PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRIS GREEN
MAN ON A MISSION Brian McLaughlin Works to Win Hearts and Minds for Vets in Entertainment Written By Katie Grant
“I
know it’s a fault. I’m a compulsive volunteer, and almost always there’s not any kind of recognition. So if you’re doing it for the recognition, you’re probably going to be disappointed.” Brian McLaughlin, PGA member, producer, writer, one-time actor and proud Army veteran, has a candor and off-the-cuff humor that’s at once reassuring and refreshing. In a black vintage Captain America T-shirt, McLaughlin explains, “My parents volunteered for everything. There was a time we were at meetings probably four times a week—the PTA, the planning commission for the city, church things. They
[even] volunteered at the prison. I just do it because I feel like so many people have helped me.” As a Notre Dame grad and MBA from Boston University, McLaughlin was always a go-getter. He learned about discipline and hard work from the Boy Scouts, his time as a college gymnast and from his father, who attended West Point. That drive also came from his stint in the Army, where he reached the rank of Major, with 20 years total in active duty. McLaughlin says, “People think, ‘How can we help the veterans?’ And to me, veterans generally don’t want that. They’d rather we say, ‘How can veterans help them?’”
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