News staff report
Bettendorf native Jake Wood must be getting used to dressing up these days.
He’s been to a few award receptions, including an ultimate dress-up affair — the GQ Gentlemen’s Ball in New York when he was named “Distinguished Gentleman of the Year” by the magazine.
The presentation for his most recent award might be a little less formal — more suit and tie and less tuxedo. Wood, the son of Jeff and Christy Wood of Bettendorf, is the recipient of the 2012 Pleasant Valley High School Wall of Honor Distinguished Alumni Award. He is a 2001 graduate of the Bettendorf school.
Wood co-founded Team Rubicon in 2010, a nonprofit veteran service organization that organizes and deploys military veterans at home and around the world for service following natural disasters. Team Rubicon has rapidly deployed disaster response teams to Haiti, Chile, Pakistan, Burma, South Sudan, Tuscaloosa, Ala., Joplin, Mo., the East Coast for Hurricane Irene and Turkey. As the current president of Team Rubicon, he is overseeing the development and expansion of numerous domestic disaster response programs, and speaks at universities, conferences and events around the country on the issues facing returning veterans.
People are also reading…
Wood earned his received his bachelor of business administration degree with majors in business and political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he also played football on a full athletic scholarship.
Following his undergraduate studies, he enlisted into the United States Marine Corps and served combat tours in Iraq in 2007 and again in Afghanistan in 2008. He was the top graduate of both the School of Infantry and the Scout Sniper Course and was awarded the Navy Marine Corps Commendation Medal with the “V” distinguishing device for valor.
Wood previously told the Bettendorf News that the skills he and other veterans develop in the military, such as leadership and risk management, are useful in assessing the damage caused by natural disasters and coming up with a plan on how to best assist the residents.
“I am very fortunate that I am surrounded by an amazing group of people,” he said, when speaking of Team Rubicon.
Wood also has been awarded the University of Wisconsin “Forward Under 40” Award; the Big Ten Conference “Live Big” Award and was named one of the “33 Entrepreneurs Who Make This World a Better Place” by IdeaMensch.
He sits on numerous national committees, including the VA’s Emergency Management Evaluation Committee, the Habitat For Humanity Military and Veteran Affairs Committee, and the Veteran’s Innovation Center Executive Operating Committee; additionally, he contributes to the Huffington Post on issues facing veterans and the military.
Wood gained national attention when he voiced a one-minute Veterans Day-themed montage preceding the “Monday Night Football” telecast on ESPN of the Oct. 23 game between the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings.
RECEPTION
A reception for Jake Wood is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. April 18 in the library at Pleasant Valley High School, 604 Belmont Road. Faculty, staff, students and the public are invited to attend. The school’s annual academic awards program is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the high school gymnasium.