Garry Garretson serves as the President of the Veterans Writing Group of San Diego County. His career in the U.S. Navy was from 1965 to 1969, and included three years flight crew in Vietnam flying transport, early warning for the 7th Fleet and coastal movement, and typhoon tracking throughout the Pacific Ocean (3000 flight hours and three Air Medals).

He also served as Board Chairmanship on School Board (six years), Chairman of the Parks and Recreation Commission (fifteen years), Planning Commission (eight years), and the Tri-City Hospital Foundation (two years).

Previously, Garry has nonprofit experience through the Vista Education Foundation (VEF) with focus on raising funds for public school students, and Educate to Career (ETC) which provided data for selection of colleges and careers. Garry spent forty years with Fortune 500 Corporation ServiceMaster/ARAMARK; five years as Division Controller, five as executive salesman, fifteen in talent acquisition hiring over 2000 personnel, and fifteen years in operational leadership of 1000 personnel. 

Garry has spent twelve years in service to the Veterans Writing Group, ten years supporting transitioning military personnel through VetCTAP, and is member of Vista Chamber of Commerce and the North San Diego Business Chamber.

Married for 56 years to Julie, they have three children; Bill, Debbie, and Steve, along with one Grandson, Bobby, and a great grandson on the way. Garry and Julie have been members of North Coast Church in Vista for thirty years. 

Edward “Ed” Harrington was a Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) in the Navy for 30 years from 1984 through 2014. He served on five ships, and was the Second in Command on two ships, including the USS TARAWA (LHA-1), with a thousand-person crew. He also had Command of two amphibious units and served as the Commodore of Naval Beach Group ONE in Coronado, California. 

Since retiring from the Navy, Ed has worked as a contractor supporting the Navy’s high speed amphibious landing craft program at Camp Pendleton, California for the last ten years. However, his passion has become helping military veterans. He teaches free classes for military members leaving the service to help them with their post-military careers for nearly nine years. He has also been running a faith-based Veteran networking group for over 30 months. His organization, called VET-MENTOR-VIEW, is now designated as a VA Center for Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships (FBNP).

Michael Hart, a native Californian, grew up in San Francisco and spent his youth and academic years in Northern California. After earning a B.S. from the University of California, Davis, and an MBA from San Francisco State University, he began his investment career on the Options Floor of the Pacific Stock Exchange in 1987. In 1989, he relocated to Los Angeles, where he started his institutional investment career in the Investment Department at Farmers Group, Inc., eventually rising to Senior Portfolio Manager. In 2001, he founded his own investment management company, which merged with Tradewind Global Investors, a Los Angeles-based global investment advisor, in 2007. In 2014, Michael established Hemispheres Investment Management, headquartered in Los Angeles until January 2024, when he moved to San Marcos in North San Diego. Hemispheres manages global investments for over 55 clients, most of whom are California residents. Throughout his career, Michael has researched and invested in various capital market segments, including domestic and international equities, domestic investment-grade and high-yield bonds, emerging market bonds, and options. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). As an experienced financial professional, Michael is excited to support the Veterans Writing Group of San Diego County with its organizational efforts and needs.

Holly brings more than 25 years of combined civilian and military experience in public affairs, media relations, journalism, and visual storytelling. She began her military career by enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1975, serving as a fixed-wing aircraft mechanic, before transitioning to the Air Force Reserve as a military journalist. During her service, Holly was a four-time recipient of the prestigious Thomas Jefferson Award for excellence in military journalism.

She later continued documenting military life and operations as a combat camera videographer, ultimately retiring in 2008 as a senior enlisted manager. In her civilian career, Holly served as a media spokesperson for several large state agencies, further strengthening her expertise in strategic communications and public engagement.

Holly holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Lindenwood University (2023) and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from California State University, San Bernardino (1987). She also completed extensive video production and journalism training at the Defense Information School in Fort Meade, Maryland.

As a member of the Veterans’ Writing Group Board of Directors, Holly is committed to sharing her knowledge of the craft and mechanics of writing while continuing to learn from fellow writers to further develop her own creative voice.