We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Michelle Lang a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Michelle thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I came up with this idea after a very bad experience with military transition. My husband left the Army in 2019. It was a difficult decision for him to make and not one he planned on making for a few more years. Circumstances made this the best choice for our family we decided, and he began the process of getting out. He ended up getting a job in our home state of rural PA which was great. It would have been the first time we lived near family in 5 years. A few months after he got out his mental health started to decline rapidly. I didn’t realize he was wrestling with the loss of his service and identity as a result. I found out I was pregnant with our second son and his mental health declined so rapidly I was actually afraid to even tell him. We tried to get him into the VA but since he was now in the Army Reserve they wouldn’t help him and didn’t offer solutions. I found him a therapist who had openings but this guy had no experience with veterans or military and it made the situation even worse. Chris felt alone and hopeless. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t find the appropriate resources to offer him. Our marriage was hanging on by a thread, we could hardly stand each other, I was heartbroken every day by the situation and soon I worried that we were either going to get divorced or he might take his life.

While all this was going on, our neighbor, a Vietnam veteran, was about to be evicted from his home due to not paying his property taxes for years. He simply could not afford them. He confided in me that he didn’t know where he would go and his family was nowhere near PA. My husband and I went to work reaching out to organizations and other veterans to find options for him. We were able to find him a local place to stay for Vietnam veterans to avoid homelessness. Through this, my husband started talking to his veteran community again and reaching out. They helped him through the mess he was in. A few months later, he deployed with the Reserves. This gave me time to think and talk about what we experienced. I learned that many spouses were in the same position as I was. They had trouble finding the resources they needed when they moved away from major military installations. This prompted me to start our nonprofit and focus on finding smaller, local resources and build a database so people could find what they needed no matter where they were. We used a mapping system so it was easy to visualize the resources and use them.

Fast forward two years later and we held an event specifically for rural veterans in my hometown in PA. No one had ever seen a company celebrating “rural veterans” but in my mind, they need the love and support the most. They work hard, ask for nothing, expect nothing and would give you the shirt off your back. I noticed they weren’t using their benefits and a lot of it had to do with lack of awareness. I brought in resources, craft vendors, speakers, singers, government orgs, family games and food to show rural veterans what all is available to them and it was a hit. Some people told me it was the first time they felt supported and seen since they came home from Vietnam. Immediately after the event, our board voted to rebrand and become Operation Honor: Rural Salute which would now only focus on serving rural veterans and their families.

To my knowledge, there is not another nonprofit who focuses on rural veterans. We now have relaunched our database, designed in a way that is tailored to rural veterans, launched our online community for rural veterans and are working on adding more in person events across the country to help this demographic feel seen and supported.

Michelle, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Prior to becoming a military spouse, I was a Community Health and Wellness Coordinator at our local rural hospital. In this position I had to think creatively about how to solve gaps in health within our rural community, how to build trust within the community so I could serve them better and how to think outside the box with marketing to a rural area. When I became a military spouse, I had to move and quit my job. I struggled for years finding meaningful employment like I had before and thought I never would again.

When I started my nonprofit, I didn’t realize how incredible that unique job opportunity was years ago for what I would be doing now. I’m from a very rural area where we got out of school for the first day of hunting season, Saturday basketball practices started later so you could hunt in the morning before coming in, people drove tractors to prom, and we have more cows than people in the county. Everyone couldn’t wait to get out of town when they graduated high school and never come back. It wasn’t until I had to leave to be with my now husband that I realized TRULY how special small rural communities are.

I’m so proud to be from a community like Fulton County, PA. Full of hard-working people who take care of each other and still do things on a handshake. When I realized the gap in services for places like this, I never questioned whether or not I should try and help. I just did because it was the right thing to do. I’m extremely passionate about solving these gaps for rural veterans. I know that when rural veterans and their spouses have the resources and tools they need to thrive, not only do they improve their own lives but they drive progress within rural America.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Being a military spouse I think I’ve pivoted so many times that I’ve gone in endless circles! The most recent and biggest pivot would be my rebrand from my initial nonprofit name and focus (Veteran Help Point) to my now Operation Honor: Rural Salute.
I spent two years and our family’s money to build Veteran Help Point. I sacrificed time with my kids and husband. Countless hours of meetings and knocking on doors. I poured my heart and soul into getting it off the ground. That one event changed everything for us and while it was the right decision, it still felt like I was wrestling with my own identity giving up the name. It was like jumping off a cliff into the dark not knowing what you were jumping in to. I mean, rural veterans… that’s very specific. Was it too niche? How hard was it going to be to convince donors to care or partners to support? There were a lot of unknowns but it was definitely the right thing to do. That’s where my heart was and what I needed to pursue to be the most help to those I care about.
The rebrand was dramatic but I’ve learned that there are SO many people living in rural areas that are excited to be heard and have support. We’ve had more traction in the last few months with the rebrand than the last 3 years which tells us, we’re on the right track to solving problems!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

“It’s easier if I just do it myself.”

I’ve had to unlearn this lesson over the last few months, though it’s been told to me many times that I can’t do it all. When you run a start up nonprofit, money is TIGHT. You’re not paying anyone to do work because money isn’t there to do it. I took so much on within my business and then in my personal life because I thought it was easier to just do it myself. I didn’t even have the brain power to communicate to anyone what all needed done so I could get things off my plate.
Then one day I decided to do it all like always. I repainted my bedroom so I had a nicer background for a podcasting studio area while juggling three small children, dinners, meetings, emails, website updates, etc. I ended up in bed for three full days with a kidney issue and a migraine that rendered me useless. I finally pushed myself too far and my body paid the price.
Letting go and delegating teaches you a lot about your leadership and exposes your weak spots. That can be scary but needs to be done so you can grow and learn. There’s always growing pains, especially in the beginning. Building your team of support in all areas of life is crucial!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ohruralsalute.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ohruralsalute/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ohruralsalute/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-baker-lang/