Lon Hodge headed for Vets Creative Arts Fest in Denver

Lon Hodge headed for Vets Creative Arts Fest in Denver

Lon Hodge came to South Alabama back in 2022 for two reasons: To teach a course in service dog rules, regulations and access to local first responders and hospitality personnel and to meet Coastal Art Center Director Desiree Blackwell, who he had been online friends with for the previous seven years.
When Blackwell and Hodge finally met in real life at the conference, the couple fell in love. And the rest is history. Lon and Desiree married in September of last year.
Anxious to integrate into the creative community, Don entered the Veterans Creative Arts Festival in Biloxi and earned respective gold and silver accolades in photography and creative writing.
Across the country each year, veterans enrolled at hundreds of VA health care facilities compete in a local creative arts competition. The competition includes categories in the visual arts division ranging from oil painting to leatherwork to paint-by-number kits. The winners advance to a national judging process and first, second and third place entries are determined at the national level.
First place winners are invited to the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival hosted by a different VA facility each year. Lon will travel to Denver May 13-18, as the only first place winner this year from the South Alabama region.
Lon’s first place in creative writing was for a poem about his father, who died from injuries during the Vietnam war, and his second place medal was for a poem he wrote about his service dog who passed away in 2020.
Lon, after a long career teaching psychology worldwide, went back to school to earn a masters degree in creative writing. He already teaches classes in photography in Orange Beach and now hopes to add creative writing to a list of offerings for those who wish to explore self discovery through art.
“The Arts are so important for healing. Especially with vets like me who struggle with mobility issues and PTSD,” he said.
Lon still travels the country, giving free seminars for students, civic groups, hospitality organizations, K-12 schools and law enforcement agencies about the value of service dogs and the laws responsibility surrounding them.
He also founded a group over a decade ago that supports acts of kindness for the homeless, veterans, and veterans families in need. He has traveled to 46 states in total with service dogs Gander and Mae.
Lon’s photography is currently on display at the Coastal Arts Center in Orange Beach. He hopes to publish a second book of poetry and a collection of photographs from the South Alabama area within the next few months.