VBC Breakfast - War Writing and Butterflies: A Keynote Address by Ryan Smithson

The Veterans Business Council of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce invites you to its annual breakfast. This morning of connection and camaraderie will feature a keynote by veteran, author, and artist Ryan Smithson. This breakfast is open to all. This annual event is a fantastic opportunity for networking, while also supporting the Veterans Business Council.

Ryan Smithson was an engineer in the Army Reserve and served in Iraq from 2004-2005. He fortified military posts, repaired roads, and convoyed supplies across northern and western Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Upon returning, and for therapeutic reasons, he wrote his memoir, “Ghosts of War: The True Story of a 19-Year-Old GI” (HarperCollins, 2009). Having earned his MA in English from SUNY Albany, he currently works in State Government Sales for T-Mobile and has two school-age children. During the pandemic, he began creating art with real butterfly wings and continues to find the creative process transformative. 

Ryan’s keynote will discuss his military service in Iraq and how a college writing assignment turned into therapy and a published memoir.

He’ll also discuss the difficult military-to-civilian transition, his professional sales career, and how his current artform using real butterfly wings—Frankenflies—provided catharsis during the pandemic and beyond.