Ford Motor Co. partnered with veterans groups to host veterans and their families at their Bronco Off-Roadeo event in Texas.

Last month, approximately 200 veterans, survivors, military members and their families attended the event at Ford’s facility in Horseshoe Bay, Texas. It featured a four-hour off-road adventure, sharing sessions, motivational speakers, a special dinner, live music from Guitars 4 Vets, and access to employment and veterans services.

Attendees included 70 Gold Star family members as well as Purple Heart recipients and members of the veteran groups such as Blue Star Families, TAPS, Travis Manion Foundation and Guitars 4 Vets. Ford trail guides at the off-road course also included many veterans to help deepen that sense of community among those in attendance.

“We’re super excited about this Bronco Off-Road Roadeo that Ford is making for a number of military and veteran families,” Kathy Roth-Douquet, CEO of Blue Star Families and spouse of a Navy veteran, told FOX Business in an interview. “They take families on a great adventure, up and down boulders that build camaraderie and excitement.”

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Veterans, their families and survivors participate in Ford’s Proud to Honor: Bronco Off-Roadeo. (Courtesy of Ford/Fox News)

“But it’s not just about this great day out and this time to show appreciation to the people who have served and their families, it’s about sharing the resources that are out there for families,” she explained. Roth-Bouquet added that the event also gives the various veterans groups on hand an opportunity to connect and find ways to work together.

Nigel Fischer, Director of Advancement at Guitars for Vets and a 20-year veteran of US Marine Corpstold FOX Business that the group’s performances at events like the Bronco Off-Roadeo help show that veterans who may have suffered injuries during the course of their service to the country can continue to perform.

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“The music is goodbut we really showcase the adaptive nature of our program and how we teach veterans who may have certain physical issues that may prevent them from adapting to the style of play that many others who don’t have the physical limitations may have challenges with,” he said. .

“It’s really neat to be able to share it in person and many veterans will find us for the very first time by attending this event and then seeing it for themselves. There is no better example of what can be done than these testimonials from each of our people who are here attending the performance tonight and then can come out into the audience as the dinner continues and answer questions about how their experience was with the show,” Fischer said.

Veterans groups connected with veterans, their families and survivors at Ford’s Bronco Off-Roadeo event. (Courtesy of Ford/Fox News)

Ford also brought along some of their HR team to help place veterans and members of the reserve forces at work.

“They want to hire veterans, they hire people who do reservist service. We want to ask all employers to do that because we need a reserve force. Forty percent of our deployed forces right now are reserve or National Guard, so if employers don’t make it possible for people to work and do their reserve service, we will not be able to take care of the country, says Roth-Douquet.

Staff from Department of Veterans Affairs were also on hand to help veterans access services or address issues that previously prevented them from doing so.

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Participants took Ford’s Bronco off-road driving on the trail in Horseshoe Bay, Texas. (Courtesy of Ford/Fox News)

Fischer said that when he retired from the Marine Corps in 2013, he had “a little bit of a rocky start with the VA” and said that “I think some veterans have heard some of those stories from peers, and we trust that peer. a lot of feedback to guide us as we transition.”

“What I found in the last year is that there have been huge changes in the quality of service, the quality of care, the quality of the handling of disability claimsand I found that to be absolutely true because I took the opportunity to renew my relationship with the VA through events like this,” says Fischer.

Ford partnered with veterans groups to host veterans and their families at their Bronco Off-Roadeo event in Texas. (Courtesy of Ford/Fox News)

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“I approached the VA and said, ‘I’d really like to get back in touch with you, because from what I’ve heard, I’m going to get better care than I would otherwise get in the civilian sector,'” he explained. “I’m really happy to share that over the course of that adventure and my own journey to seek care again with the VA, it’s been nothing short of top notch, so it’s an important aspect of what we do here.”