2024 marks ten years of the Rawah Ranch and Recon & Sniper Foundation partnership. To mark this milestone, I spoke with the owner of Rawah Ranch and Vice President of RSF about the annual RSF-hosted Rawah Retreat. This retreat, hosted at our Colorado ranch, provides veterans with a place to heal, reflect, and rediscover camaraderie with like-minded individuals. We are humbled and honored to share this special place with those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and are excited to explore this partnership in depth.
Book your summer getaway at Rawah Ranch in May 2024, and 5% of your booking will go to the Recon & Sniper Foundation!
Recon & Sniper Foundation Mission
The Recon & Sniper Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 2015 by a group of Recon Marines, Scout Snipers, and NAVY SARCs. RSF provides emergency assistance and veteran community engagement to servicemembers, veterans, and their families. This includes everything from financial assistance to suicide prevention and counseling.
They focus on preventative mental health and emphasize long-term care through initiatives like the Rawah Retreat. Please read more about RSF on their About Us page and consider donating!
“I’ve been with RSF for ten years and a part of Rawah for several years. Based on the conversations I’ve had with people, I can say with pretty high confidence that this retreat has saved lives.”
-Phil McGinty, Vice President of RSF
The Beginning of the RSF and Rawah Partnership
Lucia Hatfield, the owner of Rawah Ranch, has always had a soft spot for veterans. Since she was young, many of her closest friends and significant others have served in the military. So, perhaps it was fate when Lucia came into contact with Michael Clancy, a member of the newly formed Recon Sniper Foundation.
After a hurricane devasted Cabo in 2014, the owners of Rawah, Ron and Lucia, hired a private security firm to provide security for their development. Among this security team was Michael, who quickly got to talking with Lucia about the Rawah Ranch property. After chatting about the organization, Lucia invited Michael the following summer to see if the property would be useful to them. Soon after this trip, the partnership between RSF and Rawah began!
What is the Annual Rawah Retreat?
The RSF-hosted Rawah Ranch Retreat is hosted at the end of May before our ranch opens for the summer season. Attendees have access to a wide range of therapies and experiences during their time at the ranch, all while being surrounded by scenic and unspoiled wilderness. Therapy comes in many different shapes and sizes; for some, it may be riding a horse, and for others, it may be sitting down with a therapist. Here are some examples of activities available during the retreat:
- Therapy sessions with an on-site psychiatrist and mental health mindset coach
- Yoga, meditation, reiki and jiu-jitsu
- Team-building activities like bonfires and group hikes
- Authentic Western activities like horseback riding and fly-fishing
- Goodie bags donated by sponsors
“What Rawah Ranch does is it gives us the environment where you don’t have the whole world watching. You have people that you trust, and it encourages you to cross that bridge that you would normally have been scared of crossing. It’s a good way for us to push people on the path that they need.”
– Phil McGinty, Vice President of RSF.
Longstanding Benefits of this Retreat
Not only do our attendees experience healing during their time on the ranch, but there is a direct correlation between this retreat and long-term mental health benefits. Attendees can experience all these different activities that can become outputs for stressors in their daily lives when they return home. For example, Phil McGinty now goes fly-fishing in his spare time because of Rawah Ranch.
“Rawah re-energizes me from a mental health perspective so I can go back home refreshed and reset.”
-Phil McGinty, Vice President of RSF.
POV from the Owner of Rawah Ranch
We are honored and humbled that the Recon & Sniper Foundation chose Rawah for their annual retreat. As stewards of the Laramie River Valley, we are grateful to share this special place and give veterans a temporary respite from their day-to-day lives. Whatever we can give, we give gladly!
“The way we look at it, this is the least we can do for men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.”
-Lucia Hatfield, owner of Rawah Ranch.
Donate to the Recon & Sniper Foundation
Support the RSF-hosted Rawah Ranch Retreat and other similar initiatives by donating to the Recon & Sniper Foundation. Book your summer getaway during May 2024 and 5% of your booking will go to the Recon & Sniper Foundation. Plus, active military and veterans save 15% on their summer stay. Call us at +1.800.510.7071 or email [email protected] for assistance in booking your stay at the ranch!
