(Ret.) Army Master Sergeant Aaron Hudgins was named the 2026 Veteran of the Year by the Oklahoma Veterans Council during the annual Veterans Awareness Day joint legislative session May 15 at the Oklahoma State Capitol.
Last year, Hudgins, director of the Oklahoma Chapter of the Travis Manion Foundation (TMF), received the Family of the Year from the OVC.
“It’s a little overwhelming, because there’s so many great Veterans and like organizations in the state that have been doing this so much longer and have a well-established foothold in Oklahoma,” he said. “It was amazing. It’s hard to put into words, because last year I thought I had reached the top, because my family got recognized, which meant more to me, having my entire family on the Senate floor. We have a big family, and so it meant a lot. At that moment, I was good. I was like, ‘You know what? I have achieved whatever highest status I could achieve,’ so then this one completely took me by surprise.”
Hudgins said being honored by the OVC shows his organization is having an impact honoring Veterans.
“Being recommended, and then actually earning an award says that what we’re doing has an impact on our community and it is being recognized,” he said.
TMF unites communities to strengthen our nation by empowering veterans and families of fallen heroes to develop character in future generations. In 2007, 1st Lt Travis Manion, USMC, was killed in Iraq while saving his wounded teammates. Today, Travis’ legacy lives on in the words he spoke before leaving for his final deployment, “If Not Me, Then Who…”.
Guided by this ethos, veterans continue their service, build connections with each other, and thrive in their post-military lives by serving as character role models to youth. As a result, communities prosper and the character of our nation’s heroes lives on in the next generation.
Manion gave the ultimate sacrifice on April 29, 2007, on his second deployment to Iraq. While on patrol searching for a suspected insurgent house in Fallujah, Travis, his fellow Marines, and Iraqi Army counterparts were ambushed.
Manion led a counterattack against enemy forces, drawing fire away from his wounded comrades and allowing every member of his patrol to survive. For his actions, he was awarded the Silver Star and Bronze Star with Valor. Today, over 300,000 Spartans nationwide carry forward the legacy of fallen heroes like Travis by leading with character and living out the “If Not Me, Then Who…” ethos.
TMF Chapters are local volunteer groups led by veterans, families
of fallen heroes, and inspired civilians who have a passion for the Travis Manion Foundation mission. Currently, TMF Chapters exist in nearly 40 locations throughout the country – identifying and executing local service projects and hosting events that connect and unite their communities.
Chapters allow Spartans to expand the reach of TMF and engage with local volunteers to make a meaningful contribution to their surroundings while upholding the “If Not Me, Then Who…” ethos.
Their best-in-class programs are designed to develop, heal and bring together veterans, families of the fallen, youth and inspired civilians from all walks of life. From their Character Does Matter youth mentoring program to community service projects and service-based trips, TMF programs give Americans an opportunity to honor the legacy of fallen heroes through service.
Hudgins said TMF conducts legacy projects.
“The biggest thing that we do is legacy projects, which are service projects for the community that are built around honoring our fallen heroes,” he said. “While I’ve been doing it, every legacy project we do for the community, and it could be anything. We put bags together for foster care kids, overnight bags. Because when they leave in the middle of the night, they don’t have anything with them. We put bags together that have a blanket, snacks, a stuffy, a nightlight, something that they could take with them that is theirs.”
Hudgins said they do six major events a year including the Honor Project.
This year’s project happened on Memorial
Day where the Oklahoma TMF Chapter
visited Gracelawn Cemetery in Edmond and
the cemetery in Jones where they place TMF honor coins on Veterans graves.
“We lay them on all the fallen heroes of that cemetery, so every one of them gets it,” he said. “What we do is we go there, we place it, we say their name. We spend about two minutes kind of in the moment, and then we’re paying our respects to that Veteran that has paid the ultimate sacrifice.”
Hudgins said being involved with TMF is a way to honor all Veterans including his late wife SSG Jari J. Hudgins.
JJ Hudgins was injured while training for her mission at Fort Bliss. She was medically discharged from the Army after a broken hip was deemed an
“unrecoverable injury.”
She was home for just 10 days before passing away on April 28, 2018.
“The truth is that my involvement in this mission wasn’t shaped by one moment or one project. It was shaped by 26 years of service in the United States Army and, more importantly, by the personal tragedy of losing my wife, Jari J. Hudgins,” Aaron Hudgins said. “That loss changed my life and forced me to confront grief, purpose, and responsibility in a way I never had before.”
He continued “The man I am today and the work I do through the Travis Manion Foundation, is the result of both those experiences. My military career taught me about duty, leadership, and sacrifice. Losing Jari taught me the weight of that sacrifice and the importance of honoring it by continuing to serve others.”
For more information about the Travis Manion Foundation visit www.travismanion.org.
Story and photo by Van Mitchell, staff writer
