B-Tex’s Victor Bretting Finds A New Mission in Retirement

When Victor Bretting and his wife, Rhonda, arrived in Olney, they weren’t looking to build a ministry, launch a television series, or publish a memoir.

They were simply looking for a place to retire.

Instead, the former construction executive has found a new purpose at Bretting Texas Ranch, a hunting ranch outside Olney that has become a destination for military veterans, Christian youth groups, and others seeking healing, faith, and connection in the outdoors. Now Mr. Bretting is sharing that journey in a new memoir, The Man That I Would Become, available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and oth- er major booksellers. The book can also be found through Bretting Texas Ranch’s website.

Originally, Mr. Bretting said, the memoir was intended as a gift to his grandchildren and future generations.

“When my mom died, some of the family history disappeared with her,” he said. “I wanted my grandkids to understand who I was, what I went through and what it takes to persevere.”

His story begins far from Olney. Raised without a father and by a mother who often worked 60-hour weeks, Mr. Bretting started at the bottom of the construction industry and spent more than five decades building a successful career. Along the way, he learned toughness, self-reliance, and perseverance.

Writing the memoir forced him to examine the costs of that success.

“The hardest thing about a memoir is you have two choices,” he said. “You either have to be brutally honest or you lie.”

What emerged was not only a life story but also a message about men’s mental health.

Mr. Bretting said he was shocked to learn that suicide rates are highest among workers in the construction industry, even exceeding those in the military. The discovery caused him to look at his own life differently.

“We don’t talk about it,” he said. “We’re supposed to be providers. We’re supposed to protect everybody. We keep it all inside.”

He speaks candidly about growing up emotionally guarded and credits Rhonda with helping him understand that vulnerability is not weakness.

“It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to feel. You can still be a man at the same time,” he said.

That philosophy now shapes the mission of Bretting Texas Ranch.

The couple originally purchased the property as a retirement home after falling in love with Olney and its close-knit community. Rhonda eventually came out of retirement to teach at Olney High School and serve as cheer sponsor, while Victor transformed the property into a hunting ranch and lodge.

The ranch’s charitable work began almost by accident. At an outdoor show, the Brettings met leaders from Hunting With Soldiers and Cross Trail Outfitters, a Christian youth outdoor ministry. Their daughter encouraged them to strike up a conversation.

“It was really a path,” Mr. Bretting said. “I didn’t know I was being led on a path. God led me on a path.”

Today, the ranch hosts combat veterans struggling with PTSD and young people attending faith-based hunting camps. Mr. Bretting says the experience is less about harvesting an animal and more about healing.

“You get them out in the wildlife and it’s like weights coming off,” he said. “It’s really about being in the outdoors, having the camaraderie they’re used to, and just being in an environment where there’s no pressure.”

The ranch’s mission is now reaching a national audience.

After several appearances on outdoor television programs, Bretting Texas Ranch will soon be featured in its own streaming series, The Managed Wild Texas with Trek’N Outdoors and Btex Ranch, on MyOutdoorTV. The show will highlight the ranch’s conservation efforts, veterans hunts and youth programs.

For Mr. Bretting, however, the television cameras and book sales are merely spokes in a larger wheel. The hub remains the ranch and its mission of giving back.

“You weren’t put on this earth to take,” he said. “You were put on this earth to give.”