Major Ed Pulido, U.S. Army (retired), will be the keynote speaker at the welcoming session of the 82^nd American Convention of Meat Processors & Suppliers’ Exhibition, July 15, 2021, in Oklahoma City, Okla. Attend the session and get an overview of the convention week. AAMP President Rick Reams, RJ’s Meats, Hudson, Wis, will offer opening remarks along with the presentation of the F.W. Witt Supplier of the Year Award and the Stephen F. Krut Scholarship Award. Afterward, attendees will hear from Major Pulido. 

Major Pulido is a vision of resiliency after a traumatic life-changing event while serving the U.S. Army. On August 17, 2004, he was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED) or roadside bomb in Iraq. During his time in the hospital, Pulido experienced the inner darkness of depression, PTSD, and suicidal ideation that would cripple his positive spirit, along with eventually losing his leg with what happened that day. He described this inner darkness as a “deep wounding of a soldier’s spirit.” It was at this time, he understood that a warrior could not walk alone in this journey. At that moment, he asked for help from God, country, family, and the American people.

The result of this intervention would put his life on the road to recovery. It would also be the building block for his understanding of the inner wounds of war. Pulido’s firsthand account of coming out of the darkness of depression made him an ideal candidate to educate the public on resilience. Pulido spends his time traveling the country talking to businesses, charities, etc., spreading the word of his experience and how he has overcome adversity.

Pulido is now the senior vice president of the Folds of Honor Foundation, a veteran’s charity that provides the spouses and children of the fallen and wounded educational scholarships. Additionally, he is a founding member of Warriors for Freedom Foundation, a leadership institute focused on the mental, physical, and wellness support of our wounded veterans and their families. He is the spokesperson for AROGA Health. Finally, he is the founder of Warrior Nation, a movement focused on the rights of liberty, freedom, and patriotism with an autobiography entitled Warrior for Freedom: Challenge, Triumph and Change, the Major Ed Pulido Story.

His story of courage and sacrifice has been featured in Time magazine, PGA Magazine, Fox News, CNN, and many national and local Oklahoma City television stations and print media. Since his amputation, Pulido has been a staunch advocate for veterans with disabilities, specifically focusing on advocacy efforts to promote prosthetic technologies, peer visiting with fellow amputees at Brooke and Walter Reed Medical Centers, and raising awareness on the needs of veterans with PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) on behalf of the DOD and VA Real Warriors National Campaign. 

He has received countless awards including the prestigious Disabled American Veteran of the Year Award, HeartLine Festival of Hope Award for Suicide Prevention, the Hero’s award from the American Red Cross, the Reaching our City Award, OKC Thunder/Devon Energy Community Hero Award, and the Daughters of the American Revolution Veteran Patient Award. Additionally, he has received the Valley Forge Freedom Foundation Award for national and state level service and the Tuskahoma Brown Miller Award for outstanding leadership. Major Ed Pulido, U.S. Army (Ret.) Sr. Vice President, Folds of Honor Foundation Founder, Warriors for Freedom Spokesperson, AROGA Health. Learn more about Major Ed at his website www.majored.org.