We exist to provide a relaxing, safe and supportive environment for those who have recently been involved in a critical incident in the line of duty.
30%
of First Responders develop behavioral health conditions
85%
of First Responders experience mental health symptoms
5x
Depression and PTSD are up to 5 times more common in First Responders
Our Founder’s Story
Early in the cold winter morning on February 2, 2017, Officer Nick Diamond responded to a frantic call from parents regarding their suicidal daughter. The parents had stated that their daughter was at a local boat launch and she was threatening to drive her vehicle into the frigid waters of the Cumberland River. Officer Diamond responded, along with Officers Trent Craig and Eric Mumaw. Through the darkness of the cold night, they were able to see a vehicle at the bottom of the boat ramp. The brake lights were activated, and the front wheels of the vehicle were at the water’s edge…
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The officers approached the suicidal woman’s vehicle, and observed that she was inside and several containers of alcohol were visible. Some were empty and some were unopened. The vehicle’s windows were closed and the doors were locked. Officer Craig made contact with the woman at the driver’s door while Officer Diamond approached the passenger side of the vehicle. Officer Craig engaged her in conversation, which led her to open the window to facilitate more direct communication. By directly communicating with the woman, he was able to determine that she was likely under the influence of alcohol.
Despite the officers’ efforts to encourage the woman to turn off the engine and exit the vehicle, she put the vehicle in gear and began to drive into the water. She subsequently resisted any efforts by the officers to stop her vehicle. Officer Mumaw, while walking behind the vehicle, stumbled off the end of the submerged boat ramp and unexpectedly plunged into the water that was later determined to be approximately 40 degrees Fahrenheit. He was immediately carried toward the middle of the river by the current. Officer Diamond also stumbled off the boat ramp and fell into the water.
Officer Mumaw tried to fight the current while battling the chill of the water as he struggled to stay afloat and swim back to the boat ramp. Officer Diamond began to swim back to the boat ramp, but heard Officer Mumaw struggling and calling out for help. Officer Diamond turned and swam back to Officer Mumaw. By this time, both officers found themselves near the middle of the river. They were showing signs of fatigue and the cold water was having a demonstrable effect on their dexterity. Officer Diamond reached Officer Mumaw, took hold of him, and tried to swim him back to the boat ramp. Due to fatigue, diminishing dexterity, and the strength of the current, he was unable to maintain his hold on Officer Mumaw. Officer Mumaw slipped away in the darkness. Officer Diamond did not have the strength to swim back to the boat ramp, so he opted to simply travel with the current and try to make it to the river bank. Ultimately he was able to grab a tree branch and pull himself to shore. Officer Craig was able to locate Officer Diamond clinging to the tree.
Despite their heroic efforts, neither Officer Diamond nor Officer Craig was able to save Officer Mumaw, whose body was recovered a short time later down river. All three officers acted courageously and decisively to save the life of the suicidal woman. Nashville Fire Department personnel after arriving on the scene, located the suicidal subject who had escaped the rivers current by climbing onto the hood of her vehicle and then swam to the river’s edge once the vehicle had floated towards the bank. She was taken to the hospital in stable condition. The decision by Officer Diamond, who was also suffering from the effects of the frigid water, to change direction and swim out further in the water to try and reach Officer Mumaw, represents the highest level of bravery and self-sacrifice to save the life of a fellow officer.
Officer Diamond was awarded The Law Enforcement Congressional Badge Of Bravery. An award passed by the United States Congress in 2008, Honoring federal, state, and local law enforcement for acts of bravery in the line of duty.
Officer Diamond’s story is unfortunately all too common in the work of first responders. Most will experience some sort of traumatic incident during their career. Although at times some call them heroes, they are not superheroes, they are human beings and experience stress, burnout, and struggle with mental health. Many walk away from the job after they experience a major incident like officer Diamond’s. Taking the time to step away from the demands of their job for even a short time can be beneficial for their well-being, job performance and mental fortitude. Many responders do not have the opportunity to take this time needed. The pressure on them to provide for their families can lead them to working long hours of overtime to compensate for their low salaries.
A Restoring Responders retreat can provide police officers with an opportunity to disengage from the stress of the job, connect with nature and engage in activities that promote relaxation and mental clarity. It can also offer a chance to connect with other officers who may be facing similar challenges and build a support network.
Strength in Support
For years, First Responders have tried to maintain a “tough” image — even if they were struggling with their own mental strength. Law enforcement culture highly values self-reliance, strength, and competency. Unfortunately with the weight of these essential values, help-seeking behaviors tend to be discouraged.
Our goal is to offer a range of therapeutic services and activities at one of our upscale all-inclusive facilities. We offer optional on-site trauma informed counseling, and spiritual guidance counseling to our First Responders. These services exist to help process the emotional and psychological impact of their experiences. There’s strength in numbers. No officer wants to be on a high risk call by themselves. At a Restoring Responders retreat, there’s safety in knowing they’re surrounded by other Responders who have recently been involved in a similar critical incident on the job. They are not alone! We strive to create a space that honors the unique needs and experiences of each First Responder and are committed to providing an atmosphere that promotes healing, growth, and resilience.
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Our Team
THE BOARD
Nick Diamond
FOUNDER
Nick Diamond is a pastor’s kid, born and raised in Louisiana. The youngest child of a large family, his musical gifts were quickly realized and his variety of musical talents were cultivated through his southern gospel upbringing. After high school, Nick attended Gulf State Bible college and studied music ministry.
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In 2001 he moved to Nashville, TN to pursue a career in the music business. His love and talent for playing drums and piano eventually led him to a record deal and publishing deal with Warner Bros. Music. He had the opportunity to record and release an album that he and his band had written which was a dream come true. In between record and publishing deals, Nick has also had the privilege to play and tour for many Country and CCM artists in the Nashville area.
In 2013 he decided to make a career change. Since he was a young man he always had a desire to be in law enforcement. He applied to the Metro Nashville Police Department and started their academy in 2014. Nick spent his first few years in patrol on the overnight shift with Metro and a few years in a proactive undercover unit. After that he transferred to the SRO unit and has been working as a school resource officer at one of Nashville's public high schools ever since. Nick has also served on the nationally recognized and awarded Metropolitan Nashville Police Departments Drill And Ceremony Team. Nick is also a peer support counselor for the Nashville police department.
Nick is married to his lovely wife Nicole of over 20 years, and they have two beautiful teenage children. They reside in Franklin, Tennessee.
Bryan Meurer
TREASURER
Hailing from Murray, Kentucky, Bryan has lived in Nashville for 7 years with his wife and 3 children. He graduated from Murray State University with a BA and Masters in Accounting. Bryan’s favorite things to do are travel, play tennis and spend time outdoors.
Brittany Meurer
SECRETARY
Originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Brittany has lived in Nashville for 7 years with her husband and 3 children. She graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University with a BS in Accounting. Now she sells residential real estate across middle Tennessee. Brittany loves to watch her beloved LSU Tigers compete in any sport, travel whenever possible and spend time with her family.
Matt Warren
DIRECTOR
Matt Warren is a Nashville-based leadership and organizational coach and real estate investor. His extensive experience in team building and executive leadership combined with his penchant for clarity and problem-solving prowess lend Matt’s action-oriented wisdom to his clients. He is passionate about making a way forward that benefits both his clients and their customers, and if there’s golf involved, he won’t be mad about it.
Chris Ryckman
DIRECTOR
Chris Ryckman is an attorney in Nashville and President of Safe-T-Cover, the industry-leading manufacturer of insulated enclosures for outdoor plumbing and waterworks systems. Chris was born in Mansfield, Ohio and moved to Tennessee earning a Music Business Degree from MTSU in 2003 and later a J.D. from Nashville School of Law in 2016.
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With more than 20 years of experience, Chris specializes in business operations and management. Happiest when traveling the world with his wife of 18 years Katie, and their two daughters Mia and Evie, Chris also enjoys attending church, swimming, eating good food, hanging out with friends and family, and occasionally finding his way onto a golf course.
Jason Laird
DIRECTOR
Jason Laird is a Pastor, Church Planter, Public Speaker, Leader, and Coach with a dedication to building leaders that are building the local church.
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With over 21 years of ministry and leadership experience at some of the premier churches in the U.S., Jason has been privileged to build the local and global church alongside some of the highest capacity leaders and teams out there.
Most recently, he founded Sidecar Leader, a coaching practice dedicated to equipping leaders to go further faster with an emphasis on people, culture, systems, and strategy.
History of Achievements:
In addition to over 21 years of ministry experience, Jason has served as a leadership coach and mentor for 15 plus years, 6 of which were served as a church planting coach through ARC, a global church planting organization.
Jason has experienced pastoring in many different contexts. From 2017 to 2021, Jason served as the founder and lead pastor of Sozo Church in San Francisco, CA. Prior to this, Jason served as an Executive Pastor at Gateway Church in Dallas, Texas under the leadership of Ps. Robert Morris. While serving at Gateway Church, Jason provided vision and leadership for the student ministry staff at 6 campuses with a weekly attendance of over 2,000 students. His team built a national student conference of more than 4,000 students from around the nation in only 3 years
Prior to joining the team at Gateway Church, Jason served for more than a decade in youth and young adult ministry as the Executive Student Pastor over 12 locations at Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, LA under the Senior Leadership of Pastors Dino and Delynn Rizzo.
Jason studied theology and ministry leadership at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Healing Place School of Ministry, Jimmy Evans School for Pastors, and Patterson StratOps.
Jason is a gifted communicator and has traveled throughout the world preaching the Gospel and equipping leaders at conferences and churches.
Jason is married to his high school sweetheart, Jennifer, and together they have three children, Liam, Nixon, and Novy.
ACCOUNTABILITY BOARD
KYLE REED
Kyle lives in Franklin, TN with his wife and 2 daughters. One of his favorite things, other than golf, is helping people succeed. Over the past 15 years he's focused on helping brands excel in digital marketing through content execution and marketing strategy. Currently, he holds the Content Strategy Director position at Business Made Simple, where they help and resource small business owners.
GEORGE STULL
George Stull is the pastor of VUE Church in Nashville, TN which embraces the practice of love and the way of Jesus as the best possible way to live. George has been a vocational pastor for 32 years serving as a student, teaching, and lead pastor in both small and large churches. George’s undergraduate studies were in Sociology at Youngstown State University and additional Master of Divinity work at North Park Theological Seminary.
DREW POWELL
Drew Powell loves to laugh and make other people laugh, connecting friends to other friends is his favorite, and he’s the most happy when he’s on a plane with his wife heading out to explore a new city.
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He cares too much about what other people think but is committed to living in honesty and surrender. He loves to dream and come up with new ideas. He owns too many domain names. He loves the mountains of Colorado and the beaches of Florida. He lives in Franklin, TN with his wife Jamie of 22 years and their 4 kids, Grace, Emory, AJ, and Bentley. Drew has two dogs that he doesn’t like very much.
He likes the rottie a lot better than the yorkie, but they both get on his nerves. He grew up as a pastors kids and lived to tell about it, with the scars as proof. Music was at the core of his family and he can beat most people his age in “Southern Gospel Trivia”. He’s a sucker for great harmonies and ballads. BoyzIIMen will always be the greatest to ever do it. He spent most of his career as a pastor in churches large and small. Mostly because that’s what he thought he had to do to be in the “family business”.
He learned a lot and met a lot of great people, but unfortunately lost himself. But thanks to the grace of God, he hit rock bottom and emerged with a faith that’s finally his own. He gratefully lives now as the prodigal who found a father more loving than he could ever imagine. He spends his work hours helping thought leaders amplify their message so they can reach more people. He loves cheering on the Florida Gators and Tennessee Titans even though they constantly break his heart. But most of all, his desire is to try and stay as present as possible with the people he loves.
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“IF THE AXE IS DULL AND THE EDGE UNSHARPENED, MORE STRENGTH IS NEEDED, BUT SKILL WILL BRING SUCCESS.”
Ecclesiastes 10:10
Join us in supporting our brave First Responders, some who have sustained injuries in the line of duty. Your donation can make a profound difference in their lives as they recover from critical incidents. Together, we can provide them with the care and assistance they deserve, ensuring they continue to serve and protect our communities. Your contributions count towards their healing and well-being. Donate today and be a lifeline for our heroes in need.
