Meet Jeanne McKinney | Military journalist and film producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jeanne McKinney and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jeanne, what do you attribute your success to?

Success comes with caring and passion for our U.S. military members. I’ve made a determined effort to help Americans know their warriors and heroes on a personal level. They work really hard and endure many harsh and dangerous challenges so we can remain free. Our privileges and rights in America are preserved by those willing to defend them. Their stories are better than any Hollywood movie because they are real and mean something vital to all of us. People from all walks of life enter the military and become transformed into extraordinary human beings, leaving legacies to pass on for generations. We cannot let their noble contributions be lost to obscurity or forgotten on the winds of time. Their victories are hard-won in the worst imaginable circumstances during war that wrenches courage out of every pore. These freedom fighters and guardians deserve all the recognition and thanks we can give them.

My brand is the amazing people who militarily serve this great nation and make sure others can achieve their dreams.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Writing and producing stories that help make life a bit better for my audience is exciting and rewarding to me. I love the people I meet doing my work. Everything I’ve done started with an idea and then I worked very hard to further educate myself as a journalist, screenwriter, and producer. Experience hones the diamond from the rough. I’m still honing my craft every day. The biggest lesson learned is ‘never give up.’ I’ve discovered the only thing stopping me are the limitations in my own mind. There’s a love of adventure in my heart and although I have not traveled the world in person, my interviews with military members take me to battlefields and training grounds all over the globe. Call it good fortune, call it luck or maybe destiny but I feel honored to write about the lives only the brave forge into history.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If visiting San Diego I would take them to the Wild Animal Safari Park and the San Diego Zoo. Nothing beats those two facilities housing hundreds of fantastic creatures in the animal kingdom. I would also drive them to Julian, a quaint gold mining town with the best apple pies on the planet. But mostly I would take them to the mountains with stellar overlooks and austere backroads that I love.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
USMC Major Josef Emile Patterson. Major Patterson led a platoon in Afghanistan during the deadliest era of fighting in 2010. He and his Marines achieved what others could not do clearing the Taliban who had an evil grip on the local people and profited from a thriving opium poppy trade. Yet, Major Patterson wants no recognition for himself. He is instead dedicated to never forgetting the men he lost there as well as others who were gravely injured. This time-tested warrior has mentored, inspired, and jumped through many hoops to help me produce a film about these men, bonded as brothers in heavy combat. With his help my small production team and I are able to save their valor present in every uncertain step they took in a war-ravaged land. Their epic stories are unmatched and underserved until now.

Website: www.patriotprofiles.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeannemckinney/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeanneemckinney

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PatriotProfiles

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjCrA9HmLfa4vDRh96vWvhQ

Image Credits
Images by AVtek Productions on location, 2021.