Making a Difference: Simple Steps to Take

You just give a shit a little bit. Those are the words that will stay with me forever. It's easy to make a difference if you just give a shit a little bit. If you care, just a tiny little bit, the things you can accomplish will be unbelievable. So goes the story for Chris Cruise and the family he's built up around Cruise Customs Flags. It's not often you meet a man with such pure and intense care for his fellow man. Men like Chris are few and far between, so with that being said, please allow me to tell you about Chris Cruise and Cruise Customs Flags.I met Chris with our photographer and videographer on a cold day in Louisville, Kentucky. If only I had known that the rich heritage and history of Kentucky and of these United States would soon be brought before me in the form of Chris and his family, I probably would have refused, feeling as if I was not worthy enough to tell you their story. I don't want to mislead or paint Chris as an all-encompassing redeemer of sorts because, like us all, he is human and subject to the same difficulties and afflictions that we're all born with...it's how he chooses to respond to those difficulties and afflictions that set Chris apart from the crowd.With both his father and father in law being veterans, Chris who served in the 82nd Airborne, wanted to do something unique for Christmas. The idea of an American flag made from bourbon barrels came to mind. It made perfect sense. Bourbon was distinctly American (and distinctly Kentucky), these three men had defended America over two generations...it only seemed right and proper.

In the garage of their home, Chris started woodworking these flags out and there was a peace, a moment of quiet tranquility that allowed Chris and his wife Amber to truly recognize how special this act of creating flags for other veterans and patriots would be. There it began...Chris soon brought on fellow Army veteran Brandon and the two forged a friendship that led me, upon meeting them, to outright just assume they were literal brothers. The camaraderie we all felt while being on active duty, it exists in a quiet home garage in a quiet suburb just outside of Louisville, Kentucky where each flag is made with care by a veteran with each customer in mind.

But what makes Chris, and his entire Cruise Customs Flags family so special? Without a doubt, it is their desire to help the veteran community. Chris wants to use the profits from the flags to expand so that he can hire veterans. He doesn't care about getting wealthy, he won't even quit his day job. He just wants to hire as many veterans as he can. Teach them a skill, give them an opportunity to do something that many don't understand the gravity of, but for those of us who've seen that flag in its various states, flying high, half-mast, draped over a coffin or folded up...means the world.Because the truth of the whole matter is this...it's easy to make a difference if you just give a shit a little bit!Facebook: Cruise CustomsInstagram: Cruise Customs FlagsWebsite: www.cruisecustomsflags.com