Blog: Providence Life Services, by Melanie Jongsma

Link: http://melaniejongsma.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/thanking-our-veterans/ 

This week I’ve been enjoying the opportunity to attend the annual conference of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA). At the beginning of this morning’s general session (which featured Carol Bellamy), the 9,000 conference attenders seated in Chicago’s Arie Crown Theater were introduced to Hire Heroes USA. The entire presentation lasted perhaps four minutes, but it was enough to rim my eyes with tears.

I was unprepared for this segment of the general session, so I didn’t catch the names of the two young men who spoke to us about Hire Heroes USA, a 501(c)3 non-profit whose mission is, quite simply, to help American veterans get jobs when their tours of duty are over. These two men are veterans themselves, having served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Both have jobs now because someone Stateside recognized not only their skill but also their character and their potential. Hire Heroes USA wants to give that same opportunity to other veterans.

Right now the organization is focusing on career placement for veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, particularly those who have been injured or disabled in the line of duty. The reason they were at the AAHSA conference was to let member organizations know that not only will they serve us by posting our job openings on their website and including them in regular eblasts to their lists, they will also work to match candidates with each job description they receive. In other words, they keep track of all the veterans enrolled in their program, and they know the skill set of each, so they can make qualified recommendations to any company who sends a detailed position description.

The closing point these two men made: “We will give you candidates with the characteristics you can’t train for—courage, character, and commitment. We guarantee that whatever tasks you assign to these workers will not be more difficult than what they have already endured. All they need is an opportunity to serve.” The crowd applauded and cheered.

To further affirm the value of their program, the men then introduced five heroes recently hired by AAHSA member organizations. These five men had been seated together in a row near the front of the auditorium. When they stood up and acknowledged the crowd, the crowd responded with a spontaneous standing ovation. It was touching.

After lunch, I roamed the exhibitor hall, looking for the Hire Heroes USA booth. I wanted more information about the organization, and I wanted to personally thank the veterans for their service. After two circuits up and down the aisle, I consulted my guidebook, but could not find any mention of Hire Heroes USA. I then found a “You Are Here” kiosk that allows conference-goers to search for exhibitors by company name, industry, or booth number—I couldn’t find Hire Heroes here either. So I located an AAHSA booth and asked the people there if they knew the Hire Heroes USA booth number. They consulted their books and the kiosk as well, and found the same lack of information. One of them, however, was very familiar with Hire Heroes, and she gave me her email address and asked me to send her an email, to which she would reply with a link to their website.

As it turns out, I did do another lap around the exhibition center—and I found the Heroes I had been looking for! I explained the difficulties I had had, and I picked up a folder of information. But before I had opportunity to express my thanks for their service and sacrifice, they expressed thanks to me for working so hard to find their booth!

This Veterans Day, I hope you’ll have an opportunity to thank a veteran. He or she may make light of the services rendered, may shrug it off or even be embarrassed by the acknowledgement. But don’t let that stop you.

Even better, if you are in a position to hire someone, I hope you’ll look at Hire Heroes USA as a source for “courageous, committed candidates with character.” What better way to say thanks than to provide a workplace where those qualities can shine!