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| TERRY SNYDER, ON OUR RIGHT, RUNS OPERATION NORTH STATE |
FOR SNYDER, IT’S ALL ABOUT HELPING VETERANS
BY TOM GILLISPIE
Terry Snyder remembers playing in the attic when he was growing up in Charlotte. In a way, it altered his life.
“I was not in the service, but my brother was in there; my dad was in, as were my uncles,” he said in early April. “When we were kids, we went up into the attic, where our families sent us to play. There was always a military uniform hanging there.
“I never forgot that. I appreciated the military; our freedoms don't come free. Would we be who we are without our veterans?”
Fast forward to years later. Snyder had worked for Wachovia, and he’d owned his own businesses, including some here. At some point, he and his wife Dawn, his high-school sweetheart, wound up moving to the northern part of Davidson County.
“I grew up in Charlotte, but my parents were from here,” he says. “Coming to Winston was easy for me; Winston was like home to me.”
Snyder says he and a couple buddies were at Crispy Creme, and the buddies were complaining about how veterans were treated by the Veterans Administration and others. “I said, ‘shut up until we do our part,’ ” Snyder recalls.
That got him thinking; he’d retired at 59, and he needed something to do. Veterans would be the ticket.
The time was early November of 2010. Within a week, Snyder had started Operation North State, a nonprofit that helps veterans in North Carolina and surrounding states.
“ONS is all about utilizing people, places and pride,” he said.
The first project for ONS was the NC Cares Christmas Box Project. Using his contacts from his employed years, Snyder got others to help him put together 1,500 care packages for military folk around the world. He sent care packages so that they’d know that someone cared.
Snyder says ONS’s “mainstay is anything to do with recreational therapy.” The second Tuesday of each month, a get-together is held at the City of Winston-Salem meeting building at Salem Lake. If the weather is amenable, veterans fish, ride bikes and talk with old and new friends.
They’ve also held fishing tournaments in other sites around the state, and they’ve hosted golfing foursomes at the Maple Chase Golf and Country Club on Germanton Road.
“We require that they (the veteran golfers) have some game,” Snyder said. “We play or practice three or four days a week, and we play the municipal course. We play about 70 rounds of golf a year.”
But it’s not like tournament play. It’s more like members of the country club playing in a foursome, with Snyder or another ONS volunteer filling out the foursome.
“It’s all about fellowship, but there’s quality golf,” Snyder says. “The club and the members get more out of it. It gives the vets comfort, and the club members get to know about us.”
ONS’s mission plan hasn’t been perfect, of course. Covid-19 set their golf outings and fishing tournaments a couple of years behind, and ONS can’t do as much in the winter.
But now they’re back as covid has subsided a bit, Snyder’s goal is to have upwards of 100 golf outings a year.
Snyder says they have to consider veterans’ disabilities, perhaps PTSD, when they play golf or have other outings. “We have to be mindful of what might trigger them,” he says. “It might be the heat or something else.”
He says they have to be off the course by 11;30 to avoid the hottest part of the day. Similarly, they fish in spring and fall to avoid the heat of summer.
“The one thing I’m proudest of is the household name ONS has become,” Snyder said. “We do have a following, a good reputation. We’re squeaky clean (no alcohol allowed), and I don't want to mess that up. We’re now known as ONS; that's part of what I'm proud of. We’ve been able to generate people's trust.
“And that means a lot.”
Snyder recalls an ONS group attending a baseball game of the Charlotte Knights and sitting in the cheap seats in rightfield.
“A little black boy came up to me as I was walking to to the concession stands,” Snyder said. “He said, ‘Mr. Terry, y'all gave me my daddy back.’
“We’re making a difference. That’s one thing that has changed my life. We’ve brought all these people together, and it’s making a difference in guys’ and gals’ lives.”
Snyder says people have asked him how long he’ll keep doing this. He says he’s thought of a succession plan.
“There are guys who can do every part of this,” he said. “We’ll be in good hands. For now, I’ll see this out. We’ll stay in the area. I’m passionate about North Carolina.”
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