About Hot Tubs for Heroes

Family and the military go hand in hand for Kelly.

Kelly visited our showroom on Veterans Day Observed with her daughter, Alex, who nominated her, and her son-in-law, Pat, who has been in the Air Force Guard for 15 years.

She and Alex joke about which their favorite branch of the military is, Navy or Air Force.

Kelly’s father was in the Navy and she refers to herself as a Navy Brat who moved around a lot as child.

“I wanted to be just like my dad,” she said.

However, for her home means Nevada, as she has spent much of her adult life in Lake Tahoe or Carson City. She also has been an active volunteer with her church, LifePoint Church.

She has 3 adult children and 3 grandchildren, who all live in Carson City, as well.

“My mother is the most caring, supportive, kindest, giving person I know” Alex wrote in her mother’s nomination letter. “She was in (the Navy) for 7 years and has the most incredible stories. Thank you for your time to read my nomination for her. I know there are so many amazing individuals who have sacrificed and deserve this opportunity. I thank you for considering my mother as one.”

During her time in the Navy, Kelly was stationed in Florida and California. She had orders to go to Italy, but as a single mom, stayed stateside.

Kelly, who had back surgery previously, is looking forward to the soothing therapy a hot tub can provide, as well as using it to relax before going to sleep.

“For a long time my mother has had back pains and aches. This would help her be able to relax more and help with her pain,” Alex wrote in her nomination letter.

Hot Tub Donation Day

Kelly, now 61, was awarded a Sundance Hamilton 780 Spa.

“I feel like I don’t deserve this,” she said, while watching The Spa and Sauna Co. Delivery Crew deliver and position her spa in the backyard, right below her apple tree and facing a beautiful mountain view. “I’ve spent my life trying to help others and it feels awkward in reverse.”

Her delivery required a crane for installation, which was generously donated by Freedom Crane Service, a company that The Spa and Sauna Co. often refers to customers.

The Spa and Sauna Co. also gifted Kelly a Sundance Spas bathrobe, a Wish for Our Heroes beanie hat, a Sundance Spas water bottle and two military themed rubber duckies, which she seemed to really enjoy. After receiving them, she gave her daughter a big hug.

Before the donation, Kelly visited us in the showroom. She had a chance to meet with The Spa and Sauna Co. team members, who coordinated her hot tub donation and those will assist her with caring for it.

The Spa and Sauna Co. was able to make two Wish for Our Heroes donations in 2023, making one earlier this year to Jason Kirmel-Long of Dayton, who had also served in the Navy.

“The Spa and Sauna Co. is thrilled to be able to participate in this great partnership, with Sundance Spas and Wish for Our Heroes,” said company owner Scott Clark. “We really get a chance to enhance the lives of deserving veterans in our community. We hope Kelly and her family enjoy their Sundance Spa for many years to come.”

If you’d like to nominate yourself or you know a deserving veteran or active duty member, nominate them here.

About Hot Tubs for Heroes

Jason is the fifth veteran that The Spa and Sauna Co. has donated a hot tub to through the Hot Tub for Heroes program, which is a partnership between Wish for Our Heroes and Sundance Spas, and Sundance Spa hot tub dealers.

Wish for Our Heroes is “a national 501(c)(3), dedicated to providing resources to the “average” active-duty military member, in order to make their deployments a little easier, and to improve the quality of their family lives while home or during deployment,” according to their website.

Nationally, Sundance Spas, Wish for Our Heroes and spa dealers around the country have donated nearly 100 hot tubs to veterans and have benefited over 120 veterans and their families, since they began collaborating, according to Garrett Guinivan, Mid-Atlantic Chapter and Hot Tubs 4 Heroes Director.

The Spa and Sauna Co. has donated all 5 of the Hot Tubs for Heroes hot tubs that have been donated in Nevada.

About the Recipient

During his time in the Navy, Jason attended boot camp and training in Illinois, and then was stationed with fleets in Alameda, CA and at the Puget Sound Shipyard, before serving Shore Duty in Hawaii and at the Everett Naval Station in Washington. He was responsible for maintaining distribution power systems for ships and other electrical work.

Jason, who stands at 6’6” may be the tallest veteran that The Spa and Sauna Co. has awarded a hot tub to so far, and he was excited to sit in the Hamilton lounge, which he found very comfortable, despite his height.

While serving, he would often hit his head or arms while bending to get through doorways inside ships. Over time, it caused disc bulges. While performing electrical test on pieces of equipment in a ship, they hit some rough seas, and he hit his back on electrical equipment, which caused severe nerve damage.

“I haven’t been the same since,” he said, adding that he used to be an avid hiker and fisher.

As a result of the injuries he sustained during his service, he now takes 30 pills a day, and has undergone close to a dozen surgeries. His husband serves as his Veteran Affairs appointed home health aide, and he visits the Reno VA hospital every week.

He hopes that hot tub hydrotherapy will provide some relief and possibly allow him to decrease his reliance on medication, as well as return to his favorite hobby – fishing.

Jason is a newer Nevada resident, having moved to the Las Vegas area about 3 years ago, and into the Dayton area in October 2021. He is originally from the Seattle, Washington area.

Jason, who is now retired, wrote in his application essay, “I’m considered 100% disabled by the VA and Social Security. I believe that if given a hot tub, it would help improve my daily life, and help with my pain level. I could then volunteer at the VA and at my local chapter of the VFW.”

Hot Tub Donation Day

Jason, now 50, was awarded a Sundance Hamilton 780 Spa. From his new spa, he has a view of snowy mountains.

“We’re gonna build our backyard around this hot tub,” Jason said.

The Spa and Sauna Co. also gifted Jason a Sundance Spas bathrobe, a Wish for Our Heroes beanie hat, a Sundance Spas water bottle and two military themed rubber duckies, which he seemed to really enjoy.

He said he couldn’t wait to go to the VA and share information about the program and his experience with The Spa and Sauna Co.

Before the donation, Jason was able to visit us in the showroom. He had a chance to meet with company owner, Scott Clark, and some Spa and Sauna team members, who coordinated his hot tub donation.

Scott and he had a chance to discuss the benefits of using a hot tub daily and how a hot tub can affect your overall wellness, as well as how much the Hot Tubs for Heroes program has grown in recent years.

The Spa and Sauna Co. intends to make two donations to local veterans in 2023 and made their most recent donation in the summer of 2022.

If you’d like to nominate yourself or you know a deserving veteran or active duty member, nominate them here.

“We’ve given away a number of hot tubs over the years but to do one of our best-selling models in a premium series is awesome,” Clark said.

We thank Jason for his service and wish him continued enjoyment in his new Sundance Spa!

Delivery Day

On the day of the delivery, Rose and Dennis were so thankful for the donation.

Their backyard patio had a space that looked like it was made for their new Sundance Hamilton 780 Spa, once they moved their self-standing hammock out of the way.

“We’re just really grateful and excited,” Rose said.

About the Wish for Our Heroes Program

Wish for Our Heroes is “a national 501(c)(3), dedicated to providing resources to the “average” active-duty military member, in order to make their deployments a little easier, and to improve the quality of their family lives while home or during deployment,” according to their website.

Together Sundance Spas, Wish for Our Heroes and Sundance Spa dealers around the country will have donated hot tubs to 73 veterans nationwide by the end of this year, said Ariel Najera, Channel Marketing Manager for Sundance Spas. The collaborative program, Hot Tubs for Heroes, was started in 2016. The organizations intend to continue donating hot tubs to veterans.

Rose is one of the 19 veterans and active military members selected in 2020 to receive a free Hot Tub, although most of those hot tub deliveries were pushed out until 2021. Recipients for the 2021 calendar year have not yet been selected.

This is the third spa donation in Nevada. All of these spa donations were through The Spa and Sauna Company.

About Our Recipient

Rose, now 37, joined the Nevada National Guard with her best friend in 2002, shortly after graduating high school. She said they signed up with the intent to take advantage of the GI Bill educational benefit. She is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, in addition to working full-time.

Rose currently serves in a supervisory human resources role, managing the administrative paperwork for over 800 soldiers. Rose dreams of joining the Washoe County School District as an Elementary School teacher, after she retires the military, in about 6 years. At that time, she will have served in the National Guard for 20 years.

In 2004, Rose was deployed to Iraq, where she served as a Motor Transport Operator, assisting with transporting supply and equipment to numerous bases in Iraq. Later in her deployment, she was assigned as a Gun Truck Operator, her mission being to provide convoy security to numerous units convoying across Kuwait and Iraq.

“To this day my deployment to Iraq has been the most challenging, but most rewarding time of my military career. During my deployment it made me value the meaning of teamwork, hard work, comradery and made me value life more than I ever had before. My deployment will always be a momentous time in my life in which I was able to meet some of the best Soldiers and leaders whom to this day consider as my brothers and sisters in arms.”

Among those brothers and sisters in arms are The Spa and Sauna Company’s 1^st Wish for our Heroes recipient, Daniel Rogers, and our 2^nd Wish for our Heroes recipient, Kevin Vogt. She happens to know both of them. While they weren’t deployed together, she shares a Battalion with Kevin Vogt and works in the same office building, but not department, as Daniel Rogers. Read more about those donations here and here.

Dennis also served active duty overseas, in Afghanistan, with the Military Police in 2010 and 2011.

What Participating in This Program Means to The Spa and Sauna Company

As for The Spa and Sauna Company team, Wish for our Heroes delivery day has become one of our favorite days when we can see how hot tubs really change people’s lives.

“We, at The Spa and Sauna Company, are honored to fulfill this hot tub donation, in conjunction with Sundance Spas and Wish for Our Heroes,” said Spa and Sauna Co. Owner Scott Clark. “We are incredibly grateful to Roseanne and Dennis for their Service to our country. We wish Roseanne and her family years of enjoyment, family time and hydrotherapy benefits from their new Sundance Spa.”

We wish Roseanne, Dennis and their family a lifetime of happy hot tubbing in their Sundance Hamilton Spa!

“We, at The Spa and Sauna Company, are honored to fulfill this hot tub donation, in conjunction with Sundance Spas and Wish for Our Heroes,” said Spa and Sauna Co. Owner Scott Clark. “We are incredibly grateful to Kevin for his Service to our country and the sacrifices he and his family have made during his many overseas deployments. We wish Kevin and his family years of enjoyment, family time and hydrotherapy benefits from their new Sundance Spa.”

Kevin, who has back and shoulder injuries from his overseas tours, is looking forward to the therapeutic value his new Hamilton 780 hot tub will provide. Although he has experienced daily discomfort from his injuries, there is no surgery available for him right now. Prior to receiving his hot tub, he relied on stretching for pain relief.

“I’ve had it recommended from several doctors – use hot tubs.”

Kevin started his military career in the Iowa National Guard at the age of 17 in 1999. He needed parental permission to join prior to turning 18.

“I decided military is what I wanted to do,” he said, as he explained how he graduated high school early, and spent what would have been his senior year of high school in basic training.

After joining, he attended the University of Northern Iowa, but was deployed overseas twice, so it took him 7 years to graduate. He married his college sweetheart, Courtney, and together they moved to Nevada about 10 years ago. They now have an 8-year-old son, Gavin.

On the day of delivery, only Kevin was around. Courtney was at work and Gavin was at school.

“My son is so ridiculously excited about this,” he said, of their new hot tub.

Kevin is planning to retire from the military this spring, after 20 years of service.

“It’s going to be a lot more time with the family,” he said, mentioning that he is looking forward to that, especially after time away during deployments.

Wish for Our Heroes is “a national 501(c)(3), dedicated to providing resources to the “average” active-duty military member, in order to make their deployments a little easier, and to improve the quality of their family lives while home or during deployment,” according to their website.

Together Sundance Spas, Wish for Our Heroes and Sundance Spa dealers around the country will have donated hot tubs to 35 veterans nationwide by the end of this year. The collaborative program, Hot Tubs for Heroes, was started in 2017. The organizations intend to continue donating hot tubs to veterans.

“Kevin was chosen because of his need of hydrotherapy due to multiple injuries in his back and shoulder from his service. We want to make sure Kevin receives the hydrotherapy he needs to have a better day to day life using our Sundance spa… Sundance Spas knows that hydrotherapy can be beneficial to our veterans suffering from injuries post service, which is why we’ve partnered up with Wish for Our Heroes and launched the Hot Tubs for Heroes Program nationwide,” said James Choi, Channel Marketing Manager for Sundance Spas.

This is the second spa donation in NV. Both were through The Spa and Sauna Company.

Kevin, and last year’s recipient, Daniel Rogers of Reno, actually know each other and have been on 2 deployments together. They currently belong to the same unit, although Kevin spent 9 years in Infantry before joining the Military Police.

Daniel actually referred Kevin to the program.

“This is going to be a great way for us to relax and just be together as a family,” Kevin said, of his new hot tub. “Being overseas so many times, I’ve been away for a little bit so it’s nice to be able to do something together and to have something that’s going to relieve some stress. I’m pretty excited to have it.”

We wish Kevin and his family a lifetime of happy hot tubbing in their Sundance Hamilton Spa!