Michael J. Penney

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Veterans Day

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Red, White & Bluegrass 2026: Truth Trench’s Veterans Day Concert

On Veterans Day, November 11, 2026, Truth Trench Think Tank, the nonprofit founded by Michael J. Penney, presented Red, White & Bluegrass at the Jack Wilcox Theater at PARC in Plymouth, Michigan. The theme was “Celebrating Our Nation, Honoring Our Heroes.” There were two shows, at 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM, plus a livestream for viewers across the country.

The real thing: a 1941 Martin D-18, backstage at Red, White & Bluegrass. Video by Sam Stephenson.

On stage

  • The Edgar Loudermilk Band headlined both shows. Loudermilk records for Pinecastle Records, was named SPBGMA Bass Fiddle Performer of the Year in 2023 and 2024, and was inducted into the Georgia Country Music Hall of Fame in 2024.
  • Lily Alattar opened with the national anthem, sang “America the Beautiful” and “God Bless America,” and joined the band for several songs, including Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.”
  • Sandy Point was the special opening guest.
  • Quilts of Valor made a presentation.

Congressman Jack Bergman (Lt. Gen., USMC, Ret.) sent a video thank-you to everyone who attended and to the Elks. The concert was hosted alongside the Plymouth–Ann Arbor Elks Lodge #325.

Why bluegrass, and why it matters

Truth Trench’s recap explained the choice of music: “It is the music a lot of veterans grew up on, and a lot of them came home to.”

The concert was also built to do more than say thank you. A percentage of proceeds went to Spark Nation and its developing continuum of care for veterans, which works to connect veterans with employers, veteran organizations and community resources. The event page put the idea simply:

Veterans should not have to navigate an endless maze of organizations alone.

Truth Trench, November 11, 2026

For Michael, a Marine veteran of three combat tours (Ramadi, Iraq, in 2005-06 and 2007, and Kajaki and Sangin, Afghanistan, in 2011), that has been the point of much of his work since leaving the Corps: helping veterans make the move home and into what comes next.

Thank you

Sponsors and supporters included Paralyzed Veterans of America (Michigan Chapter), Veterans BRG (a UPS Business Resource Group), Veteran’s Disability Claims Assistance, Everything Fraternal, Plymouth Rocks, Glover’s Heroes, Spark Nation and the City of Plymouth, with production partners FERAL Entertainment and Heroes Media Group.

The theater is at 650 Church Street in Plymouth.

Read the full recap on Truth Trench

This post is part of the From the Archive series, which collects Michael’s past media appearances in one place. See the full media archive.

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Adding Value with Combat Veteran Michael Penney (Rumble, 2022)

On the night of November 10, 2022, the eve of Veterans Day, the Rumble channel SeanANQN went live with “Adding Value w/combat veteran Michael Penney.” The stream started at 9:43 PM Eastern and ran a little over five hours.

What the stream covered

The video description opens with his standard bio:

Michael is a combat veteran of Iraq & Afghanistan. He served in the United States Marine Corps infantry with 3rd Battalion 7th Marines deploying twice to Ramadi, Iraq, in 2005-2006 & 2007.

Rumble video description

It goes on to his reenlistment and his move to Quantico as a weapons instructor, and calls these just a fraction of his accomplishments. The host wrote that the goal for the night was to get Michael’s thoughts on the current state of humanity and on what lies ahead.

For the rest of his record: in 2011 he deployed a third time, to Kajaki and Sangin, Afghanistan, with 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, leading a section of advisors, and he left the Corps as a Sergeant after more than eight years.

Why it mattered then

Five hours is a long time to talk. Most of Michael’s guest spots ran 30 minutes to an hour, built around one topic like the 5 Paragraph Business Plan. A stream this long is closer to an open conversation, where the subjects are wider: the country, the culture and where things are headed.

The title kept the focus on the idea he had been talking about since his 2016 TEDx talk: adding value. Doing it on the night before Veterans Day gave it extra weight.

It was also part of a shift toward Rumble. Around this time Michael was running his own live shows on Rumble, and this appearance put him in front of that audience as a guest.

By the time of this stream, he had spoken at TEDxRaleigh in March 2016 and published the 5 Paragraph Business Plan in April 2017. Both are built on the same idea in the stream’s title: adding value wherever you are.

Where to find it

The video is still on Rumble, but it is now available only to Rumble Premium subscribers. The host and show behind the SeanANQN channel are not named on the page. If you know more about this stream, we would like to hear from you.

View on Rumble

This post is part of the From the Archive series, which collects Michael’s past media appearances in one place. See the full media archive.

Work with Michael

Marine veteran, TEDx speaker and author of the 5 Paragraph Business Plan. Bring him to your stage, wear the gear, or catch him live.

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SOFREP: Five Veteran-Owned Groups Making the World Better (2018)

On Veterans Day, November 11, 2018, SOFREP published “Five veteran-owned groups making the world a better place,” by Joseph LaFave. The first group on the list was the Five Paragraph Business Plan, Michael Penney’s company.

What the article said

LaFave opened with the reason for the piece. Veterans Day, he wrote, is the one day a year the country should come together to celebrate the work service members do to make the world a better place, and for many veterans that commitment to service continues after they take off the uniform.

His entry on Michael’s company read:

This business is the brainchild of Michael Penney, co-host of the now-on-hiatus podcast Cigars and Sea Stories.

Joseph LaFave, SOFREP, November 2018

LaFave described the Five Paragraph Business Plan as an organization that helps veterans, and civilians, start their own small business of any type. He called Penney, a former Marine and Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, a longtime advocate for veteran-owned small businesses, and wrote that the Five Paragraph system brings the theories of military operations planning to the civilian world.

The other four groups on the list:

  • Force Blue, founded by Jim Ritterhoff and Rudy Reyes
  • Team Rubicon, founded in 2010 by two Marines, including Jake Wood
  • Black Rifle Coffee Company
  • Final Salute, founded in 2010 by Army veteran Jasmine Boothe to support homeless women veterans and their children

Why it mattered then

The company Michael was listed with says a lot. Team Rubicon and Black Rifle Coffee were national names, and SOFREP is a special operations news site. Leading that list on Veterans Day put the 5 Paragraph method in front of a large veteran readership.

The entry also marks a shift. In 2016 and 2017 he was introduced mainly as a podcaster. Here, Cigars and Sea Stories is “now-on-hiatus,” and the Five Paragraph Business Plan is the headline. The podcast had built his name in the veteran community. The planning system was now the work he was known for.

Looking back

Two names on this list connect to other parts of Michael’s story. Rudy Reyes had been a guest on Cigars and Sea Stories, as HuffPost noted in 2017. Jasmine “Jas” Boothe created the animated comedy Discharged, in which Michael voiced the lead character, Axel.

Read the article on SOFREP

This post is part of the From the Archive series, which collects Michael’s past media appearances in one place. See the full media archive.

Work with Michael

Marine veteran, TEDx speaker and author of the 5 Paragraph Business Plan. Bring him to your stage, wear the gear, or catch him live.

Book Michael to Speak
Shop the MJP Store
Get the 5 Paragraph Business Plan
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Funniest Thing! Veterans Day Reading: Honor (2015)

In November 2015 Michael Penney made his second appearance on Funniest Thing! with Darrell & Ed, the Unity Online Radio show hosted by Darrell Fusaro and Edward Biagiotti. The episode was titled “It’s an Honor to Be of Service, Sir!” It was built around the Daily Word for Wednesday, November 11, 2015, which was Veterans Day. The show script was posted November 17.

What the episode covered

The hour centered on service and giving. The idea was that helping other people succeed comes back to you as success, joy and security. The hosts drew on Florence Scovel Shinn, Emmet Fox and Eric Butterworth for readings on selfless love, seeing yourself as a giver, and honest salesmanship based on the Golden Rule.

The script introduced Michael as a “United States Marine Corps combat veteran and a producer of the Cigars and Sea Stories podcast.” As on his first visit, he handled the Daily Word segment.

Michael Penney … drops in to read and discuss today’s Daily Word®, “Honor.”

Funniest Thing! show script, November 2015

That day’s reading carried the affirmation “I honor and thank those who serve.” It gives thanks for people who serve, protect and care for others, and it closes with Romans 13:7.

The episode also included the show’s regular pieces:

  • Listener mail
  • A joke of the day

Why it mattered then

Veterans Day week puts a lot of “thank you for your service” into the air. This appearance had a combat veteran on the other side of that, reading a passage about honoring people who serve. The reading points beyond the military, to anyone who protects or cares for others.

The episode’s wider theme, that you get ahead by helping others get ahead, also lined up with what he was doing at the time. Cigars and Sea Stories existed to put other veterans’ stories in front of an audience.

Looking back

The service-first theme of this hour runs through his later work. When he took the TEDxRaleigh stage in March 2016, his talk was titled “What’s your IED? How to add value in explosive situations.” The talk’s own description says his goal was to help fellow veterans achieve greatness after leaving the military.

The original Unity Online Radio audio page for this episode is no longer online. The hosts’ show script, with the full rundown, is still up.

Read the show notes on Funniest Thing!

This post is part of the From the Archive series, which collects Michael’s past media appearances in one place. See the full media archive.

Work with Michael

Marine veteran, TEDx speaker and author of the 5 Paragraph Business Plan. Bring him to your stage, wear the gear, or catch him live.

Book Michael to Speak
Shop the MJP Store
Get the 5 Paragraph Business Plan
Watch Live