Hiring Our Heroes Program Presents Bennett Custom Awards
For the eighth straight year, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes program recognized its annual award recipients with custom recognition awards from 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.
In the first year of this inspiring program (2011), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce commissioned Bennett Awards to create a set of unique custom sculpture awards to present to its award recipients. The custom award design created by Bennett Awards is center on a figurative sculpture in the form of a combat serviceman on patrol. These sculpture awards are cast in bronze and feature a brown/gold patina finish. The sculptures are mounted on hardwood bases that include engraved plates with the U.S. Chamber logo, award name, recipient name, and a brief explanation of the meaning behind the award.
The Hiring Our Heroes awards are given 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 2018 recipients of each of these recognition awards were:
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: Deloitte
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: Amazon
USAA Military Spouse Employment and Mentoring Award, for demonstrated hiring, mentorship, and support of military spouses in their search for meaningful employment: Microsoft
Capital One Small Business Veteran and Military Spouse Employment Award, for demonstrated leadership by a small business or organization (less than 500 employees) in hiring veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses: Flags of Valor
Colonel Michael Endres Leadership Award, for an individual who has gone above and beyond to make a difference in employment opportunities for veterans, transitioning service members, and spouses: Sean Kelley of Amazon
Hiring Our Heroes President’s Award, for a lifetime of commitment and service to veterans and military families: Honorable R. Jim Nicholson