Forged from a
Lifetime Outdoors
Our Mission (the what and how)
Restore joy, deliver hope, and empower growth through outdoor adventure.
Our Vision (the why)
Reignite passion and purpose, helping others live out their calling.
That Led Here
Onward Dawn Adventure wasn't drawn up in a boardroom. It was walked into existence — across Nebraska prairie, European training grounds, and mountains at home and abroad.
Cody
Founder & CEO
Rural Nebraska Roots
Growing up in rural Nebraska as an Eagle Scout, working in his dad's construction business, and camping and hiking with family instilled a conviction that never left: growth and joy happen outside.
Natural Resources & the Land
That calling continued through studies in Natural Resources Conservation — a deepening understanding of the terrain that would one day become the classroom.
An Army Career Spent Outdoors
Field rotations across Europe. Ranger School. Green Beret. Deployments. Years of leading small, high-quality teams through adversity — largely under open sky.
Medical Retirement, New Mission
A medical retirement closed one chapter. Extensive networking led back to outdoor adventure, and exposure to impactful programs reinforced the vision of what was possible.
Onward Dawn Adventure Is Born
A passion for adventure, growth, systems, autonomy, and small high-quality teams gave birth to Onward Dawn Adventure — with success defined by one measure: positively impacting people. The name itself points to a new beginning: onward, toward the dawn. But ODA is also the acronym for an Army Green Beret team — an Operational Detachment Alpha. The SF motto, De Oppresso Liber, means "to free the oppressed." That is the heartbeat of this mission: to free the oppressed.
From Eagle Scout to Green Beret to this ranch, one belief has held on every trail: growth and joy happen outside. Whether you're a warrior in transition, a responder carrying the weight of the job, a scout leader building the next generation, a family needing to reconnect, or a team ready to lead differently — reach out. We'll walk it with you.
on Every Trail
Adventure
The wild is our classroom. Real terrain, real weather, real connection.