Hiring Our Heroes Presents Custom Awards from Bennett Awards

For the ninth consecutive year, the Hiring Our Heroes program, sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, presented its award recipients with unique custom awards created by Bennett Awards. Each year, this initiative honors the tremendous contributions of those who have gone above and beyond to help our nation’s heroes by honoring companies, organizations, and individuals at its annual awards gala. These awards recognize 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 presented in seven categories: Overall Effort in Veteran and Military Spouse Employment; Nonprofit Leadership in Supporting Veteran and Military Spouse Employment; Post-9/11 Veteran Employment; Wounded Veteran and Military Caregiver Employment; Military Spouse Employment and Mentoring; Individual Excellence in Veteran Employment; and the President's Award for Lifetime Achievement.

The 2019 recipients of the Hiring Our Heroes Awards were:

• President’s Award for Lifetime Achievement, for a lifetime of commitment and service to veterans and military families: Bonnie Amos, former first lady of the U.S. Marine Corps and Hiring Our Heroes and Toyota Personal Branding Ambassador

• Lee Anderson Veteran and Military Spouse Employment Award, for overall excellence in hiring and retaining veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses in the private sector: Prudential Financial

• Military Community Nonprofit Leadership Award, for demonstrated commitment to supporting veteran and military spouse employment and economic opportunity: PsychArmor Institute

• 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: LinkedIn

• 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: Wounded Warrior Project

• Military Spouse Employment and Mentoring Award, for demonstrated hiring, mentorship, and support of military spouses in their search for meaningful employment: VA Board of Veterans’ Appeals

• 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: Danny Chung, Chief of Staff and Business Manager for Military Affairs at Microsoft

In 2011, the inaugural year of this initiative, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce commissioned Bennett Awards to create a set of unique, custom sculpture awards for its award recipients. The custom award design created by Bennett Awards was based on a figurative sculpture of a combat serviceman on patrol. These sculpture awards are cast in bronze and feature a golden brown patina finish. The sculptures are mounted on hardwood bases with plates engraved with the U.S. Chamber logo, award name, recipient name, and a brief explanation of the meaning behind the award.