The Team

My support team is shown above and includes my wife (Cindy), daughter (Krystal), son (Matthew), and granddaughter (Nytalia). My wife designed these shirts and my daughter helped make them. These are the rocks and foundation of my family and will be supporting me from afar while I ride my recumbent trike around the United States. They fully support me in all that I do and are my motivation to keep going everyday and to do what I am going to be doing. Whenever I am down or discouraged, all I have to do is reach out to one of these loved ones and they keep me upbeat and encouraged. I would never be able to be successful in life if these loved ones would not be on my side. I love them beyond what I can describe.

My Wife

This is my wife, Cindy Hook. We met while in high school and were married between our Junior and Senior years. We have been married for 30 years and are still in love. Cindy has done so much work to help me with my trip already. She supports me 100% and does her very best to promote my trip to everyone she knows. She will be my main contact while I am on the road and will receive daily updates from me. She will continue to run our household and keep everything up to date while I am gone. She also has begun to work closely with the Christian Warriors Retreat Center as one of the editors of the Warriors Wive’s Group. She is mostly acting as an encourager and supporter of the wives of our male veterans. Cindy will be receiving and hand delivering any donations that I receive via mail. I would not be as able to freely do this trip without her full support. I am going to miss her on my journey and wish that she could have gone with me but she is not able to do that at this time. She plans on meeting me in California and then again in or around Ohio when I am closer to family. As I mentioned above, we have been married for 30 years and will celebrate our 31st anniversary in August while I am on our trip. We have been together for every anniversary except our first one (I was at boot camp) but we may not be together this year. It will be different but we will do alright.

My Daughter

This is my daughter (Krystal Hook). She has an amazing spirit and is a joy to be around. She thinks that what I am doing is a little crazy but she also supports me 100%. She keeps me grounded and looks to me for guidance as a father and role model. I take a lot of pride in calling her my daughter. Krystal has done an amazing job of promoting my trip with all her friends and contacts and has issued many challenges for people to donate to my cause. She is very passionate towards veterans and has seen first hand the effects of PTSD on those returning from war. She had a very big hole in her heart when our oldest son passed away and she believes that no one should ever have to go through the pain of PTSD without receiving specialized help. My tour is to raise awareness for the veterans that are suffering from the effects of PTSD and Krystal wants to do her part to also raise awareness. She is located just outside of San Antonio, Texas and has already begun to think of ways she can also raise awareness. She loves me and believes in me. I get energy from her passion and drive in life. She also video chats with me everyday and checks on me all the time. She is also an amazing writer and I will be getting ideas from her for my blog and videos.

My Son

This is my son (Matthew Hook). He is my youngest child and has a very passionate heart. He is very down to earth and looks at things from a different view point than I do at times. This has been a much needed asset for my team. Matthew is a natural born problem solver. This allows me to turn to him for advice when things don’t go as planned. He is not afraid to tell me what he thinks and what he thinks are the best solutions to solve a problem. He also has a passion for veterans that have PTSD and has already shared with some of his co-workers about my trip. He makes friends very easily and tries to lead others to a better life. Matthew keeps my heart in check and reminds me a lot of my oldest son that has passed away. I see how he is maturing and becoming the man that God wants him to be and it makes me very proud. Matthew doesn’t usually say much but when he does, it is very powerful and directly to the point. He is a great debater and he stands strong for what he believes. He is going to continue reaching out to those around him and those that are drawn to him because of his leadership style. He is one of the most important parts of my team.

My Granddaughter

This is my granddaughter (Nytalia). She is my pride and joy and I am her Popi. She makes my heart dance with joy and she keeps me feeling young. She is only 1 1/2 but she looks and acts so much older. She is starting to say more and more words and has finally been able to say “Popi”. I love her very much and even though I am going to miss her for a while, I know that she will be taken care of. She loves to video chat with me and does so everyday. I am very proud of how she is being raised and look forward to her learning and growing and discovering new things everyday. I look forward to the day I return and being able to give her a big hug and a kiss.

My Dog

This is my dog (Brutus). Brutus came into my life in August of 2016. He is a rescued dog from an animal shelter and has added so much joy and love to my life. He goes with me on many of my adventures and is always next to me in my house. He is my team mascot and will be missed by me while I am on my tour. He is going to miss me as well. Whenever I go outside just for a little while, he runs from the door to the window and back many times waiting for me to come back. My wife tells me that if I am gone for a while, he just lies next to the door like nothing else matters to him. I will be video chatting with him everyday as well and can’t wait until I am home to see him running and jumping around. He is truly one of the family.

If you look closely at the shirts that they are wearing, you can see that the name WILLIAM is down the middle and each of my team member’s names are on the shirts. I love these guys and am proud that they all support me and add to the team in their own ways.

I also have several others members that support me in all that I do. My mom (Deb Hook), my brother (Shannon Hook), my sister (Laci Hodges), all my other family members, and my friends (Keith Jackson and Dennis Roberts), the members of the American Legion Post 166 from Victoria, Texas, the members of the Christian Warriors Retreat Center, and the members of my church (Northside Baptist). I also want to mention all the family and friends that I have from across the United States. I couldn’t do this trip without all your prayers, financial support for my cause, and your love for me and my family. Thank you.

I Ride For Those Who Can No Longer Ride