Small Business Stories -Operation Wheels of Freedom

Alex Fees: I'm Alex Fees on Small Business Television. We're coming to you from SEMA 2008 that's Specialty Equipment Market Association and joining me here now is Kim Crumb. Kim, good to have you here sir. Kim Crumb: Nice meeting you Alex. Alex Fees: Operation Wheels of Freedom foundation, great title, what is it? Kim Crumb: What is it? It's a foundation we started from an actual request from a soldier in Iraq who asked for us to bring up some car fund. As you could imagine, maybe only three sentence email I got from Iraq. Alex Fees: Okay. You said this was August of 2004? Kim Crumb: 2004, when I got this email. So what's happened so far is we actually formed this foundation. We went out; we put on a 4 base tour with the help of Ford, GM and Chrysler. It's a fabulous tour. I invite your viewers to come to our website and look at it. And here's where the story takes an extra interesting twist. I'm sort of thinking we had a mission honor, educate and entertain our deserving troops. And suddenly in January there's -- Alex Fees: Of this year. Kim Crumb: This year. All these bases are coming on our website saying we want your program, we want your program; we want your program. Alex Fees: Really. Now, okay, back up here, what is the program? Kim Crumb: It's called the Operation Wheels of Freedom Foundation. And the program was to honour, educate and entertain our deserving troops. So imagine we took 9 cars on tour and the drove the cars around the course so they felt I think honored. They were fun cars to drive and we did safety training while they were doing this which saves lives. Alex Fees: Wow! Okay, now who was driving these cars? Kim Crumb: These were the Marines in this particular case at 4 different bases. Alex Fees: Really? Kim Crumb: Yes. Alex Fees: Okay. And they're doing this for training purposes or entertainment or -- Kim Crumb: All of the above. Honor, educate and entertain, all three. Alex Fees: Honour, educate, entertain troops. Kim Crumb: Yes. Alex Fees: Correct! Kim Crumb: Yes. Alex Fees: Okay. So it started off kind of slow and in January of this year -- Kim Crumb: Suddenly there are all these bases asking for the program. And of course you would have this question, so why - how did they hear about us? Alex Fees: Exactly, how did they find out? Kim Crumb: So they said well, we saw your presentation. I said what presentation would this be? And they said well, at this tradeshow. And then I started to unravel, what had happened is one of the servicemen who went through the first tour went up to our website and downloaded stuff, we will let anybody do this, and made a PowerPoint of all the moral welfare and recreation people on the bases and they called it MWR. Alex Fees: Okay. Kim Crumb: Go to the national parks and recreation tradeshow and he gave this presentation. So now there are 32 bases asking for our program. Alex Fees: So this -- he was a marine? Kim Crumb: Yes Alex Fees: Had downloaded your program and given a PowerPoint presentation at a tradeshow and then it took off. Kim Crumb: So here we are now suddenly -- our Board of Directors said we might have thought our mission was done but the community has other ideas now. So we are not done and the sad part is the trade 3 can't help us as easily this time. Last time they paid for the tour. The times of the trade are a little tough. Alex Fees: Economy. Kim Crumb: Economy is tough. So I said you know there is all this kind of a passion at the SEMA show. Alex Fees: Absolutely. Kim Crumb: I go -- rather than say no to these people, this is what they've asked for. It seems the least we can do to them is to give them what they have asked for considering what they what they done for us. Is this really a big request of us? I don't think so. We said we are here. We have a display over and the central court over there. Alex Fees: And so you're seeking what? You're seeking assistance and sponsorship to continue carry out this program? Kim Crumb: Exactly. I think probably with over several years of time we could do all 30 of these bases. But we instead of -- Alex Fees: Where are these bases? Kim Crumb: Well they are all over the world. They're literally all over. They're in Italy, they're in Japan. They're all over the world. The majority of them are here in the lower 48 states. Alex Fees: And these service people in what, all four branches? Kim Crumb: All four branches. Alex Fees: Became aware of the program and if you go conduct a seminar then what happens? What do they do? Kim Crumb: So they'll go to a 20 min- Alex Fees: How to things - Kim Crumb: Yes how to do things session and they will actually sit-down in one of the cars with us and go on and do a course and be instructed by us. Alex Fees: Ok, what kind of cars are they? Kim Crumb: On the first tour were three Mustangs, Mustang GTs right, from Ford. And GM had an SSR, GTO and a CTSB. And Dodge had a Viper, a Viper engine pick up truck and a HEMI Magnum. Alex Fees: Yeah. Kim Crumb: A lot of part of this tour that was so amazing too. We had like Mattel gave us these 1:18 scale hot wheels choice. Imagine going to a home coming and here are these people who haven't seen each other for a year. Alex Fees: Right. Kim Crumb: They're really glad to see each other. Let me clear out this. They don't just get a little peck on the cheek at these homecomings. And we'd give out these toys to all our kids. Alex Fees: I recall seeing those cars at SEMA '07, those 1:18 scales. Kim Crumb: Yeah I mean -- it was just amazing to me how much it means to them for us to do this. Alex Fees: Okay, but what goes on in the actual driving? Is it they don't have to drive fast? Is it - Kim Crumb: Well, sorry, your point is what I call the learning moment. So imagine you're a young marine. You've just spent a year in Iraq probably driving a Hummer as fast as it will go, makes it harder to hit, we are not looking at speed limit signs or lane discipline because you're are the law, as a professional race car driver you'll also get used to the idea that there is a lot adrenalin. It's exiting. It's addicting. So imagine you've just spent your year, you're a young 19, 20 year old guy. Remember what it was like to be then in principle. You have proof now. You just survived a year in the most dangerous place on earth and you have survived, nothing is going to get you now, Alex Fees: Right. Kim Crumb: You turn all that enthusiasm loose on the road back here may be with 20000 or 30000 in combat pay because you didn't have a lot to spend your money on there, on the roads, and the result isn't always so good. So the learning moment is this. We're out on the course, I am instructing, they're going to go on this corner. They're probably going to fast sure; I'm not going to say anything. Alex Fees: We talk about young man that age being invincible. These guys have proven they're invincible. Kim Crumb: Exactly. So instead of hitting a tree, a car, another person to learn to get readjusted to how -- civilian life here in the States, maybe they blow few of your cones out on of course, right. Alex Fees: Hopefully that's all. Kim Crumb: Exactly and that's... Alex Fees: So get it out of their system and then they are you're going to return to a civilized state of driving. Kim Crumb: Exactly. Alex Fees: Okay. What kind of experience you had when you came in SEMA 2008? Kim Crumb: The show just started. Alex Fees: We're half way through Day 1. Kim Crumb: Yeah, the show just started. I'd say that no, there is a lot of excitement. When people stop at our display say how can we make this happen? Not if -- not like you need o write a check of million bucks we'd like that of course, right. How do you see- -- when I started this -- when I got this email from Captain Polson (ph), I just picked up the phone and started calling people. How are we going to make this happen and that's how we'll do this again. It will probably look differently. We won't be doing it sort of in a top- down. I think it's going to be grassroots up this time. Times have change, right? Alex Fees: What's your background, how did you come in and become evolved with this? Kim Crumb: I've spent 20 years in racing. I've driven for 5 global tyre companies. And I met Captain Polson at a Porche event 10 years ago just once, and I just saw this little email. It was this sort of a cry for a little emotional respite from someone halfway around the world. And well we just say no to them. Alex Fees: Now Kim you mentioned a website earlier. Where can people go to get more information about Operation Wheels at Freedom Foundation? Kim Crumb: They can go to http://www.owoff.org Alex Fees: http://www.owoff.org, Operation Wheels at Freedom Foundation. Kim Crumb: Yeah that's right. You got it. Alex Fees: Kim, thank you very much. Kim Crumb: Thank you. Alex Fees: I appreciate you being here. I wish you luck with this program. Kim Crumb: Oh, it's a great program. Alex Fees: It sounds like it. Alright. I'm Alex fees on small business television. This is Kim Crumb with Operation Wheels of Freedom Foundation coming to you from SEMA 2008. You're watching SBTV.COM.