U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Announces 6th Annual Hiring Our Heroes Award Finalists
“The efforts of the private sector, and in particular of these 23 finalists, have truly reshaped the veteran employment landscape in recent years,” said Eric Eversole, a vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and president of Hiring Our Heroes. “Through professional and personal commitment, these employers and individuals have led the charge to develop innovative and effective veteran and military spouse hiring initiatives and best practices. These finalists are improving the lives of those in the military community by creating more and better opportunities to connect veterans and military spouses with meaningful employment.”
The Hiring Our Heroes awards are given in six categories: Veteran and Military Spouse Employment; Post-9/11 Veteran Employment; Wounded Veteran and Military Caregiver Employment; Military Spouse Employment and Mentoring; Small Business Veteran and Military Spouse Employment; and Individual Leadership. This year’s finalists are:
Lee Anderson Veteran and Military Spouse Employment Award, for overall excellence in hiring and retaining veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses: Enterprise Holdings, General Electric (GE); Lockheed Martin Corporation; Starbucks
Steve Robinson Post-9/11 Veteran Employment Award, for effective and sustained efforts to enhance the ability of post-9/11 veterans and transitioning service members to find meaningful employment: Amazon.com; Hilton Worldwide; Merck & Co.; Verizon
Don Weber Wounded Veteran and Military Caregiver Employment Award, for demonstrated leadership in addressing the unique challenges and demands for wounded, ill, and injured veterans as well as military caregivers in their search for meaningful employment: Deloitte; Senator Elizabeth Dole, The Elizabeth Dole Foundation; General Motors (GM); United Services Automobile Association (USAA)
Military Spouse Employment and Mentoring Award, for demonstrated hiring, mentorship, and support of military spouses in their search for meaningful employment: Capital One; Comcast NBCUniversal; J.B. Hunt
Capital One Award for Small Business Veteran and Military Spouse Employment, for demonstrated leadership by a small business or organization (less than 500 employees) in hiring veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses: MILLIE; Sabre Systems Inc.; Troops Into Transportation
Colonel Michael Endres Leadership Award for Individual Excellence in Veteran Employment, for an individual who has gone above and beyond to make a difference in employment opportunities for veterans, transitioning service members, and spouses: Will Baas, Division Vice President, Talent, Comcast; Jim Beamesderfer, Vice President, Veterans Initiatives at Prudential Financial; Michael Kelly, Assistant Vice President, Military Advocacy, USAA; Chris Phillips, Assistant Vice President, Diversity Specialist, Military & Disabilities, Talent Management, PNC; Tom Tice, Recruiting Manager, Military Talent Acquisition, Starbucks
The winners in each category will be announced at the 6th Annual Lee Anderson Hiring Our Heroes Awards Dinner at the U.S. Chamber on November 2, 2016. The Hiring Our Heroes Awards Committee will select the winners.
Hiring Our Heroes is a nationwide initiative to help veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses find meaningful employment. Working with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s vast network of state and local chambers and other strategic partners from the public, private and nonprofit sectors, Hiring Our Heroes has helped hundreds of thousands of veterans and military spouses find meaningful employment through more than 1,000 job fairs in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and on military installations overseas; a suite of free online career-based resources; and the Hiring 500,000 Heroes campaign.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation is dedicated to strengthening America’s long-term competitiveness and educating the public on how the free enterprise system improves society and the economy.