Hi there, My name is Derek Vanderstoel. I currently reside in Visalia but have grown up most of my life in Springville, Ca. I get the privilege to be married to THE actual Young Life Area Director Amanda aka AJ as most of you know her as. One of my favorite things to do is go on a spontaneous adventure. I love being in the mountains in the summer on a river fly fishing. In the winter, I love being in my garage woodworking or creating a design that Amanda has influenced me to do. A lot of people look at me and see my mustache and ask: are you a cop or a fireman? The answer is clear. Im a Fire Lieutenant for Tulare County Fire Department in Tulare and part of the Swift Water Rescue Team. Ive been part of this great department for the last 14 years. I first became an extra help firefighter in 2011 right out of high school and advanced to full time in 2019. The career that God has blessed me with brings something new and exciting every shift. I thank God for giving me the best group of brothers that surround me every shift. We refer to ourselves as the Highway Hooligans and we might be a little crazy but love each other every day. I also serve on Leadership USA course every summer that helps develops young men to discover who they are in Christ and equip them to walk boldly as leaders that impact their community and world.

Guess what? Young Life is pretty dope. I was able to attend Young Life’s 1YL conference as a guest with my wife earlier this year and I was impressed by how God uses this organization to reach so many people across the world. Something that I loved was seeing many countries singing the same worship song to the same creator in all different languages. In 2024, I was handed the baton of coordinating the dinner for the Young Life Banquet. I was able to witness God giving me the many hands and community to help the success of this great event. I hope to see you all again this year and can always use more hands to help.

I grew up watching Dancing with the Stars on TV with my mom and never thought I would be dancing in front of yall. I can say that I’ve only danced with my beautiful wife Amanda a couple times. Amanda asked me if I would be up for the challenge and I couldn’t say no. I feel that this is an opportunity to try something new that I wouldn’t be comfortable doing. With that being said, if you’ve never felt comfortable giving money to something, you can trust the fireman that it is worth giving to Young Life and especially your vote for me. God Bless Tulare County, God Bless Young Life, and God Bless the USA.