Hero Story

Michigan is home to over 600,000 veterans, but in 2019 less than 18% of that population were connected to a federal benefit they earned through their military service. Cortnie is the spouse of an Iraq war veteran and co-founded VETLIFE. VETLIFE is a non profit dedicated to connecting veterans to their benefits. She proposed the idea of a large free event for veterans and their families after she saw that every event in Michigan only centered around the veteran. Her idea turned into reality in 2018 when she created VETFEST. VETFEST has been designated as Michigan's largest free event for veterans and their families and has connected tens of thousands of veterans to their benefits and helped veterans and their families through more difficult times than I can count. She always answers every phone call, email or text when a veteran is in need.

Cortnie is an inspiration to work with and inspires others to be better people. She works directly with community resource providers to help educate them on what benefits veterans are entitled to and in addition to VETFEST, she has created several other events that help food insecure veterans, homeless veterans and veterans struggling with mental health concerns. Without her selfless service more veterans would fall through the cracks and her motto of, "No veteran left behind," is changing the landscape of how we help veterans.