By Laura Varnon, Special Projects Manager
The Spa and Sauna Co., spa manufacturer Sundance Spas, and the charity Wish for Our Heroes have teamed up to award a local veteran, Jason Kirmel-Long, a free Sundance spa as a small thank you for his military service.
Jason, who lives in Dayton with his husband, Sean, and their two dogs, sustained back and neuropathic injuries while serving as a Navy electrician from 1990 to 2005.
Jason is the fifth veteran that The Spa and Sauna Co. has donated a hot tub to through the Hot Tub for Heroes program, which is a partnership between Wish for Our Heroes and Sundance Spas, and Sundance Spa hot tub dealers.
Wish for Our Heroes is “a national 501(c)(3), dedicated to providing resources to the “average” active-duty military member, in order to make their deployments a little easier, and to improve the quality of their family lives while home or during deployment,” according to their website.
Nationally, Sundance Spas, Wish for Our Heroes and spa dealers around the country have donated nearly 100 hot tubs to veterans and have benefited over 120 veterans and their families, since they began collaborating, according to Garrett Guinivan, Mid-Atlantic Chapter and Hot Tubs 4 Heroes Director.
The Spa and Sauna Co. has donated all 5 of the Hot Tubs for Heroes hot tubs that have been donated in Nevada.
During his time in the Navy, Jason attended boot camp and training in Illinois, and then was stationed with fleets in Alameda, CA and at the Puget Sound Shipyard, before serving Shore Duty in Hawaii and at the Everett Naval Station in Washington. He was responsible for maintaining distribution power systems for ships and other electrical work.
Jason, who stands at 6’6” may be the tallest veteran that The Spa and Sauna Co. has awarded a hot tub to so far, and he was excited to sit in the Hamilton lounge, which he found very comfortable, despite his height.
While serving, he would often hit his head or arms while bending to get through doorways inside ships. Over time, it caused disc bulges. While performing electrical test on pieces of equipment in a ship, they hit some rough seas, and he hit his back on electrical equipment, which caused severe nerve damage.
“I haven’t been the same since,” he said, adding that he used to be an avid hiker and fisher.
As a result of the injuries he sustained during his service, he now takes 30 pills a day, and has undergone close to a dozen surgeries. His husband serves as his Veteran Affairs appointed home health aide, and he visits the Reno VA hospital every week.
He hopes that hot tub hydrotherapy will provide some relief and possibly allow him to decrease his reliance on medication, as well as return to his favorite hobby – fishing.
Jason is a newer Nevada resident, having moved to the Las Vegas area about 3 years ago, and into the Dayton area in October 2021. He is originally from the Seattle, Washington area.
Jason, who is now retired, wrote in his application essay, “I’m considered 100% disabled by the VA and Social Security. I believe that if given a hot tub, it would help improve my daily life, and help with my pain level. I could then volunteer at the VA and at my local chapter of the VFW.”
Jason, now 50, was awarded a Sundance Hamilton 780 Spa. From his new spa, he has a view of snowy mountains.
“We’re gonna build our backyard around this hot tub,” Jason said.
The Spa and Sauna Co. also gifted Jason a Sundance Spas bathrobe, a Wish for Our Heroes beanie hat, a Sundance Spas water bottle and two military themed rubber duckies, which he seemed to really enjoy.
He said he couldn’t wait to go to the VA and share information about the program and his experience with The Spa and Sauna Co.
Before the donation, Jason was able to visit us in the showroom. He had a chance to meet with company owner, Scott Clark, and some Spa and Sauna team members, who coordinated his hot tub donation.
Scott and he had a chance to discuss the benefits of using a hot tub daily and how a hot tub can affect your overall wellness, as well as how much the Hot Tubs for Heroes program has grown in recent years.
The Spa and Sauna Co. intends to make two donations to local veterans in 2023 and made their most recent donation in the summer of 2022.
If you’d like to nominate yourself or you know a deserving veteran or active duty member, nominate them here.
“We’ve given away a number of hot tubs over the years but to do one of our best-selling models in a premium series is awesome,” Clark said.
We thank Jason for his service and wish him continued enjoyment in his new Sundance Spa!
