Meet the GTFV Team

US Army  1988-1996

US Army Reserves 1996-2006

Harry Franco is a proud U.S. Army veteran who served 8 years on active duty and nearly 11 years in the Army Reserves. During his military career, he completed four combat tours, serving from Operation Desert Storm through Iraqi Freedom. His years of service shaped his resilience, discipline, and commitment to others—but they also came at a personal cost.

In 2004, Harry discovered the game of golf and quickly fell in love with it. What started as a hobby became something deeper—time spent on the course with his father and younger brother created moments of connection, peace, and joy.

In late 2005, Harry deployed to Iraq for what would be his final tour. When he returned home in September 2006, life had changed. Like many veterans, he struggled with the invisible wounds of service. Although he knew he needed help, he resisted seeking it for years.

By 2010, Harry finally reached out for support. Some of it helped, some of it didn’t—but like many veterans, he found himself relying on medication in an attempt to maintain a sense of normalcy. Still, something was missing.

It wasn’t until 2023—after a 17-year break—that Harry rediscovered what that missing piece was.

Golf.

He began playing again to spend more time with his father, and soon they were on the course regularly. Not only was Harry playing the best golf of his life, but something deeper was happening—his mental health was improving. The clarity, calm, and connection he experienced on the course made one thing undeniable:

Golf wasn’t just a game. It was therapy.

That realization became the foundation for his mission—to help other veterans discover the healing power of the game, just as he did.

US Army 1990-1993

US Army National Guard 1993-2001

I enlisted in the U.S. Army as an Infantryman in 1990 at the start of Desert Shield. After Basic and OSUT at Fort Benning, I volunteered for Bradley Infantryman training (11M) and Airborne School. A training injury led me to the 1/17th Infantry Brigade, 6th Infantry Division in Anchorage, Alaska.

 I later continued service part-time with the 2/160th of the California Army National Guard, where I rose to Squad Leader until December 2001.

While still serving in the Guard, I began my law enforcement career with the Bakersfield Police Department in January 1997 as a 911 dispatcher. 

I entered the police academy in 2001, graduating as the overall top recruit. In February 2008, I was shot in the line of duty during a gunfight with a gang member and lost my right leg below the knee. I refused to let that end my career—I continued serving, promoting through the ranks to Senior Police Officer, Detective, and Sergeant. Over my career I’ve worked as a SWAT Hostage Negotiator and have spent the last 13 years as a Sergeant supervising units including Financial Crimes, Fugitive Apprehension, Property Crimes, Peer Support, Crisis Negotiation, and currently the Special Victims Unit.

In 2020, during the height of COVID, I picked up a golf club for the first time just for something to do. What started as a casual hobby quickly became something much deeper. Golf gave me a place to set down the emotional baggage I’d carried for years—from military service, from police work, from life after amputation. The game became therapy: the focus, the outdoors, the quiet discipline, and the camaraderie all helped me heal in ways I never expected.

I joined a veterans golf group and immediately felt the power of the sport for those who’ve served. As an 18 handicap who’s in it for the long haul, I’ve seen firsthand how golf builds community, restores confidence, and supports mental and physical recovery. That experience inspired me to join the board of Golf Therapy Fore Veterans—a non-profit dedicated to using the game of golf as a tool to help veterans heal, reconnect, and thrive, founded by my friend and golf partner Harry Franco 

Through adaptive golf programs, clinics, outings, and peer support on the course, we aim to give fellow veterans the same healing I found—one fairway, one swing, and one conversation at a time.

 Jenny Frank is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and dedicated advocate for the veteran community. She enlisted in 1989 as a Basic Metal Worker (welder), serving with the 3rd Force Service Support Group in Okinawa during Operation Desert Storm and later with the 7th Motor Transport Battalion at Camp Pendleton.
With over 17 years supporting veterans, she began as an Intensive Case Manager with Employers’ Training Resource, helping veterans transition into the workforce. Looking to increase her service, she later joined the Bakersfield Vet Center, supporting veterans with PTSD, as Office Manager and Outreach Program Specialist, and ultimately served as acting on-site director. In 2020, she became Director of Veteran Services and Programs at Bakersfield College, where she leads efforts to support veteran and military-connected students.
After identifying gaps in veteran services, Ms. Frank co-founded the Armed Forces Support Foundation in 2013 and currently serves as President. She also serves as Chair of the Kern County Veterans Collaborative, continuing her commitment to advancing programs, including golf-based therapy, that foster connection, healing, and long-term success for veterans. 

US Coast Guard 1980-1984, 1987-2004

Mark Tolles is proud U.S Coast Guard veteran, retiring in 2004. I served 21 years of active duty, with 11 years sea duty. I served all over the United States, after boot camp in Alameda, California, to Long Beach, Ca, New Jersey, back to California, Hawaii, back to California where I retired as a Recruiter in Fresno.  While never serving in a combat zone I have done a lot of amazing things, I’ve sailed through the Panama Canal, sailed across the International Date Line and the Equator (at the same time). I’ve visited some great places, Guam, both Western and American Samoa, all the way to the Cook Islands. I’ve done work from drug introduction to Aids to Navigation, cooking for some of the most amazing, hard working men and women you would ever want to meet. 

Served as an EMT.

After some personal medical issues, I picked up the game of golf as a way to get outside and try to improve my quality of life. I’ve been playing for about 15 years. Golf is very therapeutic; it helps clear the mind and soul of unwanted thoughts, and you get to meet other self-minded people, a lot of the time these people are veterans, going through the same thought, feeling as you are, and together sometimes we make each other feel better just being out there together.