ZeroMils

This is worth reading every now and again — when you’re working hard to make change and you have doubts or fear failure. “It is not the critic who counts; not the person who points out how the strong man or woman stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man or woman who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself or herself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he or she fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his or her place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” — President Theodore Roosevelt When I read these words, I think about changemakers and #unsungheroes — the men and women in the arena and “doers of deeds” — who we serve alongside every day, as part of our work at ZeroMils. Two and a half years ago Paul Cucinotta and I made a decision to create #MilitaryThriving cultures and communities to help change the broken Veteran narrative from surviving to #thriving. It’s with our partners and other changemakers that we’re calling on our #Military and #Veteran connected community to stand and be heard. The truth is it’s easier to sit on the sidelines rather than stand in the arena and effect change. Even if the difference you make is one community, one corporation, one nonprofit, or one individual at a time - it is worth every ounce of effort. It’s easier to stay quiet than to shout from the rooftops what you believe even when it is not always well received by the masses. It’s easier to make a commitment with words than to act with deeds. I’m proud to be in the arena with Paul, Monica, Trish, David and our partners from across a growing #MilitaryThriving community that is changing the narrative and how we are seen in the workplace and in society. To all the men and women in the arena doing great things in their own ways in communities across the country — thank you and stay the course. You know who you are.

This is what a weekend full of #hope, courage, resolve and the strength of our #MilitaryThrivimg community looks like. It was the third year in a row that ZeroMils joined Hope For The Warriors® and extraordinary partners and changemakers like Sean Passmore and Dave Lee at the Hope Celebrity Invitational at River Landing in Wallace NC. Yeah, it was cool to be in the presence of celebrities, Hall of Fame athletes and Super Bowl champions, and Marine generals and Staff NCOs who Paul Cucinotta and I served with for 27 years in the Marine Corps. But the real rockstars were the dozens of #Warriors, caregivers and the civilians from the community who dedicated their time, talent, and treasure to support them. It was #epic. Every minute of it. From the Warrior Mess Night to the golf, to the Karaoke night, it filled my cup with hope, joy, and the resolve to stay the course. But my favorite #MilitaryThriving moment happened when Wells Fargo donated this beautiful 15 passenger accessible van to replace the 15-year old van Hope used for a decade and a half to change and save thousands of live. Now they can do that for thousands more! the future is bright and full of #hope. Thank you Robin Kelleher for being such an extraordinary leader, partner and changemaker in every sense of those words.

Even if the picture doesn't look it, I was thrilled to represent Orion Talent moderating a panel at the NASWA veterans conference earlier this month. My rock star panel included Chris Liakos, SPHR, Marcus "OHLEY" Ohlenforst and the great Bronagh Friel! I love when panels make me a smarter person, and one can't help but get smarter listening to these three preeminent experts on the topic of 'what's next' in military recruiting. And of course thank you to one of the best leaders out there in our community, Lori Adams, CPM for bringing this band together. #hireveterans

Extending #5DaysOfGrit to talk about our small but #mighty team of 5. They are the grittiest, most dedicated, passionate, and empathetic leaders I’ve ever known. I’m blessed to call them colleagues and friends. Paul Cucinotta, Monica Shea, Trish Bautista, David Yun, you are more than that. You are #family. Together, we built ZeroMils with a mission, which sometimes seems much bigger than the 5 of us can take on by ourselves. Creating Military Thriving cultures and communities takes #grit and resolve to carry on, even when there are doubts. But the truth is: we’re not doing it ourselves. It takes a village, and that’s one thing we have in abundance — a growing #community of changemakers and partners who believe in our mission and who believe in us — and vice versa. That’s what makes even the biggest goals achievable. Belief in a shared mission and belief in one another. Together, we are #MilitaryThriving.

#Grit. It takes a lot of resolve, determination, strength of character, and even courage to start and run a “nonprofit.” ZeroMils works with dozens across the country. There are several that stand out and we’ve chosen to partner with them like they’ve chosen to align with us. Simply put, we believe in their mission, and they believe in ours and together we can grow the impact we make for our community. Sometimes we refer to them as David’s in a Goliath space, but that’s not fair. Even though they haven’t raised as much money as some of the behemoths you know about — arguably, they’ve made a greater impact on our #MilitaryThriving community - on a shoestring budget and on the shoulders of volunteers who believe in them as much as we do. They also represent the strength of our community in ways that are inspiring and remarkable. Not including some of the extraordinary “for purpose” leaders I’ve already spotlighted like Marine Veteran Noah Currier and Gold Star Spouse Lisa Hallett, here is a Military Thriving shout out to some of the grittiest leaders we serve alongside at ZeroMils. 🔸Thomas Schueman at Patrol Base Abbate 🔸Harrison Bernstein at Soldiers To Sidelines 🔹Verenice Castillo at Military Spouse Advocacy Network 🔹Niki Falzone at Platoon 22 🔸Robin Kelleher at Hope For The Warriors® 🔹Lance Nutt at Sheep Dog Impact Assistance 🔸Janet Sanchez at Esposas Militares Hispanas USA Armed Forces 🔹Jim Lorraine at America's Warrior Partnership 🔸Mike Abrams at FourBlock I know I listed more than 5. What can I say — We have a pretty #gritty military and Veteran connected community. #5DaysOfGrit #MilitaryThriving

Three of our favorite official photos just realeased from the NASWA Veteran Conference two weeks ago when our CEO Kevin Schmiegel gave a keynote address on topic of — you guessed it — Creating MilitaryThriving cultures and communities and changing the narrative from broken to #thriving. The first photo says it best. “Serving Those Who Served” that’s what ZeroMils does alongside leaders like Lori Adams, CPM and the 250 DVOPs and LVERs in the room. The second photo perfectly captures the strength of our #military and #Veteran connected #community. The third photo shows Laura Schmiegel leading a panel on the changing landscape of Veteran and Military Spouse unemployment and one other thing Kevin says all the time: “he married up ⬆️”. National Association of State Workforce Agencies #MilitaryThriving

Grit — Defined in Oxford Dictionary as “courage, resolve, and strength of character.” Dedicating Day #4 of #5DaysOfGrit to highlight just one extraordinary leader from the Gold Star Family community who is doing something extremely #gritty tomorrow — in honor of her husband Captain John Hallett an army officer who was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan 15 years ago Lisa Hallett will run 93 miles on the anniversary of John’s death to further grow wear blue: run to remember and the impact they make for families of the fallen. “Lisa will ascend and descend 22,000 feet along Mount Rainier’s Wonderland Trail during her run, to honor and remember John, who died serving his country. Captain Hallet, died on August 25th, 2009, at the age of 30 when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle in Afghanistan. He was returning from delivering medicine to a village struck by cholera. Hallett was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division at Ft. Lewis, Washington. Three other soldiers — Capt. Cory J. Jenkins, Sgt. 1st Class Ronald W. Sawyer and Pfc. Dennis M. William — also died in the blast. The run is being organized by wear blue — an organization founded to foster community for the families of service members who have died. ZeroMils partners and “shows up” for Lisa and her team again and again because they #ShowUp again and again — in the true spirit of building a #MiltaryThriving community in ways we believe in and which align with our values. wear blue: run to remember organizes community runs and seeks to “honor the service and sacrifice of the American military through active remembrance.” If you want to learn more about ways to give back through wear blue and support Lisa’s grit and determination tomorrow, check out the link below 👇. #5DaysOfGrit #MilitaryThriving

Yesterday I witnessed one of the most memorable and meaningful military ceremonies in my 57 years on earth — the Change of Command for Vice Admiral Nancy Lacore, a fellow College of the Holy Cross Alumni. It’s hard to imagine our history with the Department of the Navy spans 38 years, going back to our days as Midshipman at that “College on the Hill.” Yesterday we saw history being made at the Navy Yard with Nancy assuming the rank of Vice Admiral and duties as the Chief of Navy Reserve, only the second woman to hold that office. The ceremony was presided over by Admiral Lisa Franchetti, a trailblazer herself, as the first woman to serve as CNO and the first woman to be a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Take a look at the first three photos. Admiral Franchetti and VADM Lacore are not only inspirations to every woman Naval Officer currently serving. They are inspirations to every young woman in America considering service in the greatest Navy in the world. #Herstory is made every day, too. #MilitaryThriving

A different approach -- one that recognizes all change, all growth, all impact happens at the local level. Call it a #MilitaryThriving "whole of region" approach or playbook. In just a few weeks on September 17th, ZeroMils will join forces with key stakeholders and changemakers to discuss what it takes to create a #MilitaryThriving community in Hampton Roads. It's not just about attracting Veterans, Military Spouses and their families to the region it's about keeping them. This includes not only military talent to fill massive skills gaps but also Vet and MilSpouse #entrepreneurs who flood the region with the infrastructure needed to support growth and #thriving. One other thing that's different about our approach and our model-- we are not just talking about it, we're doing it. With extraordinary leaders like SULTAN CAMP, Jonathan L. Due, Kathleen Jabs, Phillip Jones, Melynda Weaver Brian Wieters, Brad Stevenson, Tim Best, Timothy Sweeney, Andrew B. Warren If you're a leader of an organization or an aspiring or current entrepreneur in the Hampton Roads area join us on 9/17. DM me, Paul Cucinotta or Monica Shea to learn more!

If you missed this OpEd in The Hill yesterday — https://lnkd.in/eaY47JeM — take a few minutes to read it. Share your thoughts on a solution that requires the #whole strength of our #MilitaryThriving community — and our nation — to solve the recruiting crisis. Whether you’re in a company or own a small business, every #Veteran and every military spouse has a role to play. It’s on us to #ChangetTheNarrative.