Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. remembers and honors military veterans.
Founded by U.S. Army combat veteran Rachael Ridenour, Record the Journey utilizes outdoor photography adventures to help veterans process their military experiences, including combat, injury and loss. Photography allows expression and engagement without words, making an often difficult adjustment process a little easier.
“As a veteran, I view Veterans Day as a reminder and an opportunity,” said Ridenour, a Sergeant Major with more than 32 years of service. “It’s an occasion for civilians to go beyond a simple ‘Thank you for your service,’ and take the opportunity to make a meaningful connection. Whether you donate money or time to a veterans’ organization or simply make the effort to ask a veteran about their service experience and listen to their story, the hope is that this healthy engagement that starts on Veterans Day will then extend to all the rest of the days of the year.”
Since 2019, MMNA has provided RTJ with loans of a Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross and Outlander PHEV as part of its corporate social responsibility program, “Small Batch – Big Impact.” After being used in the Rebelle Rally, an annual all-women off-road event in which RTJ participates, both vehicles have gone on to support the nonprofit and its other programming to benefit veterans. The partnership with RTJ is part of a broader effort by MMNA to create a series of “Community Utility Vehicle” loans to small nonprofits to help support local communities.
“At Mitsubishi Motors, we are proud to recognize our servicemen and women, all of whom have sacrificed so much to protect our country,” said Mark Chaffin, Chief Operating Officer, MMNA. “We are honored to partner with Rachel Ridenour and RTJ for two years running through our Community Utility Vehicle program. We understand how important these vehicles are to the organization as they continue their work to assist returning veterans in their transition back to civilian life, and we look forward to continuing our successful partnership.”