‘Hiring Our Heroes’ Program Presents Bennett Custom Awards
For the sixth consecutive year, Bennett Awards produced a set of custom awards for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundations ‘Hiring Our Heroes’ awards. These recognition awards are given to employers and individuals who have demonstrated leadership in addressing the challenges faced by veterans, transitioning service members, military spouses, and military caregivers in their search for meaningful employment.
The Hiring Our Heroes awards are awarded in six categories: Veteran and Military Spouse Employment; Post-9/11 Veteran Employment; Wounded Veteran and Military Caregiver Employment; Military Spouse Employment and Mentoring; Small Business Veteran and Military Spouse Employment; and Individual Leadership. The 2016 winners of each of these awards are:
Lee Anderson Veteran and Military Spouse Employment Award, for overall excellence in hiring and retaining veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses: Lockheed Martin Corporation
Steve Robinson Post-9/11 Veteran Employment Award, for effective and sustained efforts to enhance the ability of post-9/11 veterans and transitioning service members to find meaningful employment: Hilton Worldwide
Don Weber Wounded Veteran and Military Caregiver Employment Award, for demonstrated leadership in addressing the unique challenges and demands for wounded, ill, and injured veterans as well as military caregivers in their search for meaningful employment: Senator Elizabeth Dole, The Elizabeth Dole Foundation
Military Spouse Employment and Mentoring Award, for demonstrated hiring, mentorship, and support of military spouses in their search for meaningful employment: Capital One
Capital One Award for Small Business Veteran and Military Spouse Employment, for demonstrated leadership by a small business or organization (less than 500 employees) in hiring veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses: MILLIE
Colonel Michael Endres Leadership Award for Individual Excellence in Veteran Employment, for an individual who has gone above and beyond to make a difference in employment opportunities for veterans, transitioning service members, and spouses: Michael Kelly, USAA
President’s Award for Lifetime Achievement: Don Esmond
In the inaugural year of this outstanding program (2011), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce commissioned Bennett Awards to create a new, unique custom award design to present to the award winners. This design is centered around a figurative sculpture in the form of a combat serviceman on patrol. These sculptures are cast in bronze, and feature a brown/gold patina finish. The sculptures are mounted on hand-crafted hardwood bases that include custom engraved plates with the U.S. Chamber’s logo, the award name, the recipient name, and a brief explanation of the award’s purpose.
Hiring Our Heroes is a nationwide initiative to help veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses find meaningful employment. Working with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s vast network of state and local chambers and other strategic partners from the public, private and nonprofit sectors, Hiring Our Heroes has helped hundreds of thousands of veterans and military spouses find meaningful employment through more than 950 job fairs in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and on military installations overseas; a suite of free online career-based resources; and the Hiring 500,000 Heroes campaign.