I
t started with a dresser. About 10 years ago, John Budiao, a communications and control technician at Oregon’s NW Natural, was hanging out in a garage with friends who, like him, were military veterans. The garage had a woodworking shop, and by the end of the night, the friends were laughing and talking as they sanded, drilled holes and fitted pieces together.
“That’s where the idea started,” Budiao said, for Operation Spartan Flags (www.OSFlags.org), a nonprofit that brings veterans together for camaraderie, support and woodworking.
But Operation Spartan Flags has a much bigger mission: About 22 veterans lose their lives to suicide every day in the United States, says Budiao, and Oregon has one of the highest rates of veteran suicide in the country. After having several close friends lose their lives and seeing others suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, Budiao—who spent 24 years in the military—decided it was time for that idea in the garage to become reality.
He launched Operation Spartan Flags in 2018. Any military member is welcome, with woodworking experience or not, to come hang out and build any one of the nonprofit’s designs, which include wooden flags, clocks, cornhole boards, shadow boxes and other specialty items.
Each piece is made from reclaimed wood, said Budiao. “It’s a second life for that wood,” he added, which echoes the nonprofit’s message that every person deserves a second chance and should be valued.
While he was named NW Natural’s 2021 Volunteer of the Year for his work on Operation Spartan Flags, Budiao says the credit really goes to many other people: the lawyer who helped him complete the applications to file as a nonprofit; the accountant who set up the budget; the designer who created the website; the local woodworking company, Timbr & Moss, that has offered to train interested service members; a local warehouse that recently donated a dedicated space for the group to meet, work and store its equipment; and NW Natural itself, which has supported Operation Spartan Flags through its nonprofit grant program for employee volunteers.
Budiao often speaks about his nonprofit to schools, veterans organizations and other groups, and in the future, he hopes to see it grow beyond Oregon. “The woodworking part is pretty unique,” he said. “Woodworking is something that is tangible, that veterans can feel, touch and create, and it gives them a better sense of accomplishment and belonging over a longer period of time.”