Sue and I have now answered almost all of the 700 plus emails we received. I have eight left as of this writing. Here are a few:
Dear Mrs. Costigan,
I am a recently separated veteran from the U.S. Army where I spent 7 years and two combat tours to Iraq. Like Mr. Weaver I was a Staff Sergeant and like Mr. Weaver I found myself on a roller coaster ride when it came to the transition from the Army to the civilian workforce. I am 34 years old, I live in Burlington, KY, near Cincinnati, OH and I have a fiance and a 5 year old boy. Basically I just wanted to contact you and your husband because I saw that you were able to find opportunities within your company; Kelly Car Buyer for other vets and wanted to tell you a little bit about myself and send my resume for your review. After hearing your story I just feel like I would love to join your team and feel like I could be an excellent asset to your company.
Ever since I got out of the Army we have been struggling….
Hello Mike, I emailed you a few days ago and was wondering if you got my email? Do you think we could talk and see if I could maybe have a chance to be one of your employees or a vender? Please get back to me. This fellow wasn’t a veteran as far as I can tell from his previous email but he’s looking.
Hi Mike,
I am inquiring as to how to join your organization to purchase cars for you. I am a veteran and retired. I am looking for a good internet business to work around the Columbus, Ohio area. This man was a Viet Nam Veteran , We’ve had about 20 to 30 of these vets still struggling to make ends meet at this late in life.
It’s not a surprise to us that the country is hurting, but it is a little overwhelming when you find yourself wanting to help and not knowing where to start. Sue and I spoke to Justin Balding yesterday about the idea of opening up a kind of employment agency just for veterans and run by veterans. We’ve had a boatload of vets who really need to work at home for any number of reasons ranging from: “I’ve moved back home to care for my elderly parents” to “I lost my left leg and don’t have a prosthetic yet” to “I feel more comfortable working from home.” My guess is that the last vet may have some PTSD issues.
We’re trying to work through the issues of forming this kind of service and how much money we’d need to invest and raise to be able to hire a few vets to start dialing for jobs from small businesses. I think NBC and the Chamber is doing a heck of a job talking to the larger corporations, but we think there is great potential targeting small companies who can be talked into helping some of these veterans. We’re also talking about creating a sign that can be displayed that says: “We Hired a Veteran” or “We’re Hiring Veterans”. It may not be much but it is one way to tell your community that you have hired veterans and support their plight. More to come…