Hiring Our Heroes Program Honors Recipients with Bennett Custom Awards
For the seventh straight year, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes program honored its annual award recipients with custom sculpture awards created by Bennett Awards. The Hiring Our Heroes awards are presented to companies and individuals that have developed and applied best practices for addressing the employment challenges faced by America’s veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses.
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 2017 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: Ryder System, Inc.
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 in the private sector: Microsoft
Wounded Veteran and Military Caregiver Employment Award, for demonstrated leadership in addressing the unique challenges and demands for wounded warriors, spouses, and caregivers in their search for meaningful employment: USAA
Military Spouse Employment and Mentoring Award, for demonstrated hiring and support of military spouses in their search for meaningful employment in the private sector: Booz Allen Hamilton
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: Wittenberg Weiner Consulting, LLC
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: Carol Eggert
In the inaugural year of this outstanding program (2011), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce commissioned Bennett Awards to create a new, unique custom sculpture award design to present to the award recipients. This design is based on 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.