veterans task force greater springfield chamber
DESCRIPTION
Initiative by the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce, Springfield, VA, to support veterans and military spouses starting/growing businesses and finding employment in Greater Springfield.TRANSCRIPT
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Department of LaborAmerica’s Heroes at WorkApril 9, 2010
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Ronald Drach
U.S. Department of Labor
Veterans’ Employment & Training Service
Natache Muschette
U.S. Department of Labor
Gretchen Martens
Founder and CEO, Homeward Deployed, Inc.
Chair, Veterans Task Force at the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce
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1. Introduce the Veterans Task Force at the programs designed to put America’s veterans and military spouses on the road to economic self-sustainability.
2. Explore ways to partner with the Department of Labor to put America’s veterans to work.
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Depression
Suicide
Unemployment
Homelessness
Violent Crimes
Divorce
Child Maltreatment
SubstanceAbuse
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To welcome and support veterans and their families, connecting them to the Greater Springfield Business
Community.
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To produce a Blueprint for Success that can be nationally replicated in any of the 3500+ community
Chambers in the U.S.
in 2011
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1. Supporting veterans and military spouses in starting, relocating, and/or expanding businesses in Greater Springfield
2. Educating and supporting Chamber businesses about hiring veterans, especially wounded veterans, and military spouses
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1. Educating and connecting veterans with critical resources
◦ The community Chamber is often where entrepreneurs first seek information on how to start businesses, especially in rural areas
◦ It can be daunting and time consuming to wade through the myriad websites and books to figure out the steps to starting a business
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2. Mentoring veteran entrepreneurs starting businesses or business owners growing their businesses.
◦ Community chambers are a safe place to get your feet wet in the business world
◦ Chamber members are well-connected and can make personal introductions to key constituencies
◦ Established business owners have a tremendous wealth of common sense knowledge to share
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◦ May: Recruitment of mentors
◦ June: Outreach to veteran business owners
◦ September: Brown Bag Seminar on becoming certified as a veteran-owned or service-disabled veteran owned small business (VOSB or SDVOSB)
◦ October: Follow up workshop intensive that walks veterans through the paperwork and process.
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Educating Community Businesses
About
Hiring Veterans
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“Cool, you jumped out of helicopters! But how will you help my printing business?
Overlooking
◦ Leadership
◦ Work Ethic
◦ Integrity
◦ Self-Responsibility
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When you can’t see past the wheelchair……you miss resilience, problem-solving,determination, and flexibility.
If you think you know what PTSD is because you’ve been to the movies…
…you miss courage, risk-taking,
loyalty, and perseverance.
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Providing resources for community business owners who hire a service-disabled veteran.
Coaching veterans returning to the civilian workforce, and the caregiver networks of service-disabled veterans who make that transition possible.
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◦ April: Outreach to Wounded Warrior Units
◦ May: Outreach to Other Chambers
◦ October: Brown Bag Seminar
◦ November: Networking Breakfast
◦ November: Luncheon Symposium
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A $30,000 One-time Seed Money Grant Covering
◦ 25-30% FTE Contract Consultant to administer the rollout for eight months and prepare the Blueprint for Success
◦ Extra administrative time and costs incurred by the Greater Springfield Chamber
◦ Sponsorship of our November Luncheon on Hiring America’s Heroes in the Community
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May: Social Media Campaign sharing our progress
July: A series of webinars or tele-conferences for other Chambers interested in starting their own Veterans Task Force
September: A series of group coaching calls for Chambers gearing up to launch a Veterans Task Force
Early 2011: Initial Open Source Blueprint for Success documenting a step-by-step plan for launching a Veterans Task Force, including all outreach strategies, marketing materials, programs, best practices,
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Seed money to create a Blueprint For Success that can be distributed to every community Chamber by early 2011
Endorsement of the Veterans Task Force
A Point of Contact to serve as a resource
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Gretchen Martens, M.A.Founder and CEO, Homeward Deployedwww.HomewardDeployed.org
Chair, Veterans Task Force, Greater Springfield Chamber of Commercewww.SpringfieldChamber.org
Phone: (703) 622-0919
Email: [email protected]