Ogden · October 2026
Last night in Ogden, Black Star Syndicate welcomed Valkyrie Guard for an intimate evening with community builders, veterans, state leaders, and university partners from across Utah. We gathered for dinner, then continued the conversation at the grand opening of the new Mac’s Place in Ogden.
It was a small room filled with people who help build this state, and a chance to introduce them to Valkyrie Guard, its mission, and the special operators and families it serves.
I grew up in Eden, Utah, and my Pa’s office was in the old post office building on 24th Street, so it meant a lot to see this gathering come together here. We sent the invitations, and Ogden showed up. This community has always been home to good, honest people who do the hard work, and last night’s room was full of them.
Who Valkyrie Guard serves
Valkyrie Guard is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing direct therapeutic support, education, and research for operators and their families. Its care is individualized, built around the needs of each operator and family. Co-founder Dr. Jennifer Byrne leads the organization, and Brigadier General (Ret.) Paul S. Peters chairs its board.
Paul also serves as a strategic advisor to Black Star Syndicate. He spent more than 32 years in the Army, including 27 in Special Operations. He commanded the 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and served as Deputy Commanding General of 1st Special Forces Command.
He understands what a career in Special Operations asks of operators and of the families alongside them. That experience informs his work with Valkyrie Guard and its mission.
We’re proud to welcome the organization to Utah and help introduce its work to our community.
Thank you
To our guests: thank you for spending your Friday evening with us, bringing thoughtful conversation to the table, and making Valkyrie Guard feel at home. To the veterans in the room, thank you for your service and for lending your voices to this mission.
To Weber County’s leadership: thank you for joining us and taking a genuine interest in the operators and families Valkyrie Guard serves.
To Mac’s Place: thank you for welcoming us on the grand opening night of your new Ogden location. You helped carry the conversation beyond our dinner table and introduced Valkyrie Guard to more of the community.
To The White Buffalo: thank you for playing the grand opening. Jake Smith has spent more than twenty years writing songs about people carrying heavy things. His 2013 album Shadows, Greys, and Evil Ways follows a young man who leaves his small town for war, then comes home and fights to find his way back to the life and the woman he left behind.
That story is familiar to many of the operators and families Valkyrie Guard serves. The weight of service follows operators home and lands on the people waiting for them. Having his music fill the room after an evening spent talking about exactly that felt right.
How to help
Learn more at valkyrieguard.org. If you or your company would like to support Valkyrie Guard’s work, contact team@blackstarsyndicate.com. We’ll help make the connection.
What’s next
Hard Tech Week runs October 26 to 30 across Utah, including 47G’s Zero Gravity Summit on October 28 and 29 in Salt Lake City.
Black Star Syndicate will be there throughout the week. Come find us.
Elijah James Taylor
Managing Partner, Black Star Syndicate
Black Star Syndicate is a go-to-market advisory firm and is not a broker-dealer, law firm, or accounting firm.
