Following record-shattering employer participation in ESGR Signing Ceremonies at the Pentagon in 2015 and 2016, FASTPORT coordinated with industry leading employers from around the country this year in multiple industries to display their continued dedication to our nation’s heroes and to publicly affirm that they are ready and able to stand as First Responders in military employment.

Tom Bullock, ESGR Chief of Employer Outreach said, “These patriotic employers here today are setting a high standard for all their industries and employers to follow by providing above-and-beyond support of the nation’s Veterans, many of whom currently serve in the National Guard and Reserve.”

“As a former Marine Reservist, I know how important it is to work for an employer that understands the value of military experience and empowers members of the Guard and Reserve as they fulfill their duties,” said FASTPORT CEO Bill McLennan. “I’m especially proud to see employers represent so many different industries unite under one banner in the effort to provide real economic opportunities to the best and brightest in our nation.”

Executive Director of ESGR CAPT Juliet Perkins, said “This [event] is tremendous. If you are partnered with FASTPORT, you know their mission to eliminate unemployment and underemployment for our military community. You know your own missions. If you’re going to partner with an organization, it’s important to know what their mission is, and our mission at ESGR is to ensure a great cohesive relationship between employers and our service members who deploy.

“We are responsible for ensuring that those relationships stay tight. It’s all about communication, and we are here to help companies like yours to understand exactly what you need to do to accomplish the joint missions we set out on today with this Statement of Support signing ceremony.”

The signing ceremony took place at the Pentagon where 29 employers joined to witness the signing as well as sign their own Statements of Support for the Guard and Reserve. Because military service members have unique skill sets that equip them for successful careers in trucking, carriers have united inspire and hire these talented men and women. Attending companies and organizations included:

• 3E Leadership Group

• ADP

• Advanced Training Systems, LLC

• American Trucking Associations (ATA)

• Authentic Veteran Employment

• Brookfield Global

• College of Southern Maryland

• Combined Insurance

• Epes Transport

• FASTPORT

• Global Tooling Specialities

• Hiring Our Heroes, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

• Lund International

• Melton Truck Lines

• National Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools (NAPFTDS)

• Nestle USA

• Paradigm Media

• Petracca Transportation

• Pottle’s Transportation, LLC

• Prime, Inc.

• Radio Nemo

• Randall-Reilly

• Stevens Transport

• Succession Planning for Railroads Investing in the Next Generation (SPRING)

• TRJ Transportation, Inc.

• U.S. Xpress

• Ultimate Tailgating

• Women in Trucking Association, Inc.

Brigadier General Meyeraan said, “We are working with and through FASTPORT and its employer network to reach out and employment opportunities—and career opportunities—to members of our military who have transitioned or retired from service as well as those members that are currently serving.”

Meyeraan continued, “Just to give a sense of the scope of the population employers, there are approximately 460,000 National Guard members in the United States. 70% of those are part-time Guardsman who put on the uniform on weekends, a few weeks or months a year during a deployment. The rest of that time, they look to the private sector to find meaningful work that allows them to support themselves and their families and be great members of society. That’s the population we need to reach out, connect with, and serve.”

Before the Statement of Support Signing Ceremony took place, the National Guard Bureau and FASTPORT announced their signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will help Guardsmen find great employment opportunities in the civilian sector.

After the MOU announcement, employers stepped up, one by one, to sign publicly sign their Statements of Support and display their leadership for employing members of the Guard and Reserve.

In response to watching these organizations signing in front of this coalition, FASTPORT President Brad Bentley said, “It’s military-friendly industries and companies like this working together—this is what we need. There’s a spirit of cooperation here that is unimaginable in most other business practices. We are here for a common purpose, and that cooperation is helping us step closer to accomplishing our ultimate missions of ending veteran unemployment and bringing incredible talent to our workforce.”

To learn more about how you can sign your own ESGR Statement of Support or begin your own military hiring program, visit https://www.fastport.com/employers/.