Leadership / 08.11.26
Vet Tix – Part I: When Empty Seats Change Lives
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Leadership / 08.11.26
https://access.intix.org/Full-Article/vet-tix-part-i-when-empty-seats-change-lives
Vet Tix – Part I: When Empty Seats Change Lives
Christine Payne
It began with a simple idea: What if an empty seat at a live event could become a meaningful way to thank veterans for their service? Nearly two decades later, that idea has grown into something far greater than anyone imagined.
Focareto III
Founded in 2008 by U.S. Navy veteran Michael A. Focareto III, the Veteran Tickets Foundation (Vet Tix) has become a trusted partner to the live entertainment industry, helping teams, artists, venues, producers, promoters and even season ticket holders transform donated tickets into memorable experiences for veterans, service members and first responders. Since INTIX Access first featured the organization in 2023, ticket distribution has increased from 4.9 million to 7.9 million annually, with growth continuing at about 35% each year. Today, Vet Tix welcomes an average of 1,500 new members and distributes more than 23,000 tickets every day. New technology, including a mobile app and a ticket return feature, has also made it easier for Vet Tix members to manage their tickets. And if an illness or family emergency pops up, recipients can easily return their tickets to be securely reassigned to someone else.
As the organization expanded its reach, however, the team realized that distributing nearly 40 million tickets over the years was only part of the equation. Vet Tix wanted to better understand what happened after recipients walked through the gates.
“We’ve always said our mission is ‘give something to those who gave.’ In our society, we say thank you for your service, but what exactly does that mean?’” says Chief Strategy Officer Steve Weintraub. “We knew we were sending our members and their families and friends to events where they were creating memories and making up for lost time together. But what is happening to them at these events? How are these events impacting them and their families?”
So, they decided to find out.
Vet Tix recently commissioned its first Live Event Impact Study, an independent research project designed to measure the effect of attending live events rather than simply counting tickets distributed. The results confirmed much of what the organization had suspected for years but had never been able to prove.
“The data that we gleaned from it is that the more live events [our members] are attending, it’s helping them with their wellness. They are getting reintegrated into society, or maybe it’s something that they didn’t use to like to do, and the more events that they attend, we see their wellness scores improving. And when I say a veteran, service member or a first responder, that’s not singular. It’s plural, because every one of those [individuals] has a spouse, a significant other, a child, a parent — somebody who, when they’re affected by things, by stress, it impacts them. It’s not just the individual. It’s those around them in their ecosystem. It transcends.”
As the researchers compiled the survey results, several themes emerged again and again. Connection. Community. Family. Belonging. None of this surprised Weintraub.
“I obviously can’t speak for all veterans, service members or first responders. However, there is a large population of them that feel disconnected,” he says. “They feel disconnected to society, to their communities; especially on the military and veteran side. They’ve served, and for veterans, they’re no longer serving. So, there’s a segment of them that feel like they’ve lost a sense of purpose because they’re no longer in the military. It was such a tremendous part of their life. Their brotherhood, sisterhood, the impact, the bonds and things like that. When they stop serving, a lot of them feel like they’ve lost a sense of purpose. And it’s no different for first responders, where a lot of them feel safer around their first responder brothers and sisters.”
Weintraub continues, “A lot of times, at these events, our donors are donating tickets in blocks, so whether the recipients realize it or not, they’re sitting in the same section [or even] row with other veteran service members and first responders, so they’re sitting among their tribe … A lot of them figure it out, because [they will recognize] that person talks like me, they sound like me, and [ask], ‘Did you serve?’” [Then they realize they are] in the Vet Tix section … This is not the panacea, but it’s helping them find their sense of belonging.”
That sense of belonging extends well beyond the people who arrive together to an event. In many respects, Weintraub says, that’s the unique power of live entertainment itself.
“I love [that the study talks about the power] of a shared experience. And it’s not just shared with the person they’re with … Think about when you’re at an event. It has happened to all of us, whether it’s a game, a concert or a festival. At a sporting event, there is an amazing play. Your team scored, and you start high-fiving people around you. Or you say, ‘Did you see that?’ Or you’re at a concert, and everybody’s favorite song came on, and you’re all, in unison, just vibing to it, and it’s shared. That’s the thing, whether it’s the person you know or the person in front or behind you who is a total stranger, you’re vibing with this individual, and so you’re making a connection that’s shared among strangers. That’s the magic of attending live events.”
The partnership between Vet Tix and the live entertainment industry works because it creates benefits on both sides. Veterans, service members and first responders gain meaningful live experiences, while donors know that their tickets are being put to good use.
“That’s where we complement each other. We fill seats,” says Weintraub. “There are a lot of events that sell out; it’s hard to get [those] tickets, and we understand that. But we’re also there for our partners and donors when they can’t fill the venues … and at the end of the day, empty seats don’t sell food, beverage or merchandise. They don’t look good on TV, and they don’t look good to the brands and the sponsors who spend a lot of money to have their signage up in the venues when there are empty seats and no eyeballs on them … Now people are in those seats. On average, we have an 83% scan rate for the tickets that get claimed for high-demand events. If it’s an NFL game or premiere concert or event, it’s closer to 100% … We are that apparatus to get people into those venues.”
Yet the relationship between Vet Tix and the live entertainment industry has never just been about finding a home for unsold tickets. That may be how many donors first discover Vet Tix, but it isn’t why so many of them continue to support it year after year. What does Weintraub wish the ticketing community, venue operators and live events organizations better understood about the impact they’re helping to create?
“They are creating lifelong memories for our military, veteran and first responder community,” he says. “You can make the argument that, well, we’re making lifelong memories for everybody. Yes, absolutely. But having served over three decades in the military myself, I’ve missed family events. I’ve missed birthdays, anniversaries, recitals, things like that, because of my service. I don’t feel sorry for myself. I signed up. I made that sacrifice, but when these venues can understand that they’re creating these memories and … giving our members the opportunity to rebuild those relationships, create new memories and make up for that lost time, that’s the magic. That’s the impact that they have for our demographic that missed out on those experiences.”
It’s a realization that has changed the way many partners view their relationship with Vet Tix. Organizations that initially saw themselves as ticket donors often become even more enthusiastic collaborators, looking for ways to make an evening more memorable.
“Once they start to learn more about how easy it is to work with us, what we do, how we do it and the impact it has on our members, they start getting creative and pitching activations, like meet and greets before a concert or game,” explains Weintraub. “I remember when The Who was on tour and they had a [traveling exhibit filled with memorabilia from the band’s history]. They said, ‘We want to offer this special thing to a segment of your attendees’ … Some of our donors, they get it, they get creative and they pitch us these types of value-add activations that we’re not going to ask for, but they offer to us.”
Every Vet Tix member who receives tickets is encouraged — but never required — to submit a thank-you note after attending an event. Some of them are exactly what you would expect, simply saying thanks for the tickets. But so many go much deeper than that. They’re about the experience, reconnecting with family, making memories with children and friendships. They’re about what happened because somebody donated those tickets. And donors only need to visit the Vet Tix website to see this type of life-changing feedback.
There have been more than 2.7 million testimonials over the years, creating a remarkable collection of personal stories. One of those stories has never left Weintraub. It wasn’t part of the recent survey. It was a thank-you note from the spouse of a Vet Tix member.
“Jeffrey Williams has been in combat, has been shot up, he’s been on multiple deployments and his wife was freaked out that he might have an episode at [the Shinedown concert]. They went shopping for [ear protection for the show]. She was really nervous about it, and then the pyro and music started. He took the [ear protection] off, and just went into a mode of being present, like some kind of band-aid [had been] ripped off,” says Weintraub. “Reading that testimonial, it was not just the event; it was everything that happened after the event. He rebuilt his relationship with his son, gifting him a car he was fixing up. His son said, ‘Dad, what happened? What switch flipped?’ He [even started] cuddling his wife in bed.”
As this article explains, Williams’ wife Wendy had “worried [for years] that she might be injured by his nightmares if she slept too close to him. He struggled with addiction, PTSD, suicidal thoughts and even major health issues related to his service.”
No summary can fully capture the emotion of this particular Vet Tix member testimonial. It deserves to be read in its entirety, and I encourage you to do so here. I’ve read it more than once, and it still leaves me in tears every time.
That is the power of live entertainment.
Also among the study’s findings was a consistent pattern among National Guard and Reserve members, who reported some of the strongest outcomes. Having spent more than three decades serving in the military, much of it in the reserves himself, Weintraub believes he understands why.
“When you’re in the Guard or Reserve, you’re what’s commonly called a citizen soldier, and that’s where you straddle the line between being a civilian and being an active duty military person,” he says. “You don’t have the resources that active duty members have with a military installation, a base and all the wraparound services that come with that unless you’re mobilized or activated. That’s when you tend to have much more access to that. When you’re not serving, you’re in your community, and you’ve got a primary job that’s probably not your Reserve or Guard job. When you get called to active duty or when you’re doing your two weeks of annual training, now you’re in that ecosystem. When you leave that after your two weeks, or however long, you feel like you don’t have that net anymore, and it’s gone. So, that’s where, for these Guard and Reserve members, it’s giving them that sense of community … It’s not a one-size-fits-all, but it helps them with their reintegration.”
The research points to meaningful benefits, but Weintraub is careful not to overstate what it shows.
“There’s no silver bullet for overcoming or addressing PTSD and anxiety, and all those other kinds of challenges,” he says. “It was an unintended consequence of our mission, but it’s a tool in the toolbox for organizations to help those coping with them, because a lot of our testimonials [say that] attending these events really helps me with my PTSD, my anxiety; it’s helping me get out of my shell. Some people may never go to a live event again, and it’s unfortunate, and hopefully that’s not the case, but we’ve had examples where people were scared to death about going to these events because of those challenges, and they faced them head on, and they’ve realized that … this really opened up the door and paved the way for them to put that on hold, to overcome it. So, it’s really neat how it holistically happens.”
Because the study was designed and conducted independently by researchers, Vet Tix now has something it never possessed before: credible data that can help scientists, sociologists and veteran organizations better understand the role shared experiences play in emotional wellness and community reintegration.
“We’re what I call the fun veteran service organization. We’re the fun veteran charity. There are a lot of veteran organizations out there that are addressing PTSD head-on, curbing veteran homelessness and employment and reintegration and things like that. They’re great organizations, and they’re doing great things, but we focus on one thing, and that’s the Tickets for Troops. But now we have this data,” says Weintraub, adding that researchers are interested in drilling deeper into it, writing white papers, and asking new questions to connect the dots about how attending live events fits into the bigger picture.
As the conversation draws to a close, Weintraub touches on something he hears surprisingly often. People discover Vet Tix or its sister organization 1st Tix for first responders, admire the mission and then quietly step aside, convinced the organization is meant for someone else. But Weintraub says they’re missing the point.
“When I talk to people about Vet Tix and 1st Tix, [they’ll sometimes say], ‘I know about your organization, and it’s great, but I can afford tickets … and I don’t want to take them away from somebody more deserving’ … Then I say, ‘You just missed the point of our mission. Our mission is to give something to those who gave, and our tickets are donated by partners, donors, performers, promoters and season ticket holders. Those donors thank you for your service. What does that mean? Well, they want to thank you for your service by hosting you at their events, so it doesn’t matter that you can afford them. This is how they thank you, by hosting you, your family and your friends at the event through Vet Tix.’”
Weintraub adds, “We’re the largest veteran service organization in the United States, but we’re also the largest veteran service organization in the United States that nobody’s heard of. There are people that know us, love us and support us, but there are people and organizations out there that have no idea who we are.”
With that said, if this story resonates with you, please consider sharing it with a colleague in the live entertainment industry.
Editor’s Note: This is the first installment of a two-part series exploring the impact of Vet Tix. In Part II, Feld Entertainment shares why its partnership with Vet Tix continues to make a difference for everyone involved.
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Christine Payne
