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The Mountain Home chapter of Disabled American Veterans will mark its 20th anniversary picnic this Saturday with an extraordinary achievement. For the first time, Baxter County has recorded zero veteran suicides this year, a milestone in a county that carries Arkansas’s highest suicide rate.
The DAV Chapter 30’s annual Veterans Outreach and Appreciation Picnic runs Saturday, Oct. 4, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Arkansas State University-Mountain Home. The event has become the centerpiece of years of intensive outreach that transformed how the county addresses veteran mental health.
“Suicide prevention has been our big focus here for the last six or eight years,” said Dan Hall, Commander of DAV Chapter 30. “We’ve had real success here.”
The achievement is particularly striking in Baxter County, where approximately two suicides occur monthly among the general population. Just a few years ago, veterans made up a significant portion of those deaths.
The transformation didn’t happen overnight. Hall credited a partnership with Baxter County Coroner Brad Hays, who trained his staff to identify whether suicide victims were veterans, providing more accurate local data than the three-year-old statistics from federal agencies.
“Brad Hays is our county coroner. He’s been a real partner in this. He’s done a good job of training his people to go to that extra step to identify veteran versus non-veteran suicide,” Hall explained.
That data allowed the DAV to track patterns and intervene more effectively. As more veterans connected with services, suicide rates dropped. The chapter’s approach earned national recognition, with Hall and his team frequently called to present their model at conferences across the country.
The annual picnic has played a crucial role in connecting veterans with resources. Last year’s event drew nearly 900 veterans and family members, with the VA issuing 107 healthcare ID cards, administering 81 flu and COVID shots, and conducting the area’s first toxic exposure screenings under the PACT Act.
This year’s 20th anniversary picnic will feature lunch served by NJROTC cadets, entertainment by the award-winning band Bad Habit from Little Rock, and dozens of vendor booths offering veteran services. The event will be held in memory of Max Rainey, a Vietnam veteran and beloved community member who hosted annual veterans gatherings before his death in July 2024.
The success reflects a broader community effort to address suicide. In September, more than 200 runners raised over $10,000 for suicide prevention resources at the inaugural Run for Tomorrow 5K. The event was organized by Summer Sasser, who lost her fiancé to suicide in 2018.
“We want you guys to stay. We want you guys to fight and we want you guys to fight again tomorrow,” Sasser told participants.
Hall has actively participated in multiple prevention initiatives throughout the year, including a “Talk Saves Lives” presentation at Dunbar High School, where community members learned to recognize warning signs from Kionti Traylor, programs manager for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Arkansas.
“I didn’t know what I didn’t know,” said Traylor, who lost her 13-year-old nephew to suicide two and a half years ago. “Now I look back and I’m like, ‘Oh, that was a sign.'”
The community has embraced difficult conversations about mental health. Project Armory allows temporary firearm storage with no questions asked. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline provides 24/7 support. Veterans learn they’re not alone.
“We started to track how many we contact, how many we refer, how many actually sign up for VA care. And that number goes up, then we track the actual count on the coroner, and as those self-initiated contacts with services goes up, suicides come down,” Hall explained.
For Hall, who was already planning the 20th anniversary celebration last year, the zero suicide rate validates years of persistent outreach in a community where veterans once felt forgotten. His presence at suicide prevention events throughout the year demonstrates the DAV’s commitment extends far beyond the annual picnic.
“Next year’s going to be our twentieth year, and I’m already trying to think of what we’re going to do for the 20th anniversary,” Hall said last year.
The picnic remains free and open to all veterans and their families. For a county that has struggled with the state’s highest suicide rate, the achievement offers hope that persistent, community-based intervention can save lives.
