee Keeper.

STEVE BUELOW

 PUBLIC RELATIONS DIRECTOR

Steve was born and raised in Appleton, WI.  Steve joined the Navy in 1970 attended Aviation Machinist Mate A school in Memphis and A6 Plane Captain school at Naval Air Station Oceana in Va. Steve was assigned to the line division of Attack Squadron-75 as A6 Plane Captain. In 1972 he was deployed aboard the USS Saratoga off the coast of Vietnam. Working in the high tempo of flight deck operations, Steve participated on two major campaigns--Linebacker 1 and 2. These campaigns motivated the North Vietnamese to come to the table and release American POWs in the spring of 1973. In 1973 Steve returned to the states and reenlisted and was assigned to the Naval Air Center in Patuxent River, MD.  Steve returned to the USS Saratoga and achieved the rank of Petty Officer 1st Class and served as the Leading Petty Officer of the line division until he left active duty in 1978.

While serving in the Naval Reserve, Steve was employed as a government contractor. He earned his BS degree in Aeronautics from Embery Riddle Aeronautical University. He became the Director of Aircraft Service and Maintenance and held the position in Aero Space Operations Division. In 1993 Steve to Information and Engineering Division and oversaw the design and deployment of the Navy's ONE-Net contract. In total, Steve served the Department of Defense for nearly 50 years.

Steve joined the American Legion Post 256 and is currently serving as the Post Commander.

Steve and his wife Betsy enjoy retired life on the Tellico lake in Vonore, TN. They have five children and six grandchildren. He is an avid Green Bay Packer fan but also enjoys following the TN Vols. His real sport passion is wrestling. He, his three sons and four grandsons are all wrestlers.

       Steve's Motto                   "Pain is just weakness leaving the body"

JAMES FINCHER - DIRECTOR

LOUDON COUNTY REPRESENTATIVE

 James (also known as Tommy) is currently store manager of The Bed Store located in Maryville, TN> Tommy and wife resides in Loudon, TN. He studied at Bryan College in Dayton, TN. Born and raised in Rome, GA. and worked in the healthcare industry working with health drug and alcohol issues. He is presently the Loudon County Representative for The Lost Vets Rescue.

Bob and wife Linda presently resides in Madisonville, TN. Bob is a honorably discharged U.S. Coast Guard veteran. Tour of duty was October 1964 until October 1968. Tour of duty included two lighthouses and time on a weather cutter in the 1st Coast Guard District.

Presently Monroe County Representative for The Lost Vets Rescue. Member of Monroe County Chamber of Commerce.

Mike resides in Greenback, TN. Senior Pastor of Faith Encounter church in Maryville, TN since 2016. Senior Master Sergeant is currently the 119th Cyber Operations Squadron (COS) Cyber Operations Superintendent at McGee Tyson ANGB Knoxville, TN. Active-duty U>S> Air Force Oct 1984 until Sept 1991. Assignment Andrews AFB, Maryland and Aviano Air Base Italy. Transferred off active duty to Air National Guard Sept. 1991. Deployed Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, as well as Operation Iraqi Freedom 

WENDY REICHENBACH

FUNDRAISING DIRECTOR 

Wendy has degrees in chemistry/biochemistry from Douglass College and Purdue University and her Ph.D in food chemistry is from the Ohio State University. She taught chemistry at Ohio State University and Columbus State Community College as adjunct faculty for many years. She retired from Chemical Abstracts Service in Columbus, Ohio in 2015 after 28 years of service. In 2022 she and her husband Seth relocated to Tellico Village in Loudon, TN.  She helped charter the Tellico Lake American Legion Auxiliary Unit 256 and currently serves as the unit's first president. She is president-elect of Loudon Rotary Club and is serving a second year as a mentor for the tnAchieves program.