‘I’m here to help!’
Ann Smith
Reporter
Ronnie Imel, founder of the nonprofit Veterans Paying It Forward, accepted a $10,000 donation from the Soboba Foundation Tuesday, May 25. Imel, a longtime resident of Mountain Center, is a Vietnam veteran.

PHOTO BY ANN SMITH
After spending a few years working for the Richfield Company, Imel went into the U.S. Army. In his early twenties, he went back to work for the company after returning from Vietnam. He decided to try something new and worked in the automotive industry. He started out in sales, moving up to manager, then to general manager of Chevrolet and Toyota dealerships in the Torrance and Pomona areas. Imel decided he wanted to do something different. Different, he did!
He moved to Mountain Center in 1999. Why Mountain Center? As a veteran returning from Vietnam, he wanted a peaceful and rural environment. A few of his friends sought his help after returning from deployment. He met many who suffered with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
With the help of a friend, he developed the nonprofit Veterans Paying It Forward. In his research, he discovered there were more veterans per capita in Hemet than in any other city in the state. Despite the 20-mile drive from Mountain Center to Hemet, Imel makes the drive on a daily basis.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CARLOS PUMA
When asked what drives his passion to help veterans he said, “I believe we are born into our passion and we find it.” Adding, he has a heart to serve. His father was a World War II veteran, and as children, they saluted the flag daily.
Adding to the conversation was Imel’s friend Gerry Chase, of Hemet. Chase, a Korean War veteran, explained what Ronnie is doing.
“Ronnie’s goal is to help vets,” Chase said. “He specifically helps veterans who have not gotten their ratings for disability for their service.”
A rating is the percentage of disability that resulted from a veteran’s service. If a veteran is 100% disabled, that’s pretty straightforward. If a veteran is 30% disabled, they might encounter problems obtaining disability.
According to Chase, “The government routinely underrates veterans. Ronnie has devoted his entire life to help vets get their disability. He does this free of charge.” Chase continued, “He absorbs all the costs involved and he is not a wealthy man. It’s the servicemen and women in the mountains he helps, the upper [Idyllwild and its immediate environs] and the lower mountains.” Chase described the forms that need to be completed as complicated and cumbersome and that most of the veterans are unable to complete the forms on their own. Imel does receive some donations and last Tuesday, he received that $10,000 check from Soboba.
What Imel wants readers to know is that he is here to help.
He is spending his own money to build a secondary two-story building on his own property. The building will have an elevator and will be used for the sole purpose of servicing the veterans in the upper and lower mountain. In addition, he will be putting in two bedrooms for any veteran who has to travel, doesn’t have the means to get home at night and needs a place to stay for the night.
By doing that, he removes some of the stress involved with completing the required forms by not having to travel long distances to various veteran’s offices. Some veterans lack transportation and it can become a nearly impossible situation.
Chase added, “Many veterans suffer with post-traumatic stress syndrome. There is actually trauma involved with the stress of having to obtain help from the VA [U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs].”
If you or someone you know requires assistance, you can find Veterans Paying It Forward at https://veteranspayingitforward.org/. The website lists other services available to veterans. The nonprofit can be reached by calling 951-659-9884 or by sending an email to [email protected]. They are located at 34031 Morris Ranch Rd. in Mountain Center.