Every year, we wrap up our dealer open house and ask ourselves a simple question: What’s the theme going to be next year? Over 25 years, we’ve done football, baseball, the roaring 20s, pontoons on the Nile, gold rush and many others. Each theme becomes a lens through which we look at our boats, our brand, and what we’re really about. This year, when the team gathered in February to chart the course for the dealer show, the answer felt less like a choice and more like a calling. We settled on America 250 — with the tagline Freedom on the Water — in honor of our nation’s 250th birthday. The moment we locked in that theme, I knew we needed more than a stage set and a PowerPoint. We needed to do something. We needed to put one of our boats on the most historically significant waterway in America and prove, once again, what Avalon and Tahoe pontoons are made of.

That waterway was the Hudson River.

You can often find the best examples of service right in your own family. Anthony VandeVoorde has a family legacy of military service—his grandfather, uncle, sister, and two cousins all served in the Marines—from WWII to Vietnam to Desert Storm. And that inspired him to join the United States Marine Corps.

Anthony spent time in the Middle East during his two deployments— Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001 and in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. In the deserts of Iraq and Kuwait, there wasn’t much use for the amphibious tanks he worked on, so he was in a mechanized unit and spent time on a ship in equipment and supply support.

Perhaps no one can understand your experiences as well as someone who has lived through them, too. That’s the case with Darryl and Julia Joseph—both veterans of the Air National Guard who served for years as flight medics.

“We met on a deployment as flight medics from two different units,” Darryl explained. At that time, they both provided medical care and transported sick and wounded patients on the aircraft. Similar to a bus route, medical air evacuation moves through specific areas to get injured soldiers to military hospitals and medical centers, moving them from the frontline to their next line of care in the states.

So is there a time when a boater’s passion for pontooning can be a hobby and a job?

Yes, if you’re Brian Woodall.

It’s not uncommon to find a pontoon manufacturing company employee who is passionate about boating. And vice versa.

But it does make us envious nonetheless.

We’re feeling somewhat fortunate to have caught up with Chris Wilkin.

He seems to be out boating … a lot.

“My wife Debbie and I go out almost every single day,” Chris said. “We like to just cruise and go up to one of the restaurants on the water for lunch.”

But the retired U.S. military serviceman did take a few minutes to share details about his past service in the military and his passion for being on the water in his pontoon.

After a recent upgrade from their two-logged pontoon to a JC TriToon, Jim and his wife Sharon continue to enjoy life on the water. Originally from Illinois, the couple moved to Indiana about 20 years ago and has always enjoyed boating. Today, they love spending time on Lake Shafer, one of two reservoirs located in the Twin Lakes area of Monticello, Ind. It was created along with Lake Freeman in the 1920s when two dams were built outside of Monticello on the Tippecanoe River.

Sharon loves to fish, which works out great for Jim, “My wife is a fisherman. I’d rather sit and drink beer while she fishes.”

Life on board their red and white JC TriToon is quite relaxing. They purchased it in May from Tall Timbers Marina in Monticello. The upgrade to the TriToon was probably overdue and Jim credits the dealership for making it happen after seeing the boat at a recent boat show.

Always a fan of the water, Joe Woodbury dreamed of joining the US Coast Guard. During his freshman year in college in 1971, he said, “The draft was a big deal.” With that fervor he and his best friend, Fred, decided to enlist, but Fred wanted to join the Army National Guard. The recruitment officer promised they’d be able to serve together if they joined at the same time. Since they were both 17, they needed their parents’ approval. Joe’s parents quickly signed his application and it was submitted.

“I was excited to receive my notice that I was to report to Fort Campbell Kentucky,” Joe said. “And I quickly called my friend to see if he had gotten his letter yet.” But Fred’s parents hadn’t signed his application, so he never actually joined the Army and Joe went off to Kentucky alone.

Growing up, William Smith’s childhood was steeped in history. His dad was a high school history teacher who loved to collect military memorabilia. He once bought a rare WWI Marine Corps helmet that still had the unit logo and the soldier’s name painted on it. William’s family also knew quite a number of veterans, so being part of the military was something he always wanted.

“I was working in a factory after high school and just wasn’t enjoying it,” William said. “So I decided to join the Marine Corps Reserves. Almost immediately I decided that I wanted to go active duty and haven’t looked back since.”

Rodney Burley always planned to serve his country, but what led him to a career in the U.S. Navy had more to do with finding his own path within his family.

“I always wanted to serve, but I had two brothers who were in the Air Force, so I wanted to do something different,” recalls Rodney. “So I decided to go into the Navy right out of high school.”

He first started out as a surface sonar technician, where he worked on, operated, and maintained all the sonar gear. Then he got a commission after 12 years in their limited-duty hosting program. He was an electronics officer at that point, and that’s what he did for most of his remaining time.

Shortly after high school, Brian Varela was searching for the right vocation. “I tried a few jobs after high school, but nothing fit,” he said. “I wanted to grow up and do something that would certify me as an adult.” So he made the incredibly brave decision to serve his country and join the Army National Guard.

For the past 23 years, Brian has worked full time for the National Guard and continues to serve. He currently works at an armory in Montague, Mich., where he’s a maintenance shop supervisor. He explained, “I basically help maintain all the equipment that the National Guard has, and that depends on the unit I’m working with. Sometimes it’s with Black Hawk Chinook helicopters; other times it’s with weapons systems or engineering equipment.”