Today we’d like to introduce you to Ronald Green.
Hi Ronald, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I came from a family where giving was second nature, as a small child I remember my parents helping family members that moved from South Carolina to Baltimore make a smooth transition. My father owned his own home renovation business and he would not only employ people but my mom would also house them during their transition. I could not understand this as I was the youngest of 14 and never did see how this was possible, I thought we were rich but that was far from the truth. We were a family struggling like most but one thing we did have was a STRONG belief in GOD. I can still hear my parents today when things get tough for me is that ‘GOD WILL MAKE A WAY’.
Growing up in inner city America was not always easy but with great family values instilled by my parents we defeated the typical statistics, being a black male you had several choices; sell drugs, go to jail or die young, what a choice! My mom and dad always said that because you grew up in a bad neighborhood does not mean that you have to live up to the stigma. We all graduated from high school. All of the male members of my family went into the military, my sisters graduated from college. I say with pride, all that are still alive held managerial positions in their chosen fields.
After completing 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, I started a second career with the U.S. Customs Service where I also retired with 20 years of honorable service. During my 40 years of government service I never did forget the local community, I was always active doing some type of volunteer work from feed the hungry, clothing ministries, supporting anti-drug organizations in the community. I volunteered with a national organization “UP WITH HOPE, DOWN WITH DOPE” led by Mr. Herman Rice of Philadelphia.. Spent many holidays feeding the homeless, orphaned children, abused women as well as many others. Wherever I was stationed around the globe, I always found a way to give back through volunteerism. I thought my efforts went unnoticed because I never did talk about my service, Needless to say, I was very surprised when I was awarded the Volunteer Service Award while still in the Air Force.
I have served along side several nonprofit organizations. Many with great beginnings, but sadly some fell short of their goals due to mismanagement of funds. After struggling with wanting to stay active yet function with integrity to make an impact – God spoke to me and said to start my own organization, if I am truly unhappy. That is where PayN 4 Ward came from! The name is a play on words from a basic principal to always bless someone the same way you were blessed, when you needed help. The mission behind my nonprofit is to deliver restorative, uplifting, and therapeutic outdoor experiences for my fellow military members, and their families. My mission moved from hearts-desire to manifestation when I was asked to put on a fishing event for “His House” a home for unaccompanied minor immigrants. This initial small “His House” fishing event, eventually turned into arranging for 60 children to attend a professional Florida Marlins baseball game. Twice per week, I volunteer with Save Life Community Development, by distributing food to approximately 30o families. . All of these are part of the collaboration efforts of PayN 4 Ward.
A major accomplishment of PayN 4 Ward, was to experience my desire of sponsoring a retreat for Vietnam Veterans to Costa Rica. I fell in love with it, and refer to it as “a piece of paradise.” Between my savings, and having received small donations from friends and family for 3 years – this trip became a reality! April 28, 2026 (my birthday) I took 8 veterans to Costa Rica! program funds and donations covered all expenses, hotel, meals, 2 days of fishing and airfare within the country. God is truly good because without my constant prayers and belief in him I would have given up many times, but “GOD WILL MAKE A WAY”..
Still today I am a Member of the Miami Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, American Legion Post 144, Miami Lakes active member, My program conducts free monthly fishing workshops for South Florida Parks and Recreation, Spokesperson for American Vet Dogs, Chairperson for the 50th Commemoration of the Vietnam War,
That is the long and short of who I am and how I got to where I am today, Faith (GOD), Family and Fishing. One must always give back.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Life is never smooth and I think God planned it that way, without pitfalls in life you have no testimony to share. I had my share, some minor and others were major to ME. I would say the first hurdle that we all go through is when we leave home for the first time, it was a felling of being on an island alone. I had to make all of my decisions, some having good results and others not too good. There were so many distractors out there to pass the lonely times, drinking, night clubs, drugs (not for me) and many others that need not to be mentioned but most can only guess. The biggest struggle was forgetting the foundation that was laid from the beginning of my life, because I was grown! There were times where, one week after payday I was completely broke due to my not being a good steward of my finances because I thought I was having fun spending time in the club or drinking in the barracks, wrong decision bad outcome. Several of us guys got together and purchased motorcycles, we would ride from Denver to California, with maybe $40.00 between us, living the carefree life. One three-day weekend we went to California, no-one thought to ask about how much money we had so we took off on our trip. Needless to say we did not have enough money to buy gas to return in time for classes on Sunday night. Bad decision bad outcome, restriction to base and loss of pay for 90 days. Most of my struggles were as a result of bad decision making on my part as with most young people. Fortunately, I never suffered devastating consequences because of my decision making but I did learn to go back to the basics that I left home with and pray before making decisions.
There were so many good people in my life that when I did make bad decisions, somehow these people always appeared out of nowhere to offer good advise and pick me up. As with our California trip, we met a retired Air Force gentleman in a White Castle parking lot who gave us money to return to the base. He told us not to send him the money back but to remember and help someone in the future that maybe in the same predicament that we were in, Pass it on.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a retired Air Force veteran with 20 years of honorable service in a multifaceted career which started as a logistics specialist in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I was on the base Honor Guard where I was recruited to become a member of the elite USAF Presidential Honor Guard in Washington, DC. After 6 years with the Honor Guard I began my professional career as an Intelligence Specialist. This is where my worldwide experiences started, from Washington DC to Denver. Colorado to Germany, to Korea and many places in between. Always volunteering in all of those places. My final assignment in the Air Force took me to Key West Florida. While station there I was instrumental in a counterdrug group to help eliminate drugs in the community but conditioning marches and rallies in high drug activity areas.
After retiring from the military I was hired by the U.S. Customs Service in Key West and later moved to Miami where i did numerous overseas temporary duty assignment to countries like Rwanda, Bosnia, Ethiopia, and Cuba to name a few. Miami is where I started my almost full-time commitment to volunteerism. I volunteered with Farm Share, Feeding South Florida, Jessie Trice Health System, Miami Marlins, Save Life Community Development, all of which did food distributions to the South Florida community. Actively involved with the Miami Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, American Legion Post 144, Miami lakes, Florida both of which are very active in community activities.
Prior Board member of the the non-profit organization “Fishing With America’s Finest” which focused on the disabled veteran. I say a big void with this organization and that was the entire family and the civilians suffering from traumatic events. I decided to start my own nonprofits that is based on being a faith based organization that will focus on all individuals that desire help after suffering from a traumatic event, mental or physical abuse or just needing a helping hand. We use the most basic principal of therapy and that is to provide a quiet environment to encourage individuals to talk so that we can refer them to traditional therapy facilities. I personally know the value of being on or near the water has been proven to help individuals with PTSD, TBI and or other traumatic events. I work with children from His House, volunteer to assist the Knights of Columbus in their community events. I also conduct free fishing events for Florida Parks and Recreation on how to fish, fishing etiquettes, fish identification etc. and most importantly I volunteer with the Miccosukee Tribe and their Fish and Wildlife agency of environmental issues to keep the Florida Everglades clean.
PayN 4 Ward just completed a all expense paid retreat to Costa Rica for Vietnam Veterans and a few Desert Storm Veterans. This was a personal dream of mine for several years to honor my brother that passed away a few years ago from wounds suffered in Vietnam. I save portions of my retirement pay and solicited donations to make this retreat a reality. The airfare in Costa Rica, lodging, meals and fishing boats were all paid for by the nonprofit. We have started to work on details for next year and we pray that it will be a bigger event and we will be able to take a few more veterans.
I pray that you have an idea of who I am and what PayN 4 Ward does on a daily basis.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Helping others make me happy. My mother passed away 2 years ago and I still see the smile on her face when she did good for other people and how proud it made her to see her children doing the same. It makes my heart smile because I am doing something for people that they are not expecting. It is not how major the event but the impact on the person’s life that is important and makes me feel good. Buying a homeless individual a meal or helping a single mom fix her car are both just as important.
Pricing:
- Any donations that can help sponsor a veteran to an all expense retreat to Costa Rica are acceptable
- Donations to help purchase rods, reels or tackle to facilitate our fishing programs.
Contact Info:
- Website: Payn4ward.com
- Facebook: Fishing For Men
