Air Force veteran Tim Kirk didn’t expect to earn awards helping veterans, but he received a pretty big honor last week.
The NFL Hall of Fame named Kirk one of its Awards of Character recipients for 2026 for his work supporting veterans’ needs through the Warrior Healing Center in Sierra Vista, Arizona. The award, a joint venture with USA Today and Payton Productions, was introduced this year to honor “everyday Hall of Famers,” community leaders who uphold the hall’s key values of commitment, courage, integrity, respect and honesty.
Kirk, accompanied by his wife, Cathie Goodman, received the accolade from two surprise visitors at his veteran center: Class of 2007 Hall of Fame inductee Roger Wehrli and Brittney Payton, daughter of fellow Hall-of-Fame and all-time great Walter Payton.
Navigating Benefits, Saving Lives
USA Today featured Kirk’s commitment to veterans in a story on April 30, noting the veteran “has created an oasis for veterans in crisis by streamlining support, restoring purpose and helping turn the tide in an epidemic (suicide) that has taken far too many lives.”
For many veterans, the complex benefits system can be confusing and frustrating. Kirk said accessing most government-based programs can be an arduous journey, leaving veterans waiting for months, sometimes years, to either be approved or denied coverage. Kirk’s Warrior Healing Center tries to fill that void by partnering with about 50 veteran groups, working together as one cohesive unit.
“We looked at how the system was failing,” Kirk told the NFL Hall of Fame. “And we said, ‘Let’s build a parallel system that’s community-based.’”
Another goal of Kirk’s program is to reduce the national veteran suicide rate. He believes this can be accomplished by helping them steer clear of isolation and despondency by rebuilding connection and purpose, two values they experienced in the military.
Sierra Vista, a town on the Mexican border, only has about 45,000 residents, but veterans make up a sizable portion of the population.
“One out of four adults in Sierra Vista is a veteran,” Goodman said. “If you’re not a veteran, you’re married to one. Your neighbor is one. Your coworker is one.”
Kirk said the answer to solving veterans’ mental health issues isn’t necessarily more mental health centers.
“We don’t need more mental health facilities,” he said. “We need more community. … The answer to veteran suicide is more Mayberry than Mayo Clinic.”
Kirk was honored to get the award from USA Today, a national publication that features each monthly winner in its newspaper, the hall of fame, and Payton Productions, a media business led by the Payton family that films the moments when award recipients learn they’ve won and shares their inspiring stories across the country.
The organization will award more Awards of Character winners in 2026, looking to honor police officers, veterans, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, nurses, teachers and coaches.
Additional honorees for Awards of Character will be chosen throughout 2026, from these professions: police officer, military veteran, firefighter/EMT, nurse, teacher and coach. Nominations can be made through USA Today’s registration page.
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