In this interview, Captain Kim Liszka and host Shelly Rood promote the 2026 Women Veterans Engage event in Central Oregon. They describe the event’s concept—organized by the Women Veterans Alliance (founded by Melissa Washington) and hosted by the Revel in Retreat Project at the Central Oregon Veteran Ranch. A pre‑event on May 29 will feature Namaskar yoga, neurosomatic intelligence acupuncture by Dr. Jill (a Naval Academy graduate), horticulture tours, desserts prepared by Central Oregon Community College culinary students, and a bonfire with combat veteran musician Barbara Sims. The main Saturday gathering, sponsored by the VFW and catered by Olive Garden, will include resource tables for military women, book signings by local women‑veteran authors, and a Wildflower assessment speech. They announce two registration sites—Forest Grove (via its website) and Central Oregon (via ReveilleAndRetreatProject.org)—and encourage women veterans to immerse themselves in supportive community events.
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This event that we're doing, the Women Veterans Engage, is an amazing concept put on by the amazing other Holly Hawk, Melissa Washington, who started Women Veterans Alliance. And so this year, Revel in Retreat Project alongside Central Oregon Veteran Ranch wanted to be the host site for this conference. And so we're in Central Oregon, so anyone who is interested, please Sign up and it is going to be beautiful. The pre-event is going to be May 29th, and that's going to be at Central Oregon Veteran Ranch. One of our missions as well is to bring in local businesses and really have them bring their gifts in as well. So we're having Namaskar Yoga. We're having one of Naval Academy graduate, Dr. Jill, bring in her neurosomatic intelligence and acupuncture. We're going to do horticulture tours. And then at the end, we asked one of the colleges, Central Oregon Community College, and their culinary students to create these little delicious decadent desserts that they make. And they're going to come and provide these treats for us while we sit by a bonfire, having one of our combat veteran, Barbara Sims, who just released her first album, sing and play her guitar. And then we're going to have the beautiful mountains in Central Oregon in the background. And it is just absolutely to die for. Oh my gosh, this event's going to be gorgeous. You have me so jealous. I mean, you're taken care of all day. And then you have all the elements. You have the scenery. You have the beautiful fire and what it represents and that warmth. And then you have the community circle and you have Barbara singing with her beautiful voice and just exuding that gorgeousness of the guitar and her vocals. And it's— there's just nothing better. And then that gets us all ready for Saturday. Absolutely magical. Yeah. And then it gets us ready for the main event on Saturday, which we teamed up with the VFW, who was so gracious to sponsor the site. So we will be meeting there. Olive Garden wants to provide food for us, and we are having resource tables specifically for military women. And then Shelly, two women, women veterans who just wrote a book and launched them here in Bend, Oregon, are gonna be doing book signings.
That is so special. It's hard to find women veteran authors, especially local ones.
And two of them in the same year is just Amazing. So we're really excited to bring what Melissa Washington has to offer. So she'll be speaking at first and talking about Women Veterans Alliance and why you need to be part of this group, because it offers so many resources for military women and provides that community. And now she's doing international, so we're really linking military women from all over the world. And she is just doing such a great job at doing that. So I'm so excited to hear what she has to talk about and what the women can learn from her and all the resources they have. And then we are going to talk about all the host sites. So everyone gets to come on and let us know a little bit about their culture. And then we get to have your Wildflower assessment. Speech. And so I'm really excited to see all the women in the room and what their flower is. And what's so beautiful is there is a company, a finance company, who provide— is going to provide cupcakes for us, and they're going to make wildflowers on the top to represent while you're talking about your assessment and how you came about to create it and Yeah, I feel like it's magical. I wish you were gonna—
It is magical.
Do you want to come?
So for our women that are in the Oregon area or seriously are interested in traveling in to attend all of the goodness there, where do they sign up?
I do wanna let everyone know that Oregon is so veteran supported that there are two sites this year. So there's a Forest Grove site. You could sign up on their website. And then for the women that live in Central Oregon or near Central Oregon, you can go to ReveilleAndRetreatProject.org, and there is a signup page there.
All right, amazing. Thank you so much, Captain Kim. Is there anything that you feel like our listener needs to hear straight from you and all the goodness that you're doing out in Oregon?
I just want to let all the women veterans know to really take time, and whether it's our events or any other events, Just immerse yourself in a community that is gonna support you and love you and empower you because you are worth it.
You absolutely are, Captain Kim. Thank you for the light that you shine, and I encourage you to go give yourself your own retreat this year.
