Staff Sgt. Tony Hinds has changed many lives. As a National Guard recruiter he has helped people pay for college, travel the world, and even get married.
"I had one guy in Marion who was so happy to be enlisted in the National Guard that he proposed to his girlfriend," Hinds said. "He was so happy that he turned his life around and enlisting made his life complete."
An intimidating sight standing just short of six feet tall, decked out in his military camouflage with dark, close-cropped hair, the 27-year-old Muncie Southside High School graduate has been a recruiter for almost five years. In that time he had seen his share of ups and downs.
"The most rewarding part of my job is actually putting someone in a career," Hinds said. "I watch people develop and become good soldiers. I don't do it for the money or the material things. I like to see people improve their lives."
While there are many success stories, he said he had also seen dreams dashed.
"The hardest part is watching people who want to be in the National Guard but are disqualified for reasons that aren't really their fault," he said. "People could have a history of asthma or they might have had some type of surgery that stops them from joining."
Hinds and his wife, Amanda, live in Muncie with their two children, Austin, 4, and Kayela, 1. Hinds has worked at the Muncie office of the National Guard for seven months, but his nine-year military career has taken him all over the country, from Quantico, Va., to Indianapolis and back home to Muncie.
As a recruiter, Hinds is responsible for luring in potential future soldiers. He said one out of every three recruits who enters the University Avenue office joins the National Guard. In the last seven months, Hinds said he had signed almost 30 contracts.
Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Day attributes Hinds' success as a recruiter to his personality and work ethic.
"Hinds cares about the people he works with he gets along with everyone," Day said. "He is very focused and determined. That's what it takes to be a good recruiter."
His work ethic is evident in the long hours he puts in at the office and on the street talking to people. His personable demeanor is an asset for his job, and also one of the traits that initially attracted his wife when the couple first met at Muncie Lanes in 1997.
"He has a great personality that makes people feel comfortable when he talks to them," she said. "He is friendly and will help anybody. It doesn't matter what it is, he wants to help."
Another asset Hinds has is his resilience, said Todd Mattingly, a recruiting and retention non-commissioned officer in the Muncie National Guard Office.
"He has the ability to walk around like a triangle and let things just roll off his back," he said. "Hinds knows when he has time to mess around and have fun because in this business you have to have a good sense of humor."
Mattingly, who nicknamed Hinds 'Ketchup' or '57' because the officer's name sounds similar to the famous ketchup brand, said memorable pranks have been played on Hinds, but added, "the information is classified material that can only be used by authorized recruiters."
Hinds said he would continue to help as long as the National Guard wanted him.
"This is the most rewarding job," he said. "Without a doubt I would not do anything else until the Army kicks me out."
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