Army Veteran & Automotive Sales Trainer Joe Verde Donates $77K+

Joe Verde Sales and Management Training, Inc., today announced that company president Joe Verde has donated a total of $77,900 to the Wounded Veterans Initiative of Oceanside-based Canine Companions for Independence, a nonprofit organization that provides highly trained assistance dogs to people with disabilities.

At the National Automobile Dealers Association annual convention in New Orleans, LA, in January 2014, Joe Verde was the highest bidder on a 2013 Heritage Softail Classic Anniversary Edition Harley-Davidson motorcycle. The live auction event was sponsored by NADA and ADESA. Verde’s winning bid of $27,000 benefited the Wounded Veterans Initiative of Canine Companions for Independence and went toward the cost of providing specially-trained service dogs to assist disabled U.S. veterans. Verde recently sold the motorcycle for $13,000. These funds were also donated to Canine Companions, bringing the donation total from this motorcycle to $40,000.

In 2013, Verde bid $26,000 for a 2011 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy at another live auction event, sponsored by NADA and ADESA. He later sold that motorcycle for $11,900 and the funds were also donated to Canine Companions, bringing the total amount donated to date to $77,900.

“I’m a veteran. My dad was a veteran, and my son and grandkids are all veterans,” said Verde. “These wounded veterans give so much. We really appreciate the NADA Foundation for making us aware of Canine Companions and for giving us the opportunity to contribute to such a worthy cause. Please do all you can to support this worthy cause; visit: joeverde.com/vets14, or www.cci.org/veterans,” Verde added.

Verde served in the U.S. Army for more than seven years and was stationed in Vietnam in 1967, 1968 and 1969, during the Vietnam War, as a CH-47 Flight Engineer. As a Purple Heart recipient himself, he has a strong connection with other veterans and has become active in ways to help them make a smoother transition into their lives back at home.