There are three basic types of entrepreneurship, for-profit, intellectual,

and social. Google exemplifies the first, The Copenhagen Consensus the

second, and Warriors and Quiet Waters the third. All require a good

organization and good management to be effective.

Organizations are created to achieve some purpose. The motivation may be a

good cause, for example healing or health improvement. Those in the

commercial marketplace are easiest to understand. However, few new

organizations, whether created for cause or for cash, are successful in

their mission and remain viable over the long run.

Those that sell products with hopes for profits have a metric and a

motivation for continuous adjustments. They evolve over time and survive

only when they outbid others for the required inputs for their products.

Intellectual entrepreneurs deal with inherently abstract values and are the

most difficult to understand and maintain.

Cause-driven, non-profit organizations find it more difficult to make

intelligent adjustments for they lack the normal financial incentives of

for-profit firms. The information upon which they base decisions is less

clear and monitoring is tougher.

It takes dedication as well as competence for a cause-driven organization to

succeed. Warriors and Quiet Waters (WQW) is one that has. Its success is a

great tribute to our community.

Here is an evaluation from a beneficiary, Sgt. Scott Ridddle. I heard it

read at a farewell dinner for the sixth group of wounded warriors to visit

Bozeman this summer and asked Scott if I could post it. It then was

published Wednesday, September 14, 2011 in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

Scott’s letter testifies to the value of WQW’s hard work, now with over 200

volunteers each summer. He explains why community is so important and why

Bozeman is a special place. Your eyes may sweat when reading it. Think it

over. Then ask how you might help. You’ll see why so many have.

-John A. Baden

“Thanks to Bozeman for a gift of peace”

My name is Sgt. Scott Riddle (Ret.) and I have found the meaning of life in

Bozeman, Mont. When I first inquired about Warriors at Quiet Waters, I was

just assuming that some nice people were going to take me fishing and give

me a chance to relax on the banks of a river. I had no idea what was really

in store for me.

I guess the first thought that comes to my mind is thankfulness. I am

thankful for a community of caring volunteers that take in complete

strangers and make them feel as if they are part of their community. I am

thankful that these same people don’t throw the word “hero” around, because

the heroes couldn’t be here because they only came home in our mind and our

dreams, and this community knows this. I am thankful for the generosity of

this great organization that provided us with the gear but also the

training to use it and the world’s greatest volunteers to make this whole

thing happen.

I noticed the little things that make great events even more greater. I saw

a man drive to the house just to put up tables and chairs and light smores

fires. I saw drivers come to the house every day to pick us up and take us

to events and then wait for us to come back so they could take us back to

the house. I saw some very patient people teaching me how to cast, and I got

to fish in an exclusive pond stocked with beautiful fish.

I saw angels come to the house and make breakfast every day. I saw two guys

sit with us until 10 p.m. tying flies, and some pretty lady giving much

needed massages. And I saw two of the nicest people on earth living in a

camper beside a house that could have easily sheltered them, but they

allowed us to have space at the cost of their living in a camper. In truth,

I saw the world’s most beautiful orchestra carried out by the world’s finest

musicians.

What this trip did for me is beyond words. It was pretty overwhelming for me

to come back from theatre on a stretcher badly broken, both physically and

mentally. I wondered what was left of the life that I had before I went, but

I still remember my drive to answer the call and I was willing to sacrifice

it all because that is what Americans do.

What this trip did for me was to restore my faith that great Americans like

the people of Bozeman, Mont., are worth defending, even if it means not

getting to come home. This awesome community and this great organization

didn’t just teach me fly fishing — they gave me the gift of peace. Thank you

so much. I will never forget what you have done for me.

Ret. Sgt. Scott Riddle, Easton U.S. Army, Md.