Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Jeff Bacon

Jeff is a retired Naval Officer with 26 years of service and has drawn military cartoons for the last quarter century. Over the last several years, he has organized visits to active duty and military hospitals by the nation’s leading cartoonists to give back to those who have served and sacrificed on our behalf, and works with the USO on overseas trips to show support for the troops. He was named a Distinguished Alumnus by the Naval Postgraduate School, and presented with the Silver T-Square award from the National Cartoonists Society for his Support the Troops initiative. Over the years he has seen first-hand the quality and motivation of our wounded warriors. He lives in Idaho with his wife Rebecca and daughter Nicholle.

Rebecca Bacon

Rebecca was raised in sunny Coronado, California and obtained her BS from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. She was previously a corporate secretary and operations analyst for San Luis Obispo Production Credit Association (now Farm Credit West), a non-profit, agricultural lending institution. There, Rebecca’s responsibilities included maintaining professional relationships between the board of directors, branch managers and member institutions; administering director elections and annual stockholder meetings; and maintaining corporate records. Rebecca was accepted into the American Society of Corporate Secretaries in 1984. She also holds a California teaching credential with supplementals in business, science and health science and is a Sun certified system administrator. Rebecca and Jeff Bacon have been married for over 25 years and currently reside in beautiful Boise, Idaho where she thoroughly enjoys raising an energetic toddler.

Senator Marv Hagedorn

A native of Omak, Washington and graduate of Potlatch, Idaho Jr/Sr High School, he is currently an Idaho State Senator for Legislative District 14 in Western Ada County. He attended the University of Maryland and Pensacola Jr College and served in the Navy for twenty years. His community involvement, in addition to being a Navy “Mustang”, include Distinguished Life Member NRA, Life Member Disabled American Veterans, Life Member Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife-Idaho (co-founder), Founding/Life member North American Fishing Club, and member of the American Legion. He lives in Idaho with his wife Patty. He has two children: Kristin and John.

Andy Kraft

Andy is a retired Naval Officer with 21 years of service. He is currently working for the U.S. Navy in the Optimum Track Ship Routing (OTSR) field as one of the Navy’s premier Ship Routing Officers. He has worked in this capacity keeping US Navy Fleet as well as other Department of Defense vessels and Coast Guard ships out of potential damaging weather since his retirement from the Navy in 2005. Community service oriented, he is very honored to be a member of the Wyakin Warrior Board of Directors and serve as the program’s Chief Program’s Officer. He resides in Chesapeake, VA with his wife Teresa and sons Anton and Colton.

Steve Rutherford

Steve Rutherford is proud to be a Director on the Wyakin Warrior Foundation Board, and serves as the Chief Veterans and Government Affairs Officer. He is a retired U.S. Navy officer with over 21 years of operational and staff tour experience. Steve is currently serving as a Senior Oceanographer with the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Laboratory and is detailed to the Chief of Naval Operations staff in Washington D.C. He resides in Maine with his wife, three girls and Labrador Retriever.

Board Officers

President
Jeff Bacon

Vice President
Marv Hagedorn

Treasurer
Steve Rutherford

Secretary
Rebecca Bacon

Corporate Officers

Chief Business Development Officer
Marv Hagedorn

Chief Programs Officer
Andy Kraft

Chief Veterans and Government Affairs Officer
Steve Rutherford

Corporate Secretary
Rebecca Bacon

Senior Advisor
Shirl Boyce

Staff

Executive Director
Jeff Bacon

Program Director
Roy Ledesma

Director of Scholarship, Education and Veteran Affairs
Tom Byrns

Director of Mentorship and Volunteer Services
Jo Ann Daron

Director of Professional Development, Networking, and Career Transition
Vacant (to be filled in 2013)

Director of Development
Cliff Gaston

Director of Corporate and Donor Relations
Mary May

The Wyakin Warrior Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization

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How To Apply

Click on the "How to Apply" tab, and fill out a simple form under the "Process" option. We'll send you an application right away.

How To Help

We could use your help, either financially or as a volunteer. Under the "How to Help" tab at the top of the page, you can let us know how you would like to get involved. And if know of veterans or active duty military personnel who might benefit from our program, you can let us know who they are and we will get in touch with them.

Recent Articles

Wyakin Warriors transition from and into College of Western Idaho

James Donaldson (photo by Adam Eschbach/IPT) The Idaho Press Tribune highlighted two Wyakin Warriors who have attended College of Western Idaho – one just graduated with an AA degree in Cyber Security and the other just completed his first semester. Read the article here.

Wyakin Warrior For Life

Successful completion of the Wyakin Warrior program brings with it a commitment for life.  For the rest of his or her life, the veteran will always be a Wyakin Warrior, and will never be alone. The Wyakin Warrior Foundation™ will maintain contact with each graduate through a proactive “reach out and touch” philosophy to check [...]

Building A Spirit Of Service

Men and women join the military for several reasons, but they all share – and have demonstrated – a willingness to serve.  That spirit of service doesn’t go away when a warrior is wounded or injured, and we continue that commitment in the Wyakin Warrior program. Each student veteran will be required to complete a [...]