SALEM — The men and women who do the hard job of defending the nation can come back with a host of bad memories. Too often overlooked, however, is the fact that they also come back with remarkable and positive attributes.
"We fight wars with kids," observes Marblehead Veterans' Agent Dave Rodgers. "Even in peacetime, the military relies on a lot of young people." Yet, he acknowledges, these GIs have often taken on daunting responsibilities and made decisions their contemporaries face only in video games.
Further, theirs is the kind of experience that pays dividends in America's competitive business environment — which is the reasoning behind a forum organized by Christine Sullivan, executive director of the Enterprise Center at Salem State College.
On Feb. 22 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., veterans are invited to the center to hear a panel of veterans and government officials discuss "From Military to Entrepreneur," an effort to encourage and educate veterans who want to start their own businesses. It's an initiative with the enthusiastic backing of Congressman John Tierney, D-Salem, who is expected to speak.
The Enterprise Center is an annex of the school set aside to locate and encourage small businesses. One of those operations, Joe Green Home Solutions, is owned by Chris Henson, a youthful veteran of both the U.S. Army and the Navy.
"His is a startup company," Sullivan explains. Home Solutions helps property owners weatherize and save money on heating costs.
"He's doing fine," she adds. "They outgrew their space in five or six months."
"Last year," Henson recalls, "I decided this is the perfect time to strike out on my own." He had left the Navy as a lieutenant and realized at once that his leadership skills would be an important component of running any business.
Henson served aboard a nuclear submarine, one of the world's most technologically sophisticated environments, and it was while hearing his story that Sullivan was reminded just how much veterans have to offer.
"I looked at him and thought, 'This is what we should be doing.'"
She began reaching out to people in the small business and veterans administrations, hoping, for one thing, to find a way to make veterans more aware of the government programs available to help them.
Some of the people who administer those programs will be serving on the panel with veterans who have already made the leap by starting their own businesses. Included are Ray Milano of the Small Business Administration, Henson, Jerry Pinsky of Veterans Affairs, Sherry Handel of Guard Support and Kent Bartlett, another entrepreneur/veteran, of KGM Systems. Moderator is Air Force retiree Fausto Molinet of Matrix Internationale.
Handel is part of an independent organization designed to help returning members of the National Guard.
"We're providing startup capital and growth funds," she explains. These are financed by donors and handed out as low-interest loans. In addition, they can link veterans with lawyers and business people to help them incorporate or make a business plan.
Even the spouses of veterans are eligible for Guard Support help, Handel says.
In addition to firsthand, practical information, the vets will hear about assistance like micro-loans available from Veterans Affairs.
All this has special meaning for Sullivan, as her husband is a Vietnam veteran. More funding was available for that group of returning warriors. "But there were some very hard experiences when people came home."
Today's veterans haven't faced that kind of ingratitude. "People are much more respectful," Sullivan says.
Today's veterans are different in another way, adds Jennifer Lincoln, also of the Enterprise Center. "I already have a ton of registrations," she says, and of the approximately 50 veterans who had already signed up last week, 15 are women.
"It's certainly going to be helpful," concludes Rodgers, the Marblehead agent. "With this economy, they can use all the help they can get."
Already, Henson adds, he's seen a reaction from some fellow veterans: "A lot of excitement. When you tell people about it, they say that's a fantastic idea."
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