In this episode of the Stan Stewart Podcast, host Rob Anderson announces the launch of the Cordy Gaeta Rice Scholarship, a new initiative honoring the late veteran Cordy Gaeta Rice. Anderson first provides background on his nonprofit Neptune Warrior, founded in 2016 to support veterans through scuba diving, community, and coaching. He explains how diving serves as a therapeutic sanctuary for veterans dealing with PTSD, depression, and anxiety, and how coaching—distinct from therapy—offers forward‑looking, goal‑oriented support. After recounting Cordy’s impact as a Marine, mentor, and embodiment of the organization’s motto “healing heroes one dive at a time,” Anderson describes the scholarship’s structure: free, certified coaching for veterans (including non‑divers) delivered through the Stan Shure Foundation and Stand Sure Coaching. He defines coaching per the International Coaching Federation, outlines its benefits (goal setting, stress management, identity rebuilding), and stresses that it complements but does not replace therapy. The episode concludes with a call for donations, corporate sponsorships, and referrals, emphasizing that each coaching session extends Cordy’s legacy and creates “ripples of resilience” for veterans transitioning to civilian life.
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Hey, welcome to the Stan Stewart Podcast. I'm your host, Rob Anderson. And in today's episode, for me on a very personal basis, it's— this is a special one. It's about honoring someone who meant a lot to myself and to an organization that I founded as a nonprofit. Cordy Gator Rice, and about his legacy lives— his legacy lives on through Neptune Warrior, and now it's going to do it here at Stan Shure. I've shared part of the story over on my other podcast, One Dive at a Time, but I wanted to bring it here too because today what we're announcing connects directly to the heart of both Neptune Warrior and Stan Shure. A little bit of a backstory or a couple of backstories as we get started. One is I've now created a foundation to help others get coaching in underserved communities. As many of you know, coaching can be expensive and people in those underserved communities don't have They don't have the financial means, but yet they need coaching. You know, they don't need counseling, they don't need therapy, but they need something to move forward as they go through transitions, as they want to build upon life's goals, all those things that— of why people do coaching. And also, before I talk about Cordy and this scholarship, I want to explain very quickly the mission of Neptune Warrior. For those who may not be familiar, Neptune Warrior is a nonprofit that I founded in 2016 to support veterans through scuba diving. And if you listen to that podcast, there's a lot of things about scuba diving that really helps people, especially transition through PTSD, transitioning out of the service, depression, anxiety. The water becomes their sanctuary. And it's not just about diving with Neptune Warrior. It's about community, trust, rediscovering purpose. We've seen veterans come out of the water not only with skills and certifications, but with renewed confidence, friendships, and momentum to keep moving forward. And the 3 pillars in Neptune Warrior are Diving, community, and coaching. And what I found was coaching is a big part of that. But also there's this community of veterans who don't want to dive, but they don't want to scuba dive, but they still need that coaching aspect of it. Several months ago, we lost Cordy. Cordy lost the battle with PTSD. He was a retired Marine. He was just a light for all of us. He was that person who was always offering encouragement and that person that had a lot of energy, a person who loved diving. Even after he moved away, he still wore Neptune t-shirts and jackets and just all kinds of stuff, right? And so I reached out to his family and just had a really heartfelt It was through text, but had a heartfelt conversation with both of them, as well as talking to his best friend. And, you know, he embodied our motto, which is healing heroes one dive at a time. See, when veterans enter the water, there's something powerful that happens. The weight of the world feels lighter. Silence replaces noise. And while the mind— while their mind and body finds rest for battling PTSD, depression, anxiety, It also opens up doorways for coaching. But what I found is, you know, especially talking to Cordy a lot, you know, Cordy wasn't just a participant. He was family. He carried encouragement and strength everywhere he went. Veterans who felt invisible found in him someone who saw them, who heard them, and believed in them. And when we talk about ripples, the way a person's actions spread way beyond, way beyond what they can see, Cordy embodied that. His ripple continues to touch lives today. And that's why, again, with his family's blessing, we're launching the Cordy Gaeta Rice Scholarship. This is going to run through our new nonprofit, Stanshaw Foundation. The scholarship is going to provide free coaching for veterans working through PTSD and transition. Coaching has always been a part of Neptune. Those conversations at the poolside or on a dock after a dive, the encouragement, the perspective, just asking questions that provide a different perspective. And so we're doing that partnership through Stand Sure Coaching. And this way, veterans— not just veterans who go scuba diving, but all veterans— can get professional coaching with certified coaches. And that means that veterans are going to have a structured, focused-forward support that's going to move them from surviving to thriving. I get asked, so what does coaching actually do? The International Coaching Federation defines coaching as partnering with clients in thought-provoking and creative processes that inspire them to maximize their personal and professional potential. For our vets, It looks like this: setting goals that mean something and achieving them, learning strategies to manage stress and navigate life after service, whether that's 6 weeks or 20 years, rebuilding identity and finding purpose beyond the uniform, gaining confidence and clarity to move them forward. And as always, it's important to note, coaching is not therapy. Therapy heals the past. You know, use therapy and, you know, use therapy and counseling like you would on open wounds and scabs. Coaching works with the scars. Therapy's in the past. Coaching builds future. While some veterans benefit from both, sometimes there's others who hesitate to pursue anything because of the stigma or career concerns. So coaching is there as an accessible and empowering alternative, again, that moves them forward, not dealing with the past, but moving them forward. This initiative is incredibly important. And I'll say, we're going to need help. Companies, individual donors, sponsorships. Because what it does for veterans, it gives them a professional coach. Who is certified, it removes the financial barrier. When we've got the support that we need, it means veterans won't have to pay to receive this level of coaching. Second, it ties Cordy's name to something that uplifts people. Every coaching session, every veteran who discovers new purpose or gains that resilience is another ripple of his legacy. I got to tell you, I'm excited about this because it bridges the 2 worlds that I love. The diving aspect, diving with veterans through Neptune Warrior, and it builds together with the coaching aspect of Stan Shurr. You know, Neptune provides that community. It, you know, provides relief in the water. And Stand Sure provides professional coaching for everyone. For, well, in, in the foundation, like I said before, the foundation's gonna be for underserved people. Specifically this scholarship. It provides professional coaching for our veterans who are not necessarily divers. And together they create this full-circle symbiotic approach of helping veterans rebuild and move forward with strength and direction. So today, again, I'm proud to announce the Cordy Gator Rice Scholarship launched with the blessing of Cordy's family. It's going to honor his legacy and support veterans living and, and transitioning and managing just all the stuff that they got going on in their lives. If you're a veteran who could benefit, or if you know of someone who might, reach out. If you know of companies, or if you're an individual that wants to help another veteran, It's about creating ripples of resilience, not just diving, but through conversation and one life at a time. Hey, thank you so much. I appreciate y'all listening. Thank you.
