Photos by Abby Pugh
Some people build organizations. Others build communities. PeggyLee Wright has spent the last decade helping to do both.
As one of the driving forces behind Huntsville’s Bullets, Bourbon & Barbecue fundraiser and as cofounder of the Huntsville Special Operations Forces (SOF) Network, Wright has helped establish a space where veterans and military families can connect, gain support, and rediscover their purpose. But if you ask her where the story begins, she points to service itself.
Service has been a recurring theme throughout every chapter of Wright’s life.
She learned early from her father that military service doesn’t end when the uniform comes off. He served multiple tours in Korea and Vietnam before battling cancer linked to exposure to Agent Orange, a toxic herbicide used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. She carried those lessons into her own career as an Army aviator and later into her life as a military spouse, mother, business owner, and community leader.
At the heart of everything she and her husband, TJ, have built together is a simple belief: The mission continues long after coming home.
“The world needs to understand that after the mission we as soldiers or sailors come back from, you know, the mission isn’t over. There is a lot that so many need support with. It’s not just as simple as ‘thank you for your service.'”
PeggyLee Wright
Although Wright is often the face many recognize, she is quick to credit TJ as the visionary behind the Huntsville SOF Network. He saw a city full of military families, business leaders, veterans, and resources, but lacking deep connections between them. What followed was a 10-year effort to close those gaps and rally Huntsville around a shared purpose.
At the center of that effort stands Bullets, Bourbon & Barbecue, the sold-out annual fundraiser that has become both a celebration and a call to action. Over the years, it has brought together veterans, community leaders, sponsors, and volunteers in support of organizations assisting military families. Wright, however, believes the event’s greatest success isn’t measured in dollars raised.
It’s measured in trust—trust built within communities, trust earned through service, and trust that fuels action.
This year’s event not only marks the 10th Bullets, Bourbon & Barbecue, it also arrives at a particularly meaningful moment: the 25th anniversary of September 11 and America’s 250th year. For Wright and TJ, it also marks the close of their chapter leading the event. After a decade at the helm, they’ve decided to step away, believing powerful missions deserve strong transitions.
Their time leading the event may be coming to an end, but the mission remains: building a community where veterans and military families feel connected, supported, and never alone in what comes next.
Asked what “Good Grit” means, Wright answers with her signature simplicity: “heart with calluses.”
It’s a fitting description for a woman who has dedicated her life to proving that patriotism is more than a sentiment. It’s a habit, one developed through showing up, serving others, and leaving every place and every person a little better than she found them.
