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TEXAS’ INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO JOBS AND 

EMPLOYMENT FOR VETERANS 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

Wednesday November 6, 2013 

Serial No. 113–42 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

( 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gov 


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COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS 

JEFF MILLER, Chairman 

DOUG LAMBORN, Colorado 

GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida 

DAVID P. ROE, Tennessee 

BILL FLORES, Texas 

JEFF DENHAM, California 

JON RUNYAN, New Jersey 

DAN BENISHEK, Michigan 

TIM HUELSKAMP, Kansas 

MARK E. AMODEI, Nevada 

MIKE COFFMAN, Colorado 

BRAD R. WENSTRUP, Ohio 

PAUL COOK, California 

JACKIE WALORSKI, Indiana 

MICHAEL H. MICHAUD, Maine, Ranking 

Minority Member 

CORRINE BROWN, Florida 

MARK TAKANO, California 

JULIA BROWNLEY, California 

DINA TITUS, Nevada 

ANN KIRKPATRICK, Arizona 

RAUL RUIZ, California 

GLORIA NEGRETE MCLEOD, California 

ANN M. KUSTER, New Hampshire 

BETO O’ROURKE, Texas 

TIMOTHY J. WALZ, Minnesota 

Jon Towers, Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY (EO) 

BILL FLORES, Texas, Chairman 

JON RUNYAN, New Jersey 

MIKE COFFMAN, Colorado 

PAUL COOK, California 

BRAD R. WENSTRUP, Ohio 

MARK TAKANO, California Ranking 

Minority Member 

JULIA BROWNLEY, California 

DINA TITUS, Nevada 

ANN M. KIRKPATRICK, Arizona 

Pursuant to clause 2(e)(4) of Rule XI of the Rules of the House, public hearing records 

of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs are also published in electronic form. The printed 

hearing record remains the official version. Because electronic submissions are used to 

prepare both printed and electronic versions of the hearing record, the process of converting 

between various electronic formats may introduce unintentional errors or omissions. Such occurrences are inherent in the current publication process and should diminish as the process 

is further refined. 


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C O N T E N T S 

Page 

November 6, 2013 

Texas’ Innovative Approaches To Jobs And Employment For Veterans 1 

OPENING STATEMENT 

Hon. Bill Flores, Chairman of the Subcommittee of Economic Opportunity 1 

Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 2 

Statement of the Hon. Mark Takano, Ranking Minority Member 4 

WITNESSES 

Ms. Mary Kennedy Thompson, President, Mr. Rooter, LLC 

Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 7 

Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 9 

Mr. David Amsden, Vice President, Recruiting Cognizant Technology Solutions 

Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 13 

Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 15 

Mr. Chris Burton, Store Manager The Home Depot 

Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 18 

Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 20 

Mr. John Vizner, Facility Manager Caterpillar Global Work Tools—Waco 

Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 22 

Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 24 

Mr. Joseph Kosper, CEO RideScout 

Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 27 

Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 29 

Dr. Janet Bagby, VETS Coordinator Senior Lecturer, Department of Education Psychology Baylor University 

Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 38 

Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 40 

Mrs. Kris Cervantes, Veterans Specialist McLennan Community College 

Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 42 

Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 44 

Mr. Rob Wolaver, Executive Vice-President Texas State Technical College— 

Waco 

Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 47 

Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 48 

Col. Gerald ‘‘Jerry’’ L. Smith USMC (Ret.), Director Veteran Resource and 

Support Center Texas A&M University 

Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 52 

Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 54 

Mr. Andres Alcantar, Chairman Texas Workforce Commission 

Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 70 

Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 72 

Mr. Shawn Deabay, Director, Veterans Employment Services Texas Veterans 

Commission 

Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 74 

Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 76 

APPENDIX 

Aggie Vet Connect Program .................................................................................... 87 


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TEXAS’ INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO JOBS 

AND EMPLOYMENT FOR VETERANS 

Wednesday, November 6, 2013 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY

COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS

Washington, D.C. 

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:04 a.m., at the 

Bill Daniel Student Center, Baylor University, 1311 South 5th 

Street, Waco, Texas, Hon. Bill Flores [chairman of the subcommittee] presiding. 

Present: Representatives Flores and Takano. 

Also Present: Representative Williams. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN BILL FLORES, 

Mr. Flores. Good morning. I would like to call the subcommittee 

to order. 

And the first thing I would like to do is to introduce Judge Ken 

Starr, the president of Baylor University, who is going to say a few 

words. Before he gets up here, I would like to ask us all to give 

him and all of the Baylor team a round of applause for being such 

great hosts today. 

[Applause.] 

Judge Starr. Mr. Chairman, thank you. 

We are honored at Baylor to have you here, from Riverside and 

the great Inland Empire of California to Fort Worth and the great 

district that runs from Tarrant County down to Hays County. And 

of course, the chairman is our own Member of the House of Representatives. So, Congressman Flores, Mr. Chairman, we are delighted that you are here. 

You know, at Baylor, we have billboards that say things such as 

‘‘Baylor loves Waco.’’ We could quite readily have a billboard that 

says ‘‘Baylor loves veterans.’’ 

We have close to 100 student veterans here who are very active 

in the organization that really promotes veteran welfare, beginning 

right here at home on the Baylor campus, but also much more generally. You know, it was General Washington, who was quite a veteran himself, in that magnificent speech, a member of his own officers—when he was facing a mutiny of this one officer—was talking 

about growing old in the service of his country. 

And at a dramatic moment, he reached into his breast pocket 

and pulled out his spectacles and paused dramatically. And he 

asked his officers, who were on the verge of mutiny, to bear with 

him because of his growing old in the service of his country. 


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We owe again to General Washington and the great sons of the 

Revolution, century after century, down to the 21st century, an 

unpayable debt, a moral debt and other debts to our veterans. And 

so, we are so thankful that you are here to focus on issues that are 

of concern to the veterans, their loved ones, but also to the American people. 

So God bless this committee. We are able to say that here at 

Baylor University. We love the fact that our elected representatives 

from Texas, from California, and our own congressman has seen fit 

to honor Baylor University, the oldest continually operating university in the State of Texas chartered by the Republic of Texas, older 

than Texas itself. 

Welcome to Baylor University. 

[Applause.] 

Mr. Flores. I thank everyone for joining us today for today’s field 

hearing of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity of the 

House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. 

I am Congressman Bill Flores, and not only is it my pleasure to 

serve as congressman for the great City of Waco and the rest of the 

17th District of Texas, but also to serve as the chairman of this 

subcommittee. Whether it is the popular post 9/11 GI bill or rehabilitation and training for disabled veterans, the goal of the subcommittee is to ensure that our veterans have economic opportunity and success. 

I am proud of the work that—the great work that we have already accomplished this year by improving the Transition Assistance Program, which assists service members’ transition to civilian 

life, streamlining the processing of the GI bill benefits, examining 

educational outcomes for student veterans, and various other legislative and oversight accomplishments to improve the lives of America’s veterans. 

I am joined here this morning by my colleague and ranking 

Democratic member of the subcommittee, Mr. Mark Takano of 

California. Mr. Takano is a former educator from Riverside, California, and it was a pleasure to be in his district on Monday for 

another field hearing on educational opportunities for veterans. We 

had a great turnout, and we learned a lot from the panelists and 

the witnesses at that hearing. 

I am very happy to have him here today, and I hope all of you 

will show him some of our Texas hospitality while he is with us. 

So welcome to you, Mr. Takano, and thanks again for traveling to 

Waco to be with us today. 

[Applause.] 

STATEMENT OF THE HON. BILL FLORES, Chairman 

‘‘Texas’ Innovative Approaches to Jobs and Employment for Veterans’’ 

November 6, 2013 

Good morning everyone and the Subcommittee will come to 

order. 

I thank everyone for joining us for today’s field hearing of the 

Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity of the House Committee 

on Veterans’ Affairs. 


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As many of you know, I am Congressman Bill Flores and not 

only is it my pleasure to serve as the congressman for the great 

city of Waco and the rest of the 17th district of Texas, but to also 

serve as the Chairman of this Subcommittee. 

Whether it is the popular Post 9/11 G.I. Bill or rehabilitation and 

training for disabled veterans, the goal of the subcommittee is ensuring that veterans have economic opportunity and success. 

I am proud of the great work we have already accomplished this 

year by improving the transition assistance program which assists 

servicemembers’ transition to civilian life, streamlining the processing of G.I. Bill benefits, examining education outcomes for student veterans, and various other legislative and oversight accomplishments to improve the lives of America’s veterans. 

I am joined here this morning by my colleague and Ranking 

Democratic Member of the Subcommittee, Mr. Mark Takano of 

California. Mr. Takano is a former educator from Riverside, California, and it was a pleasure to be in his district on Monday for 

another field hearing. 

I am very happy to have him here today and I hope you all will 

show him some of our famous Texas hospitality while he is with 

us. So welcome to you Mr. Takano and thanks again for traveling 

to Waco to be with us today. 

I also want to extend a special thanks to Baylor University who 

has graciously provided the facilities for our use today. 

We are here this morning to focus on one of the most important 

goals I have for this subcommittee - reducing unemployment 

amongst our nation’s veterans. While this is a hearing we could 

easily have had in Washington, DC, I think it is very important to 

hear from folks first hand here in Texas about this issue. 

We are lucky, that the unemployment rate for veterans in Texas 

was 5.5% for the month of September, which is well below the national average of 6.8%. 

We all know that some of the reasons for this difference is our 

great state’s focus on pro-growth policies, low taxes, and efficient 

and innovative government programs that partner with the private 

and non-profit sector to give unemployed veterans the little boost 

they need to be successful. 

I would also be remiss if I did not highlight the people of Texas’ 

long standing commitment to the military and those who have 

served as another major reason for our success. This is shown not 

only in the priority our small and large businesses place on hiring 

veterans, but on the policies, programs, and benefits our institutions of higher learning offer to these heroes. 

I am excited for our witnesses today to bring attention to these 

laudable efforts and hope we can bottle a bit of that Texas magic 

and share it with the rest of the country. 

Congress can write all the laws and create all the programs they 

want, but as a former businessman myself, I know that jobs for 

veterans start and end with continued commitment from American 

enterprise. 

While we will hear about many successes today, our work in 

Congress is never complete, and I look forward to hearing from our 

distinguished panelists about how we can improve the oversight of 

federal programs to help put our veterans back to work. 


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A few housekeeping items before I recognize the Ranking Member. I want to remind our audience that today’s hearing is not a 

town hall and we will be hearing only from members and invited 

panelists. My staff and I would be happy to speak with members 

of the public following the hearing. I would also like to point out 

Penny Forrest and Jessica McKinney with my staff, who are available to help you with any veteran casework issues you may have. 

Finally, I want to thank my Texas colleague and good friend, 

Roger Williams, for being with us for this important hearing today. 

Mr. Williams represents Texas’ 25th Congressional District and 

has a number of Texas veterans in his district. I ask that our colleague Mr. Williams be allowed to sit at the dais and ask questions. Hearing no objection so ordered. 

I now recognize Mr. Takano for any opening remarks he may 

have. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF THE HON. MARK TAKANO 

Mr. Takano. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I am very happy to be in Waco this morning, meeting so many 

of your constituents involved in finding good-paying, long-term jobs 

for America’s veterans. I know I certainly appreciate the way in 

which you have conducted the hearings and the way you run our 

committee. 

We have a strong bipartisan history on the Veterans’ Committee. 

While much of the Congress is at odds with each other, at the Veterans’ Committee, we often pass legislation by voice vote, and certainly your subcommittee is line with that tradition. 

I appreciate the opportunity to hear firsthand about the innovative approaches to hiring and educating veterans in Texas. I am 

very interested in hearing about the successful outcomes of these 

approaches. 

We heard from my local colleges on Monday, and today I look forward to hearing from Baylor and your own alma mater, Texas 

A&M University. Employment continues to be a challenge for veterans across the country, and looking at different models for assisting veterans in finding jobs is very helpful, especially as we review 

national policy. 

I also want to highlight a program in my own State of California 

that is doing great things to assist unemployed members of the National Guard to find jobs. The Work for Warriors program places 

unemployed CNG members directly into jobs. 

Staff members connect with businesses to identify job openings, 

find qualified unemployed CNG members, and guide CNG members through resume and interview preparation and other elements 

of the hiring process. Since its establishment in 2012, WFW has 

successfully placed over 16,005 Guardsmen in jobs, 2 to 3 placements per day. 

While successful Federal veterans employment initiatives typically cost over $10,000 per placement, the program—this program 

that I am talking about has a total per placement cost roughly of 

$500 per placement. This is something I would like to see replicated for Reservists and veterans, and I hope it will soon spread 

to other States. 


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I know the Texas Veterans Commission seeks to advocate and 

provide superior services to veterans to significantly improve their 

lives. Thank you for what you do in Texas, and for all our veterans 

who retire here and decide to come back to Texas. 

And I just want to add offhand, I know that California took 

Texas’ lead in the size of the backlog. The way you are trying to 

solve the backlog problem in the State of Texas by supplementing 

the number of case workers at the VA with state workers is something we in California, are trying to do too after looking at the successful implementation here. 

I look forward to hearing the witnesses’ testimony. Thank you, 

Mr. Chairman. I yield back. 

Mr. Flores. Thank you, Mr. Takano. 

I also would like to extend a special thanks to Baylor University, 

who has graciously provided the facilities for our use today. 

We are here this morning to focus on one of the most important 

goals that I have for this subcommittee, and that is reducing unemployment amongst our Nation’s veterans. While this is a hearing 

that we could easily have in Washington, D.C., I think it is very 

important to hear from folks firsthand here in Texas about this 

issue. 

Nobody knows these issues better than those right here in the 

real world. We are lucky that the unemployment rate in Texas for 

veterans was 5.5 percent last month, which is well below the national average of 6.8 percent. But still, we need to do more. 

We all know that some of the reasons for this difference is our 

great State’s focus on pro-growth policies, low taxes, and efficient 

and innovative government programs that partner with the private 

and nonprofit sector to give unemployed veterans the helpful tools 

that they need to be successful. 

I would also be remiss if I did not highlight the people of Texas’ 

longstanding commitment to the military and those who have 

served us as another major reason for our success. This is shown 

not only in the priority that our small and large businesses place 

on hiring veterans, but also on policies, programs, and benefits that 

our institutions of higher learning offer to these heroes. 

I am excited for our witnesses today to bring attention to these 

laudable efforts, and I hope that we can bottle a little bit of that 

Texas experience and share it with the rest of the country, particularly back in Washington. 

As we all know, Congress can write all the laws and create all 

the programs that it wants. But as a former business person myself, I know that jobs for veterans start and stop with the continued commitment from American private enterprise. While we will 

hear about many successes today, our work in Congress is never 

complete, and I look forward to hearing from our distinguished 

panelists about how we can improve the oversight of Federal programs to help put more of our veterans back to work. 

Now a few housekeeping issues before I recognize other persons 

on the dais today. I want to remind our audience that today’s hearing is not a town hall. We will be hearing only today from the panelists and the Members of Congress. 

My staff and I would be happy to speak with members of the 

public following the hearing, and I would also like to point out JesVerDate Aug 31 2005 11:04 Oct 15, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\PAT’S DOC\85867.TXT PAT

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sie McKinney, with my staff—Jessie, will you please stand? Over 

here. Jessica, with my staff, and Luke Connolly are available here 

to answer any questions you may have. 

We also have a veterans resource center that is available outside 

the door, either immediately following the hearing. 

Finally, I would like to thank my Texas colleague and good 

friend Roger Williams for being with us today for this important 

hearing. Mr. Williams represents the 25th Congressional District 

and has a number of Texas veterans in his district. 

I ask that our colleague Mr. Williams be allowed to sit at the 

dais and ask questions. Hearing no objection, so ordered. 

I would also like to let everybody know that we have two representatives from Congressman Carter’s office here today Greg 

Schannap and Cheryl Hassmann. Would you please stand? So 

thank you for being here and representing Judge Carter at this 

hearing today. 

Mr. Takano, do you have any follow-on opening comments? 

Mr. Takano. I do not, sir. 

Mr. Flores. Okay. I now recognize Mr. Williams for any opening 

comments that you may have. 

Mr. Williams. Thank you, Chairman Flores. 

And I would like to start by thanking you for all the work you 

have done and appreciate that very much. 

And Ranking Member Takano, one of my colleagues, for your 

hard work and for your leadership. 

I would also like to say real quick there is a football game coming up Thursday. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. Williams. And I am pretty good at predicting scores. So I am 

going to predict the Baylor Bears over the Oklahoma Sooners, 35– 

21. 

[Applause.] 

Mr. Williams. I would also want to thank all of those who are 

here to testify today. Appreciate that. Your investment, your leadership on this issue is greatly appreciated. 

And at a point in time when Washington, I think my colleagues 

will agree, seems very divided on just about everything, supporting 

our veterans is something we can all and will always agree on. 

Many have signed up more in recent years to protect our great 

Nation, stepping up to answer the call of duty, and we are forever 

indebted and forever grateful for their service and their sacrifice. 

It is now our duty to make sure these veterans are given all the 

resources needed to transition back to a civilian lifestyle. 

In Texas’ 25th Congressional District, which I represent, I am 

fortunate to have the opportunity to represent Foot Hood and its 

surrounding communities. And after speaking with many of these 

communities, I can tell you they want veterans to stay. 

Veterans are America’s greatest asset. We must always remember that. And they need to be given opportunities to succeed as civilians. 

Thus, we must create an environment that is friendly toward our 

veterans, whether they are looking to step into the workforce or 

further their education. And I am proud to say that the House has 

recently passed H.R. 2011 and H.R. 2481 with the help of Leader 


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Flores, aimed to advance our veterans in both the workforce and 

the classroom. 

Our veterans deserve the very best, and the current unemployment rate among veterans should never be the norm. Texas is 

home to an extraordinary number of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and 

Marines, many of whom call central Texas their home. They are 

the true heroes and heroines of our country, and I vow to continue, 

as my colleagues do, to stand for them, just as they have stood for 

us and will stand for us. 

So I appreciate being here today. And may God bless all of you, 

and may God bless our troops and our veterans as we move forward. 

I yield back, Mr. Chairman. 

[Applause.] 

Mr. Flores. Thank you, Mr. Williams. 

Our first panel will have Ms. Mary Kennedy Thompson, with Mr. 

Rooter, LLC; Mr. David Amsden, with Cognizant Technology Solutions; Mr. Chris Burton, with the Home Depot; Mr. John Vizner, 

with Caterpillar Global Work Tools; and Mr. Joseph Kopser from 

RideScout. 

Each of you will be recognized for 5 minutes, and we will begin 

with Ms. Thompson. 

I would like to say this at the beginning. You will see some lights 

on your table there. The green light means that you have got—your 

time has started. The yellow light means that you have a minute 

left. The red light means that we need to wrap up pretty quickly. 

So, with that, I would like to recognize Ms. Thompson. 

STATEMENT OF MARY KENNEDY THOMPSON 

Ms. Thompson. Good morning, Chairman Flores, Ranking Member Takano, and the subcommittee. Thank you so much for bringing us here together today. 

I am Mary Kennedy Thompson, and I am the president of Mr. 

Rooter Plumbing, which is the world’s largest all-franchised plumbing company. 

I am a veteran, having served 8 years in the United States Marine Corps as a logistics officer. I am the daughter of a Vietnam 

veteran. I am the wife of a veteran. I am the sister of a veteran, 

and I am a friend of many veterans across the United States and 

across the world. 

As the president of Mr. Rooter, I am a proud brand of the Dwyer 

Group brands that include Aire Serv, Glass Doctor, Grounds Guys, 

Mr. Electric, Mr. Appliance, Rainbow, and Mr. Rooter. And in 2006, 

I was chosen to be the first female president of the 40-year-old Mr. 

Rooter brand. It is my honor to be here talking to you today. 

I am here representing the Dwyer Group and the International 

Franchise Association in our work with VetFran. In 2012, 

PricewaterhouseCoopers conducted a study that showed that 

820,000 franchise establishments are across the United States, 

generating 17 million jobs. That is close to one in eight jobs in the 

United States. 

I came into franchising as a franchisee first. When I left the Marine Corps, I came in as a Cookies by Design franchisee, and that 

company helped create wealth for me. It helped create jobs for my 


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community. And when I was a multi-unit franchisee in Austin, 

Texas, I employed close to 50 employees during my time. 

Franchising is the great American dream, and it created for me 

and my family something that I had looked for for a long time after 

serving in the Marine Corps. 

VetFran was started right here in Waco, Texas. It was founded 

by Don Dwyer Sr., who was the CEO of the Dwyer Group at the 

time and the founder. And he decided in 1991 that we had to come 

together and we had to offer our veterans opportunities in small 

business ownership and asked franchisors to come together and 

offer their best discounts. 

And then, in 9/11, Dina Dwyer-Owens, who is the CEO of the 

Dwyer Group now, she relaunched VetFran and said we have got 

to do more. We have got to offer more. 

In 2011, we partnered with the first lady, who was doing Joining 

Forces, and launched Operation Enduring Opportunity. And with 

Operation Enduring Opportunity, we pledged the franchising community to hire 80,000 veterans by 2014. We launched it November 

10th of 2011. 

I am proud to announce that with the Dwyer Group, we have— 

since that time, we have brought in 298 veterans into small business ownership, offering $1.8 million in discounts. And I am announcing here for the first time that we, the franchising community, have brought in and hired 151,557 veterans since November 

of 2011. 

We have also brought into small business ownership 5,192 veterans. Something that started here in Waco, Texas, has affected 

151,000 veterans. 

Veterans make great franchisees, and they make great employees in franchising because franchising is about the systems, it is 

about the discipline, and it needs leaders. And veterans have that. 

They understand what systems to the core of their being. They understand and have had experience with leadership, whether they 

are a staff sergeant or whether they are a Navy captain. They understand that. 

Since we launched Operation Enduring Opportunity at the 

Dwyer Group, our brands have hired 624 veterans. I have two veterans here with me today. Captain John Mendel, who is a retired 

captain who served in Baghdad and Bahrain, is our new vice president of operations for Mr. Rooter, joined us about a year ago. And 

Jason Lee, staff sergeant in the United States Army, and he has 

toured in Kuwait and Iraq. And I thank them both for their service. 

I would like to ask everyone here in this subcommittee to consider bringing to the 113th Congress the Help Veterans Own Franchises Act. It would offer a tax credit of 50 percent to veterans for 

their franchise fee, and it would be capped at $25,000. 

I would just like to remind everybody that when that veteran 

starts that small business not only is he providing a job and opportunity for his family, but he is also providing jobs for those in his 

community. And that is something that can make a very large difference. 

I would like to thank everyone here for what you are doing. I remember watching a TV commercial once where everybody got up 


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and gave an ovation to all the veterans. And I would like to say 

this. Let us not just give them an ovation. Let us give them a vocation. 

Let us give them the power to prosper, and I thank you for your 

very good work here. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Thompson] 

Testimony of Mary Kennedy Thompson 

On Behalf of The Dwyer Group and International Franchise Association 

November 6, 2013 

Good morning Congressman Flores and members of the subcommittee. My name is Mary Kennedy Thompson and I am President of Mr. Rooter Plumbing based in Waco, TX, which is a proud 

brand of The Dwyer Group family of service enterprises representing more than 1600 franchisees worldwide and 124 

franchisees in Texas employing more than 850 people. I am honored to have the opportunity to speak at this field hearing of the 

House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on ‘‘Texas’ Innovative Approaches to Jobs and Employment for Veterans.’’ Taking care of our 

veterans who have faithfully served our country is a subject that 

is very near and dear to my heart as is the Veterans Transition 

Franchise Initiative, or VetFran. 

In 1985, I received my commission as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps where I served for eight years and achieved the rank 

of Captain while on active duty. During my service, I had the honor 

to become the first female platoon commander for my unit and my 

service took me around the world, including North Carolina, California the Philippines and Japan. When I returned home to Texas 

I made the decision to go into franchising. I became a franchisee 

in the Cookies by Design system in Austin, Texas where I earned 

company awards for Top Performer and Outstanding Customer 

Service. After I sold my businesses, the corporate office asked me 

to join the headquarters as the Director of Franchise Operations, 

eventually becoming the brand’s President. I came to Mr. Rooter in 

October of 2006 to proudly serve the 40 year old company as its 

first female President. 

I appear before you today on behalf of The Dwyer Group and the 

International Franchise Association (IFA). The Dwyer Group 

opened its doors in 1981 with only one brand and has grown to become the holding company of seven service-based franchise organizations: Aire Serv, Glass Doctor, Mr. Appliance, Mr. Electric, Rainbow International, The Grounds Guys, and my brand Mr. Rooter. 

We are an active member of the IFA and the founding company for 

VetFran. As the largest and oldest franchising trade group, the 

IFA’s mission is to safeguard the business environment for franchising worldwide. IFA protects, enhances and promotes franchising by advancing the values of integrity, respect, trust, commitment to excellence and diversity. 

According to a 2012 study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, 

there are more than 820,000 franchised establishments in the U.S. 

that are responsible for creating more than 17 million American 

jobs and generating $2.1 trillion in economic output. Franchising 


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operates in a variety of industries; including automotive, commercial and residential services, restaurants, lodging, real estate and 

business and personal services. One out of every eight private, nonfarm jobs in the United States comes from franchising. This is especially true in Texas. 

The IFA and its members have long supported the efforts of this 

Subcommittee and the Department of Veterans Affairs’. For several 

years, the IFA has maintained an ongoing dialogue with the U.S. 

Department of Veterans Affairs’ Center for Veteran Enterprise, 

seeking ways to improve program outreach to transitioning veterans. 

Watching the events of the Gulf War unfold in 1990, the president and founder of my parent company, The Dwyer Group, Don 

Dwyer Sr., a veteran himself, decided he had to do more for our 

service men and women. He considered the traditional ways of support, but saw nothing that captured the spirit on the scale he envisioned. A short time later, while attending the IFA’s 1991 annual 

convention, he conceived the ideal solution: help our veterans 

achieve the American Dream by owning their own franchised small 

business. 

Just before Veterans Day in 1991, the program was officially 

launched during a press conference in Washington, D.C. and soon, 

more than 100 franchise systems were participating as partners in 

the effort, providing financial incentives for honorably-discharged 

veterans. Following the events of September 11, 2001, the VetFran 

initiative was reenergized by Dina Dwyer Owens, the CEO and 

Chairwoman of The Dwyer Group and now boasts more than 600 

franchise systems participating offering veterans discounts, incentives to help them in small business ownership and connecting 

them to jobs throughout the United States as well as the great 

state of Texas. I am so proud that an initiative started right here 

in Waco, Texas by The Dwyer Group has had such an impact 

across our nation. 

In November 2011 the First Lady, Michelle Obama, partnered 

with the IFA to launch Operation Enduring Opportunity. She was 

looking to the business community to help hire and recruit 100,000 

veterans as business owners and team members by 2014. Our franchising community pledged to hire 80,000 veterans. To date, I am 

so proud to announce that a program first started in Texas by The 

Dwyer Group and then built throughout the nation as ensured that 

151,557 veterans and military spouses have been hired through 

franchising these past two years. Also 5,192 veterans have come 

into small business ownership through this program. Veterans 

looking for opportunities in franchising can begin by logging onto 

to www.VetFran.com to start their journey. VetFran.com includes 

a veteran tool kit, information on franchising, and a veterans job 

bank to help match veterans to employers. 

I am pleased to report that since 2002, The Dwyer Group had 

brought in more than 298 veterans into small business ownership 

with more than $1.8 million in discounts awarded to veterans. 

When Operation Enduring Opportunity was launched we pledged 

to hire 300 veterans throughout the United States as our promise. 

To date our franchisees combined with our corporate headquarters 

have hired more than 624 veterans. Some examples include my 


VACREP180 with DISTILLER
11 

Vice President of Operations, John Mendel, who joined our company late last year after retiring as a Navy Captain. He proudly 

served in Bahrain and Baghdad. Jason Lee, the newest member of 

our marketing team joined us this past July after serving in the 

Army as an E–4. He is our Public Relations Specialist and at this 

very moment is in Kansas performing his Army Reserve duty. 

Franchising and Veterans – a Great Match 

Franchising is the great American Dream. It allows people to 

own a business and teaches them a system to help them be successful. As a franchisee, you have control over what you are doing 

in your life—you are your own boss. I grew up in a military family 

and served in the military, we were not an entrepreneurial family, 

and I did not know how to run a business. However, I wanted that 

control—to be my own boss—I was successful because I followed 

the system that the franchise set up. 

When I was in the Marine Corps, I became accustomed to following the systems of the military, and it is has directly helped me 

succeed in franchising where systems are the foundation of success. 

That is why I believe that franchising offers significant advantages 

over other types of business—particularly for military veterans. As 

was the case with my experience, we often say that franchising allows you to be in business for yourself, but not by yourself. By 

choosing franchising, an entrepreneur not only has immediate access to support, training and expertise from the franchisor but is 

also buying the rights to use a valuable and recognized name 

brand. Furthermore, the franchisor provides the entrepreneur with 

a business plan and operations manual that were developed to help 

guide and direct the successful operation of the business. Combined 

with ongoing support and teamwork, the franchise business model 

gives entrepreneurs a solid foundation to be successful and a leg 

up on the competition. 

Franchising is an interdependent relationship in which the 

franchisor licenses to the franchisee the right to use its trademarks, intellectual property, and business and operating plans in 

exchange for a fee. The result is a relationship in which both the 

franchisor, who is able to develop new units more effectively than 

through corporate ownership, and the franchisee, who is able to operate an independent business backed by the power of a recognized 

brand and proven operating system, win. This mutually dependent 

relationship requires the franchisor and the franchisee to collaborate to achieve mutual success, since neither will be successful 

without the other. 

As a proud veteran of the United States Marine Corps, I can attest to the fact that members of our armed forces are disciplined, 

hard-working, passionate people who have an ingrained trait to 

work within systems. They are accustomed to following standard 

operating procedures, which is very similar to franchising which 

uses manuals, systems and procedures to maintain the integrity of 

the brand. That is the main reason why former members of the 

military make excellent candidates for franchise ownership as well 

as outstanding employees. 

It is estimated that in the next five years more than a million 

service men and women will transition out of the military. These 

men and women are looking forward to rejoining their families, 


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12 

going back to school or starting their own business. With the diversity of jobs in the military, veterans reenter civilian life with the 

skills needed to succeed in franchising whether it’s as a small business owner or an employee of a franchisee. Their Military Occupation Specialty, which is the military’s way to identify an individual’s particular specialty, can help our returning service men and 

women identify the best franchise system that meets their skills 

and training. 

Helping fellow veterans make the transition to civilian life and 

realize their dream of small business ownership is one of my passions. In addition to recruiting veterans to Mr. Rooter Plumbing, 

I am the Director of Veteran Affairs for The Dwyer Group, and 

from 2010 to 2013 served as the chairwoman of the IFA’s VetFran 

Committee. In this role, I worked with other members of the IFA 

and VetFran participating companies to encourage more systems to 

offer veterans discounts and benefits when purchasing a franchise 

as well as provide employment opportunities for our returning veterans. In that two year period we grew participation in the program by 79% and launched Operation Enduring Opportunity. In 

addition, I teach the franchising class at the Entrepreneurship 

Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities hosted by the Center for 

New Ventures and Entrepreneurship at Texas A&M University. 

As we at The Dwyer Group and IFA strive to honor our nation’s 

returning veterans I ask this committee to help pass legislation to 

aid our veterans’ investment in their future. The Help Veterans 

Own Franchises Act (HVOFA) introduced by Representative Aaron 

Schock (R–Ill) and Senator Bob Casey (D–Pa.) in the 112th Congress would have provided significant incentives for veterans to 

own their own franchise business. This legislation establishes a tax 

credit for franchise businesses offering qualified veterans a discounted initial franchise fee. The tax credit would amount to 50% 

of the total franchise fee discount offered by the franchisor, capped 

at $25,000 per unit, and also provides a tax credit to the veteran 

for the remaining initial franchise fee paid. Enactment of this tax 

credit will encourage economic growth and create more jobs. Our 

veterans deserve this chance after so faithfully serving our county. 

IFA is engaged with members of Congress to re-introduce the 

HVOFA in the 113th Congress. Franchising has shown it’s commitment to hiring veterans and veterans hire veterans. Let’s help get 

more veterans into small business ownership and provide more jobs 

here in Texas and our great nation. 

Again, on behalf of the International Franchise Association as 

well as Mr. Rooter Plumbing and the entire Dwyer Group family 

of brands, we sincerely appreciate the good work of this subcommittee. We strongly urge you to support and help pass the Help 

Veterans Own Franchises Act, so that more of our veterans may 

return home to begin building a bright future for themselves, their 

families and their communities through small business ownership. 

The members of the IFA look forward to a continued working relationship with this Subcommittee as well as supporting the initiatives underway at the Department of Veterans Affairs and the 

Small Business Administration to assist our returning men and 

women of the Armed Services. 

Thank you and God Bless America. 


VACREP180 with DISTILLER
13 

Mr. Flores. Thank you, Ms. Thompson. Well said. 

Mr. Amsden, you are recognized for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF DAVID AMSDEN 

Mr. Amsden. Thank you, sir. 

On behalf of Cognizant Technology Solutions, I want to thank 

the Subcommittee Chairman Flores and Ranking Member Takano 

for holding the field hearing on veterans hiring, a topic that I hold 

very close to my heart and in which the company I represent here 

has made great strides. 

On a personal note, I am a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and come from a long line in family members that served 

in the United States military. I was honored to be an Army officer 

and follow in the footsteps of both my father and grandfather, each 

of whom wore the uniform of our country. 

For those who may not have heard of Cognizant, we are well 

known to many of the businesses in your State. We provide information technology solutions, consulting, and business process services to hundreds of companies in the United States. 

Our 27,000 employees in the U.S. tend to work for energy companies and at pharmaceutical companies, banking institutions, 

healthcare payers and providers, manufacturers, retailers, and colleges and universities in the 49 States where we have employees. 

Texas is and has been a very important State to our company. 

It is the third-largest presence in the U.S. for Cognizant, with over 

2,000 employees. And to date, our Texas clients include energy, 

healthcare, financial services companies, in addition to universities. 

We work and live locally, pay taxes, and patronize local businesses 

throughout the State. We appreciate the business-friendly environment that the State offers to innovative companies such as ours. 

The overall goal of our company is to help our customers build 

stronger businesses by both running better or driving performance 

efficiencies and effectiveness and running different or driving 

growth through innovation and business transformation. But we 

have an additional goal to give back to our communities in which 

we live and work. I acknowledge to some that those may just seem 

like a sound bite. 

But I can assure you that this is a creed that has been engrained 

here in my company, at Cognizant, and makes our business better 

in every way. 

In 2008, our company leadership saw that soldiers arriving back 

from Iraq and Afghanistan needed support to find employment. 

This was underscored by a growing number of unemployed veterans. 

In response, Cognizant launched a multi-tiered program aimed to 

helping those veterans get trained and help that they needed to secure job interviews and stable employment situations. 

The goals of our Veterans in Technology program, or what we 

call VIT, are twofold. First, to design and implement initiatives 

that not just create a military-friendly work environment, but also 

allow the veterans and their families to assimilate into the private 

sector. And second, to maintain a disability program that is 

ADAAA compliant for all disabled employees. 


VACREP180 with DISTILLER
14 

We are currently involved in several different initiatives focused 

on addressing the issue of veteran unemployment in this country. 

Cognizant is working with Virginia Military Institute—of course, 

my alma mater—to become a member of the military outplacement 

program and is also connecting with all the military academies, 

such as West Point, Air Force Academy, Naval Academy, and Coast 

Guard. 

We also entered into a partnership with SAP, another large technology company, to hire recently separated veterans as part of a 

pilot program. SAP, our partner veterans to work program, should 

certainly be acknowledged in our national technology economy. 

They are providing certification to areas to include HANA, ASC, 

business intelligence, Web intelligence, and the Sybase unwired 

program—all really, really important programs in our technology 

platform. 

Cognizant is developing a job transition program also, called 

Public To Private, which we will help veterans with basic job 

search skills, such as resume writing, interview skills, job searching techniques via the Internet, networking, use of alumni programs, and these are complementary programs that our company 

has built to help veterans. Several of these programs have already 

taken place across the country in this past year. We have several 

more scheduled in the coming months, one of which will be here 

in Texas. 

Cognizant has also partnered with Monster, the Internet site, 

and will be taking part in the 100,000 Jobs Mission established by 

JP Morgan Chase and other big-branded organizations that are 

very passionate about hiring veterans. We have briefed the White 

House on these initiatives, and they are supportive of our veteran 

recruitment programs. We will continue to update them as we 

make progress and grow these efforts. 

Although we are pleased with our successes so far, it would be 

pertinent to highlight a few challenges, both from our perspective 

and of the veterans. 

From the company’s perspective, the challenges—and these, I 

think, are very important that you hear from the field what is 

going on—are finding that veterans with the right skills, we have 

a hard time finding veterans with the right skills for our specific 

jobs and those that have interest in training for highly technical 

skills and translating veteran resumes into specific job requirements. 

From the veterans’ perspective, one key challenge that they are 

not sure how their interests—that they are not sure how their interests, skills, and experience translate into civilian jobs. Frequently, they do not have experience marketing themselves with 

resumes and interviewing. The veteran and military community is 

relatively less familiar with my Cognizant brand and other major 

brands as well. So veterans do not approach Cognizant on their 

own, and there is a lack of formalized training programs to build 

and augment technical skills of veteran hires. 

We know that we can overcome these challenges, particularly because there is a natural compatibility between Cognizant and the 

veteran workforce. Those that served in our armed forces now form 

a workforce that comes with certain key qualities, such as leaderVerDate Aug 31 2005 11:04 Oct 15, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\PAT’S DOC\85867.TXT PAT

VACREP180 with DISTILLER
15 

ship, teamwork, critical thinking, problem solving, and the ability 

to work under pressure—qualities that both Cognizant and companies we work with value tremendously. 

This past year, in 2013, Cognizant added over 100 veterans, and 

as a company, we currently employ over 200 veterans and growing. 

The number of veterans hired thus far has been higher than what 

we originally projected because those hires have proven to be such 

exceptional employees. 

The company is very proud of these accomplishments but knows 

there is more to be done. 

Cognizant’s Veterans in Technology program aims to increase 

veteran hiring in 2013 and 2014 by up to 30 percent year-over-year 

through continued programming and increased partnerships. Discussions are already underway with Texas A&M and other colleges 

in the State of Texas and universities that would significantly expand our Veterans in Training program, particularly—also particularly on the west coast. 

Our recruiting mission includes building and maintaining a community of employees who have served in the U.S. military, providing opportunities for veterans and their families. We want to 

help make it possible for them to lead productive, satisfying, prosperous lives, contributing in the private sector after completion of 

their distinguished military service. 

I am extremely proud to work for—for the work that we have 

been doing with the veteran community. We have created a strong 

foundation that we can expand upon for years to come. 

Again, I am grateful for the opportunity to testify today, to share 

what Cognizant has been doing to recruit and help retain our Nation’s veterans in the private workforce.We are grateful to you, Mr. 

Chairman, and to all the members of this committee for your attention to the needs of our Nation’s veterans. 

Thank you very much, and on a last note, wishing everyone a 

great Veterans Day on Monday. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Amsden] 

Testimony of David Amsden 

Vice President, Recruiting 

Cognizant Technology Solutions 

Before the US House of Representatives 

Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity 

Committee on Veterans Affairs 

November 6, 2013 

Waco, Texas 

On behalf of Cognizant Technology Solutions, I want to thank 

Subcommittee Chairman Bill Flores and Ranking Member Mark 

Takano for holding this field hearing on Veterans Hiring, a topic 

that I hold very close to my heart, and in which the company I represent here has made great strides. 

On a personal note, I am a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and come from a long line of family members that served 

in the United States military. I was honored to be an Army officer 

and follow in the footsteps of both my father and grandfather, each 

of whom also wore the uniform of our country. 


VACREP180 with DISTILLER
16 

For those who may not have heard of Cognizant, we are well 

known to many of the businesses in your state. We provide information technology, consulting, and business process services to 

hundreds of companies in the U.S. 

Our 27,000 employees in the U.S. tend to work for energy companies and at pharmaceutical companies, banking institutions, 

healthcare payers and providers, manufacturers, retailers, and colleges and universities in the 49 states where we have employees. 

Texas is and has been a very important state to the company; it 

is our 3rd largest presence in the U.S. with over 2,000 employees 

to date. Our Texas clients include energy, healthcare and financial 

services companies, in addition to universities. We work and live 

locally, pay taxes and patronize local businesses throughout the 

state. We appreciate the business-friendly environment that the 

state offers to innovative companies such as ours. 

The overall goal of our company is to help our customers build 

stronger businesses, by both running better, or driving performance 

efficiencies and effectiveness, and running different, or driving 

growth through innovation and business transformation. But we 

have an additional goal: to give back to the communities in which 

we live and work. I acknowledge to some that those words may just 

seem like a sound bite, but I can assure you, this is a creed that 

is ingrained in us and makes our business better in every way. 

In 2008, our company’s leadership saw that soldiers arriving 

back from Iraq and Afghanistan needed support to find employment. This was underscored by a growing number of unemployed 

veterans. 

In response, Cognizant launched a multi-tiered program aimed at 

helping those veterans get the training and help they needed to secure job interviews and stable employment situations. 

The goals of our Veterans in Technology (VIT) program are twofold: First, to design and implement initiatives that not just create 

a military-friendly work environment, but also allow the veterans 

and their families to assimilate into the private sector. And second, 

to maintain a disability program that is ADAAA compliant for all 

disabled employees. 

We are currently involved in several different initiatives focused 

on addressing the issue of veteran unemployment in this country. 

Cognizant is working with Virginia Military Institute to become 

a member of the Military outplacement program and will be connecting with other Military academies such as West Point, Air 

Force Academy and Coast Guard. 

We entered into a Partnership with SAP – another technology 

company – to hire recently separated veterans as part of a pilot 

program. SAP’s Veterans-to-Work Program provides certification in 

areas that include HANA, ASE, Business Intelligence, Web intelligence, and the Sybase Unwired Program. 

Cognizant is developing a job transition program called ‘‘Public 

to Private,’’ which will help veterans with basic job search skills 

such as resume writing, interviewing skills, job search via internet, 

networking and using alumni programs. Several of these programs 

have already taken place across the country this past year and we 

have several more scheduled in the coming months. 


VACREP180 with DISTILLER
17 

Cognizant has also partnered with Monster and will be taking 

part in the ‘‘100,000 jobs’’ mission established by JP Morgan Chase. 

We have briefed the White House on these initiatives and they 

are supportive of our veteran recruitment programs. We will continue to update them as we progress and grow these efforts. 

Although we are pleased with our successes so far, it would be 

pertinent to highlight a few challenges – both from our perspective 

and from that of the veterans. 

From the company’s perspective, the challenges have included: 

finding the veterans with the right skills or those that have interest in training for the skills; and translating veteran resumes into 

specific job requirements. 

From the veterans’ perspective, the one key challenge is that 

they are not sure how their interests, skills and experience translate into civilian jobs; frequently they do not have experience marketing themselves with resumes and interviewing. The veteran/ 

military community is relatively less familiar with the Cognizant 

brand. So veterans do not approach Cognizant on their own. And 

there is a lack of formalized training programs to build and augment the technical skill sets of veteran hires. 

We know that we can overcome these challenges, particularly because there is a natural compatibility between Cognizant and the 

veteran workforce. Those that served in our armed forces now form 

a workforce that comes with certain key qualities such as leadership, teamwork, critical thinking, problem solving and the ability 

to work under pressure; qualities that both Cognizant and the companies we work with value tremendously. 

This past year, in 2013, Cognizant added over 100 veterans, and, 

as a company, we currently employ over 200 veterans and growing. 

The number of veterans hired thus far has been higher than what 

we originally projected because those hires have proven to be such 

exceptional employees. 

The company is very proud of these accomplishments but knows 

that there is more to be done. 

Cognizant’s Veterans in Technology program aims to increase 

Veteran hiring in 2013 and 2014 through continued programming 

and an increase in partnerships. Discussions are already underway 

with Texas A&M and other colleges and universities that would 

significantly expand our Veterans in Training program, particularly on the west coast. 

Our recruiting mission includes building and maintaining a community of employees who have served in the US military and providing opportunities for veterans and their families. We want to 

help make it possible for them to lead productive, satisfying, prosperous lives, contributing in the private sector after completion of 

their military service. 

I am extremely proud of the work we have been doing with the 

veteran community. We have created a strong foundation that we 

can expand upon for years to come. 

Again, I am grateful for the opportunity to testify today to share 

some of what Cognizant has been doing to recruit and help our nation’s veterans enter the private workforce. We are grateful to you, 

Mr. Chairman, and to all of the members of this committee for your 

attention to the needs of our nation’s veterans. 


VACREP180 with DISTILLER
18 

Biography 

David Amsden 

Vice President, Recruiting Cognizant Technology Solutions 

David Amsden is the leader of Talent Acquisition and serving his 

9th year with Cognizant; during the last 9 + years Cognizant has 

grown from under 5,000 employees to over 165,000 employees. 

David leads a global team of over 130+ recruiting professionals 

supporting all functions within Cognizant. He leads hiring across 

all vertical and horizontal business platforms including H1, H2 and 

H3, the Future of Work, Campus, Veteran and Diversity programs. 

David is a distinguished graduate of the Virginia Military Institute 

and proudly served in the United States Army. David resides in 

Dover, MA with his three daughters-Alexandra, Katharine and Isabel. 

Mr. Flores. Thank you, Mr. Amsden. 

Mr. Burton, you are recognized for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF CHRIS BURTON 

Mr. Burton. Good morning, Chairman Flores, Ranking Member 

Takano, and Congressman Williams. 

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today on behalf of the 

Home Depot about our commitment to veterans, especially in 

Texas. As the world’s largest home improvement retailer, we employ more than 300,000 associates, 35,000 of them veterans, thousands more that are military spouses. And at any given time, we 

have approximately 1,500 Reservists who are currently serving on 

active duty while working at the Home Depot. 

Since our founding in 1978, the Home Depot’s dedication to quality and excellence has been the foundation of our success. We recognize and respect the same spirit of determination in the members 

of our U.S. military community and seek to support our soldiers 

and their families in every way possible. 

Veterans work in every part of our organization, from the president of our Western Division, who is a former enlisted Marine, to 

store managers who are logistics and IT professionals, also store 

employees who are experts in every kind of trade you can imagine. 

The Home Depot believes that veterans are one of the most talented applicant pools from which we can recruit. I know this firsthand as a U.S. Marine myself and now store manager of the Home 

Depot here in Waco, Texas. I came to the Home Depot 26 years 

ago—my anniversary is actually today—during a 6-year tour as an 

active duty Marine Reservist. I worked as a sales associate in 

many, multiple departments and directly benefited from the support of the Home Depot, provided as my unit was activated multiples times to support Operation Desert Storm. 

I have had the opportunity throughout my Home Depot career to 

give back, helping my employees prepare themselves and their 

families for deployment, especially during the Iraq war—as I was 

the store manager of the Killeen Home Depot at that time—and 

current operations in Afghanistan as well. I have also hosted several military job-related fairs. 

In the military, men and women gain valuable skills that are 

transferable to civilian workforces. Unfortunately, it can be difficult 

to translate those skills into civilian terminology. That is why we 


VACREP180 with DISTILLER
19 

created our new military skills translator available at the 

homedepotmilitary.com. 

The online program allows applicants to enter their service pay 

grade, their military job title, and translate that to experience in 

the civilian world and skills. It also allows the applicant to add 

those items to refined searches to view available jobs available at 

the Home Depot. 

Our newest military-friendly hiring program is an online social 

network community for job seekers, called the HomeTown, available at the homedepotcommunity.com Web site. Military job seekers can attend live chats, read and comment on military-related 

topics, participate in webinars, and interact with actual Home 

Depot employees. 

Another way we have engaged veterans is through our civilian 

career workshops. On October 27, 2012, the Home Depot stores 

across the country hosted these events, which were designed to 

help service members and veterans understand how to successfully 

navigate the transition into the civilian workforce, whether the 

Home Depot or any other employer that they might be interested 

in. 

These workshops included sessions focused on job search strategies, resume optimization, and interviewing techniques. Throughout the 100-plus workshops, we were able to engage as many as 

5,000 participants across the Nation. In Texas, events were held in 

Selma, Killeen, Lake Worth, El Paso. 

We participate in nearly 100 veteran-focused career fairs across 

the country each year. In partnership with the Recruit Military, 

our most recent job fairs in Texas were held in San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston. 

Finally, we recently committed to the White House’s Joining 

Forces initiative to increase our veterans hiring by 10 percent, or 

55,000 new veterans over the next 5 years. 

Our commitment to veterans doesn’t stop with our hiring efforts. 

Through the Home Depot Foundation, we have pledged over $80 

million over 5 years to address veterans’ housing needs to ensure 

that every veteran and their family has a safe place to call home. 

In addition, through Team Depot, an associate-led volunteer 

force, our employees are volunteering their time and skills to repair 

and remodel veterans’ homes and facilities. In Texas so far this 

year, we have invested nearly $900,000 in grants to renovate more 

than 100 veterans housing units and complete rehab and repair 

projects for nonprofit facilities that serve veterans in Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, and San Antonio. 

All of these efforts are possible because we operate businesses 

that succeed when customers come into our stores to invest in improvements in their own homes. Therefore, we urge Congress to 

support efforts that promote a strong economy and a strong housing market. 

We also encourage the support of the veteran hiring organizations that we are partnered with, such as Operation Career Front, 

a partnership between the U.S. Department of Defense, Labor, and 

Veterans Affairs, GI Jobs, and the Military Spouse Employment 

Program. 


VACREP180 with DISTILLER
20 

On behalf of the Home Depot, I am honored to testify today and 

appreciate you in supporting our Nation’s veterans. 

Gentlemen, thank you for your service. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Burton] 

Witness Testimony of Chris Burton, The Home Depot 

House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity 

oversight field hearing on ‘‘Texas’ Innovative Approaches to Jobs 

and Employment for Veterans.’’ 

November 6, 2013 

Chairman Flores, Ranking Member Takano, and members of the 

Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to speak today on behalf of The Home Depot about our commitment to veterans, especially in Texas. As the world’s largest home improvement retailer, 

we employ more than 300,000 associates: 35,000 of them veterans, 

thousands more that are military spouses, and at any given time 

have approximately 1,500 reservists who are currently serving on 

active duty while working at The Home Depot. 

Since our founding in 1978, The Home Depot’s dedication to 

quality and excellence has been the foundation of our success. We 

recognize and respect this same spirit of determination in the 

members of our U.S. military community and seek to support our 

soldiers and their families in every way possible. 

Veterans work in every part of our organization – from the president of our Western Division, who is a former enlisted Marine, to 

store managers, logistics and IT professionals, to store employees 

who are experts in every kind of trade you can imagine. The Home 

Depot believes that veterans are one of the most talented applicant 

pools from which you can recruit. I know this first hand as a U.S. 

Marine veteran and now Store Manager at The Home Depot here 

in Waco. I came to The Home Depot 27 years ago—my anniversary 

is actually tomorrow—during a six year tour as an active duty Marine reservist. I worked as a sales associate in the lumber department and directly benefitted from the support Home Depot provided as my unit was activated multiple times to support Operation 

Desert Storm. I’ve had the opportunity throughout my Home Depot 

career to give back by helping my employees prepare themselves 

and their families for deployment, especially during the Iraq War 

and our current operation in Afghanistan. I have also hosted several military related job fairs. 

In the military, men and women gain valuable skills that are 

transferable to the civilian workforce. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to translate those skills into civilian terminology. That’s why 

we created our new military skills translator, available at 

www.homedepotmilitary.com. The online program allows applicants 

to enter their service, pay grade, and military job title, translates 

that experience into civilian skills, and allows the applicant to add 

those items to a refined search to view available jobs at The Home 

Depot. 

Our newest military-friendly hiring program is an online social 

network community for job seekers called HomeTown, available at 

www.homedepotcommunity.com. Military job seekers can attend 


VACREP180 with DISTILLER
21 

live chats, read and comment on military-related articles, participate in webinars, and interact with Home Depot employees. 

Another way we have engaged veterans is through our Civilian 

Career Workshops. On October 27, 2012, Home Depot stores across 

the country hosted these events which were designed to help service members and veterans understand how to successfully navigate 

the transition into the civilian workforce, whether with The Home 

Depot or any other employer. These workshops included sessions 

focused on job search strategies, resume optimization, and interviewing techniques. Throughout the 100 plus workshops we were 

able to engage as many as 5,000 participants across the nation. In 

Texas, events were held in Selma, Killeen, Lake Worth, and El 

Paso. 

We participate in nearly one hundred veterans-focused career 

fairs across the country each year. In partnership with Recruit 

Military, our most recent job fairs in Texas were held in San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston. 

Finally, we recently committed to The White House’s Joining 

Forces initiative to increase our veterans hiring by 10 percent, or 

55,000 new veterans, over the next five years. 

Our commitment to veterans doesn’t stop with our hiring efforts. Through The Home Depot Foundation, we have pledged $80 million 

over five years to address veterans’ housing needs to ensure that 

every veteran and their family has a safe place to call home. In addition, through Team Depot, our associate-led volunteer force, our 

employees are volunteering their time and skills to repair and remodel veterans’ homes and facilities. In Texas so far this year, we 

have invested nearly $900,000 in grants to renovate more than one 

hundred veterans’ housing units and to complete rehab and repair 

projects for nonprofit facilities that serve veterans in Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Houston and San Antonio. 

All of these efforts are possible because we operate a business 

that succeeds when customers come into our stores to invest in improvements to their homes. Therefore, we urge Congress to support 

efforts that promote a strong economy and housing market. We 

also encourage the support of veteran hiring organizations that we 

are partnered with such as Operation Career Front—a partnership 

between the U.S. Departments of Defense, Labor, and Veterans Affairs—GI Jobs, and the Military Spouse Employment Program. 

On behalf of The Home Depot, I am honored to testify today and 

appreciate your work in supporting our nation’s veterans. 

Chris Burton is a Store Manager at The Home Depot in Waco, 

Texas. He has nearly three decades of experience working for the 

company in various roles from sales associate in the lumber department to working as Store Manager for the last ten years. He has 

worked in three different Texas markets: Austin, Houston, and 

Dallas-Fort Worth. Chris came to the Home Depot during a six 

year tour as an active duty Marine reservist and, after witnessing 

the support he received from The Home Depot during his service, 

has worked in various capacities to support Home Depot employees 

who are veterans. Some examples include supporting his employees 

as they prepare their families and themselves for deployment especially during both the Iraq war and Afghanistan operation, helping 

with various military focused job fairs, and facilitating the Killeen 


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Mission Transition workshop in 2012 to help service members and 

veterans successfully navigate the transition into the civilian workforce. Chris lives in Waco with his wife and two children. 

House Rule XI clause 2(g)(5) statement: 

I have not received any federal grants in the past two years. 

Chris Burton, The Home Depot 

Mr. Flores. Thank you, Mr. Burton. Did you say today is your 

26th anniversary at—— 

Mr. Burton. Yes, sir. 

Mr. Flores. Well, congratulations. 

Mr. Burton. Thank you. 

Mr. Flores. Mr. Vizner, you are recognized for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF JOHN VIZNER 

Mr. Vizner. 

Good morning, Chairman Flores, Ranking Member Takano, and 

Congressman Williams. 

My name is John Vizner. I am the facility manager for Caterpillar’s manufacturing plant here in Waco, Texas. 

While we have 240 employees at our facility, there are approximately 550 Caterpillar employees here in Waco and more than 

3,000 employees across the State of Texas. Caterpillar is 

headquartered in Illinois, with more than 121,000 employees 

worldwide. 

Personally, I am a proud veteran, having served in the United 

States Navy for 6 years from 1988 to ’94. I completed the Navy’s 

nuclear power program and served 4 years on the USS Jefferson 

City. After leaving the Navy, I attended Kansas State University, 

where I received my degree in mechanical engineering. 

In ’98, I joined Caterpillar as a design engineer and for the past 

15 years have held a variety of leadership roles where my military 

experience really provided those core skills needed for success. 

So why veterans? At Caterpillar, we recognize the numerous benefits of hiring military veterans. Veterans are an under tapped employment resource. Their strong work ethics, their values, their 

skills learned in the military translate well into positions that are 

available within Caterpillar. 

Nationally, Caterpillar supports our active and former military 

employees through the Caterpillar Armed Forces Support Network, 

which was launched in May of 2007. The employees resource group 

has four primary committees—growth, participation, partnership, 

and troop and family support. The Caterpillar Armed Forces Support Network promotes and supports personal and career development for Caterpillar military veterans through networking and 

mentoring programs. 

To focus on national recruiting initiatives, Caterpillar created a 

new position in June of this year, a military recruiting manager 

that is solely dedicated to creating and launching a strategy and 

standardizing approaches for hiring veterans. This will allow us to 

share successful practices across the company, as well as provide 

focus on a few national initiatives, such as the White House Joining Forces initiative, Hiring Our Heroes, American Corporate Partners, and 100,000 Jobs Mission. I would like to take a few moments just to discuss some of these programs. 


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Hiring Our Heroes, which was a program sponsored by the U.S. 

Chamber of Commerce Foundation to help veterans and military 

spouses find meaningful employment by working with the U.S. 

Chamber’s vast network of State and local chambers and other 

strategic partners. As an active member, Caterpillar has access to 

a large military talent pool through the more than 530 job fairs 

across the country. 

The next veteran-focused program we support is the 100,000 

Jobs Mission. One hundred twenty-two leading U.S. companies 

launched the 100,000 Jobs Mission in 2011, with the goal of collectively hiring 100,000 transitioning service members and military 

veterans by 2020. 

As a collective group, we conduct career and hiring events, provide resources to transition military members and make them more 

competitive and expose them to job opportunities. As of September 

30th, the companies within this coalition have hired over 92,000 

veterans. 

Next, we have joined the American Corporate Partners Veterans 

Mentoring Program, which connects veteran protees with corporate 

mentors for a yearlong mentorship. Caterpillar has recently become 

a supporter of this nonprofit organization with varying members of 

our executive office, including our CEO and chairman, with military members. Over the course of the year, they will meet to discuss things from resume building and interview skills, to networking and small business development. 

And finally, the U.S. Army PaYS program, which is a partnership between the U.S. Army and a cross-section of companies in the 

private sector. Caterpillar uses this program to source talented 

military personnel. 

Most recently, we have used this Army PaYS program to recruit 

machinists and welders for our Waco facility and will continue to 

use this program to increase awareness among the military members that Caterpillar is a military-friendly company. 

To wrap up, I would like to discuss a few things we are doing 

here locally in Waco. As I mentioned, we used the Army PaYS to 

attract welders and machinists. We also participate in the annual 

Hiring Red, White, and You job fair that happens here in Waco and 

will take place next week. 

Our facility is targeting significant growth over the next several 

months and would like to leverage the talents of many military veterans that are becoming available. We recently launched a local 

chapter of the Caterpillar Armed Forces Support Network. This 

veterans support group is gaining traction quickly, as more of our 

employees are learning about the benefits this group provides. 

Further, we have been engaged with General Don Jones, U.S. 

Army, Retired, and Crystal Dyer, a U.S. Army veteran, and their 

efforts with the Warriors to the Workforce initiative. Their focus is 

to improve the connection between veterans, local colleges and universities, and potential employers. Though this program is in its infancy, the vision of this program will have a positive impact on connecting veterans to future careers. 

So, as you can see, Caterpillar recognizes there are numerous 

benefits of hiring military veterans and spouses. Their strong work 

ethic, core values, and leadership skills align well to the same valVerDate Aug 31 2005 11:04 Oct 15, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\PAT’S DOC\85867.TXT PAT

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ues found in Caterpillar. Caterpillar is committed to hiring our veterans and helping with their transition from the military to the civilian life. 

I appreciate the opportunity to testify today in this hearing on 

this important subject, and I look forward to questions that you 

may have. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Vizner] 

Testimony of 

John C. Vizner, Facility Manager 

Caterpillar Inc. 

House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity 

Hearing on Texas’ Innovative Approaches to Jobs and Employment for Veterans 

Introduction 

Good morning. Chairman Flores, Ranking Member Takano, and 

members of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, thank you for holding this important hearing. 

My name is John Vizner, and I am the Facility Manager of the 

Waco, Texas facility of Caterpillar. While we have over 240 employees in our facility, there are approximately 550 Caterpillar employees in Waco and more than 3,000 employees across the state of 

Texas. Caterpillar is headquartered in Peoria, IL and employs 

more than 121,000 employees worldwide and distributes products 

to more than 180 countries. 

In my position, I oversee the manufacturing operations for our 

Caterpillar Work Tool business unit here in Waco, where we 

produce three product lines – buckets, couplers, and hydraulic 

hammers – primarily attachments for our excavator equipment. 

Personally, I am a proud veteran – I served in the United States 

Navy for six years, from 1988 to 1994. I completed the Navy’s nuclear power program and was stationed on the USS Jefferson City 

for four years. After leaving the Navy, I attended Kansas State 

University where I received my bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. 

In 1998, I joined Caterpillar as a design engineer. I have held a 

variety of leadership roles over the past 15 years in which my military experience provided me the core skills needed for success. 

Why Veterans? 

At Caterpillar, we recognize the numerous benefits to hiring military veterans and spouses. Veterans are an under-tapped employment resource that has great potential to benefit Caterpillar. Military personnel bring a strong work ethic and values that were 

honed during their service time. Many of those skills that were 

learned in the military can translate into positions that we have 

within Caterpillar. 

The skills, leadership and values that veterans parallel the same 

values found in the Caterpillar culture and we want to bring in as 

many qualified veterans in to work for our company. 

Nationally, Caterpillar supports our active and former military 

employees through the Caterpillar Armed Forces Support Network 


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(or CAFSN), which launched in May 2007. Through its four principle committees—Troop & Family Support, Partnerships, Participation and Growth—CAFSN promotes and supports personal and 

career development for Caterpillar military veterans through networking and mentoring programs. CAFSN also is ready to serve 

those Caterpillar employees and their families during times of reactivation and deployment. 

Each of CAFSN’s four committees focuses on an important area. 

The Growth Committee explores opportunities to partner with corporate organizations in order to showcase the experience and 

knowledge of veterans who are seeking employment with Caterpillar. The Participation Committee encourages the membership to 

take part in various aspects of CAFSN activities. The Partnership 

Committee establishes military and community support networks 

that are able to partner in support of the Armed Forces to meet 

the critical success factors of the CAFSN. Finally, the Troop & 

Family Support Committee provides support for Caterpillar Employees called to active duty and their families. 

CAFSN’s other role is to assist with recruiting and career development of veterans throughout the enterprise and Cat dealers. 

CAFSN believes that the talents and ‘‘can-do’’ philosophy developed 

in the military can tremendously benefit Caterpillar worldwide. 

National Recruiting Initiatives 

In June, Caterpillar created a new position that would be solely 

dedicated to creating and launching a strategy that would standardize our approach to hiring veterans. A corporate approach would 

allow us to share successful recruiting practices across division 

lines and give increased visibility to the issues that are important 

to our veterans. We have successfully launched a series of initiatives to identify and recruit exceptional military talent. With the 

creation of a comprehensive military recruiting strategy, our company will be able to focus on the vital few national initiatives, such 

as the White House Joining Forces Initiative, Hiring Our Heroes, 

American Corporate Partners and 100,000 Jobs Mission, to attract 

and develop our nation’s military heroes. At this time, I will elaborate on a few of the nationally-focus veteran programs that we currently support, with plans to continue that support throughout 

2014. 

Hiring Our Heroes 

Hiring Our Heroes, which is a program sponsored by the U.S. 

Chamber of Commerce Foundation, was launched in March 2011 as 

a nationwide initiative to help veterans 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 non-profit sectors, our 

goal is to create a movement across America in hundreds of communities where veterans and military families return every day. As 

an active member of this program, Caterpillar has access to a larger military talent pool through more than 530 hiring fairs in all 50 

states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. 

100,000 Jobs Mission 

The next veteran-focused program that our company supports at 

a corporate level is the 100,000 Jobs Mission. A number of leading 

U.S. companies launched the 100,000 Jobs Mission in March 2011 


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with a goal of collectively hiring 100,000 transitioning service-members and military veterans by 2020. As member companies of the 

coalition, we are committed to helping transitioning service-members and other veterans lead successful lives after their military 

service. As a collective group, we conduct career and hiring events, 

as well as provide resources to our transitioning military members 

to make them more competitive in the private sector and expose 

them to more job opportunities. As of September 30, the 122 companies comprising the 100,000 Jobs Mission have hired 92,869 veterans and we look forward to seeing that number grow. 

American Corporate Partners 

The American Corporate Partner’s (ACP) Veteran Mentoring Program connects Veteran Proteges with Corporate Mentors for a 

yearlong mentorship. Caterpillar has recently become a supporter 

of this non-profit organization and will pair members of our Executive Office, including our Chairman and CEO, and members of our 

organizational leadership teams with military members who are 

currently serving or have served our country. Over the course of 

the year, all Caterpillar mentors and their paired protege will have 

at least 12 significant discussions, ranging from resume building 

and interview skills to networking and small business development. 

U.S. Army PaYS Program 

The Partnership for Youth Success (PaYS) Program is a strategic 

partnership between the U.S. Army and a cross section of companies, and public sector agencies. This unique program is part of the 

Army’s effort to partner with and strengthen relationships America’s business community and those who have served in the U.S. 

Army. Caterpillar uses this program to source talented military 

personnel that learned skills in the Army that could be used for positions within our company. Most recently, we have used the Army 

PaYS Program to recruit machinists and welders in the Waco facility, and we will continue to use this program to increase awareness 

amongst military members that Caterpillar is a military-friendly 

company that recognizes the value they can bring to our company. 

Local Recruiting Initiatives 

I wanted to take a few minutes to discuss what we are doing locally, here in Waco. As I mentioned, we are utilizing the Army 

PaYS program to attract military talent into our welding and machining positions. We also participate in the ‘‘Hiring Red, White 

and You’’ annual job fair for veterans here in Waco, which will take 

place next week. Our facilities are targeting significant growth over 

the next several months and would like to leverage the talents of 

the many veterans that are becoming available. 

We also recently launched our local chapter of the Caterpillar 

Armed Forces Support Network in Waco 3 months ago. This veteran’s support group is gaining traction quickly as more of our employees are learning about the benefits this group provides. 

Further, we have been engaged with General Don Jones (U.S. 

Army retired) and Crystal Dyer (U.S. Army veteran) in their efforts 

with the Warriors to the Workforce initiative. Their focus is to improve the connection between veterans, local colleges and universities, and potential employers. Though this program is in its inVerDate Aug 31 2005 11:04 Oct 15, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\PAT’S DOC\85867.TXT PAT

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fancy, the vision of this program will have a positive effect on connecting veterans to future careers. 

Conclusion 

As you can see, Caterpillar recognizes that there are numerous 

benefits to hiring military veterans and spouses. Their strong work 

ethic, core values and leadership skills, and values parallel the 

same values found in the Caterpillar culture and we want to bring 

in as many qualified veterans in to work for our company as possible. Caterpillar is committed to hiring our veterans and helping 

with their transition from military to civilian life. 

I appreciate the opportunity to testify in today’s hearing on this 

important subject and I look forward to answering your questions. 

Thank you. 

John C. Vizner, Biography 

Caterpillar Inc: 1998 – Present 

2010 – PresentFacility Manager: Waco, TX 

2006 – 2010Manufacturing Engineering Manager: Wamego, KS 

2005 – 2006Scheduling Supervisor: Wamego, KS 

2000 – 2005Manufacturing Engineer: Wamego, KS 

(Lean Manufacturing Coordinator, 6 Sigma Black Belt) 

1998 – 2000Design Engineer, Wamego KS 

Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS: 1994 – 1998 

BS in Mechanical Engineering with Minor in Economics 

U.S. Navy: 1988 – 1994 

Machinist Mate: Nuclear Power Program 

Current community involvement 

* Board of Directors: Waco Chamber of Commerce 

* Business Advisory Board: TSTC – Waco, TX (Weld Dept. and 

MET Dept.) 

* National Visiting Committee: National Center for Welding 

Education & Training 

* Business Advisory Board (President): Greater Waco Advanced 

Manufacturing Academy 

Mr. Flores. Thank you, Mr. Vizner. 

Mr. Kopser, you are recognized for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF JOSEPH KOPSER 

Mr. Kopser. 

Chairman Flores, Ranking Member Takano, Congressman Williams, it is an honor to be here today to talk before this committee. 

As a 20-year Army officer defending the U.S. Constitution, to get 

to be here today with you all, representing Article I, is really cool. 

Yesterday, I had the high honor of being at the White House to 

also talk about veterans initiatives. So that was Article II of the 

Constitution. I figured tomorrow if I can argue before the Supreme 

Court, it will be a perfect week. 

Mr. Flores. There you go. 

Mr. Kopser. In the interest of time, my colleagues at the table 

have already done a great job of explaining the values and qualities 

that veterans bring to the table. I think that is almost a given. And 

so, in the interest of time, I would like to submit as a written statement my comments before on the record. 


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I want to go very straight, very quickly to the challenges that 

veterans have because I just retired in May after 20 years, and so 

it is still fresh in my mind. I would like to share those experiences. 

Congress can stimulate the growth of a new economy and leverage the talents and power of veterans and the resources we have. 

But in short, the Government would be able to serve its veterans 

best by giving us better access to capital and by providing us the 

freedom to be able to succeed. If you can do this, I promise you will 

not be disappointed in what we could accomplish. 

First, despite the great efforts of the VA and DoD over the last 

10 years, there is still a huge cliff at the end of time in service before a person transitions on active duty, and there are some very 

specific things we can do. The 2-week ACAT program 6 months out 

before the end of service, retirement, or ETS, PCS doesn’t work. 

If you are going to start a company and you don’t necessarily 

want to just sit in a cubical—because, remember, the last 10 years 

we have created adrenaline junkies that want to go out and serve 

their community like they served in Iraq and Afghanistan. We need 

better access to capital, and we need to understand the language 

of business and to get into the business of business. And to be able 

to do that, this next generation of volunteers that become members 

of the community are going to need to do things differently than 

I do. 

While I was teaching at the University of Texas for my final 2 

years in uniform, leading Texas Army ROTC, I had to literally pull 

a Superman routine where I would change from uniform to civilian 

clothes in the restroom to leave to go off to events after work, to 

be able to be a part of the community and understand how business would work now that I have retired. 

Our military still frowns—because of our ethos frowns upon the 

idea of some kind of a conflict of interest at the end of your military career to begin this transition, and we need to change it because it doesn’t need to be that hard. We can balance the issues 

of conflict of interest with being just very clear and giving guidance. 

We let these men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan work millions of dollars and the lives of men and women overseas. We can 

give them the balance that they need to be able to do things a little 

bit differently. 

Without asking for permission, I started auditing a class at the 

Texas School of Business, the McCombs School of Business, on entrepreneurship. We studied about Iraqi and Afghan culture for 

years before we deployed, but there is very little formal system to 

let us understand the business of business. 

The second major obstacle is the access to capital. Often what we 

need is just a little seed funding to get going. As we all know, as 

you know, military pay won’t make you a millionaire. We don’t 

serve for the money. We serve for love of country. 

But to get a business off the ground takes seed capital, and I 

have a few ideas because angel and investment groups are looking 

for the 19-year-old Dorito bag eating, Red Bull drinking young man 

or woman. And when they see them, they push money into their 

pockets. 


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Not to a 42-year-old dad of 3 daughters living in central Texas. 

We are not the typical entrepreneur. So we need to do things specifically. Here are some ideas. 

For every year of service you have in uniform, why not provide a $1,000 matching grant for the amount of money that they can either save or find from other investors? Most of the money I started—or found to start my company, RideScout, came from my West 

Point classmate Craig Cummings. Most of the money I have 

achieved in the $1.2 million we have raised over the last 2 years 

has come from veterans or people who understand veterans. But I 

am the exception, not the rule. It should be much easier. 

We have served for 5 or 10 or 20 years, along the way serving 

and protecting the American dream of free enterprise. Now it is our 

turn to participate in the system, and Congress can act to do things 

to make it easier to change the laws and to help the military ease 

this ethos, the culture of sliding into service. 

At the end of the day, people matter, and that’s what we do very 

well. We want—if you want to help someone in your community 

with a fundraiser, you find a veteran. You want someone to help 

speak up at city council, find a veteran. Want someone to partner 

with to do business, find a veteran. 

We make things happen because of three things. We do well in 

teams. We solve problems. And after being in combat, the most of 

us, we don’t sweat the small stuff. 

So I am proud to testify today in front of this legislative body. 

I am open not only to talk during the question and answer, but 

hopefully afterwards, not only of my experiences starting this company, RideScout, but those veterans like me who follow behind me. 

It shouldn’t have to be this hard. We owe it to this next greatest 

generation, and I appreciate the time to talk this morning. 

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Kopser] 

Ride Scout Testimony 

Chairman Flores, Ranking Member Takano, and distinguished 

Members of the Committee: 

As a simple Cavalryman from Texas, it is truly an honor to be 

invited to testify in front of such an esteemed body. Thank you for 

the opportunity. 

Today we are in the midst of, and witness to, an historic change 

in our veteran community. As the active duty military continues to 

reduce its numbers in the coming years, hundreds of thousands of 

military service members, along with their families, will converge 

on the private sector. It is a crossroads, a challenge, and also an 

incredible opportunity. 

I say a challenge, because there are literally not enough existing 

cubicles, desks, storefronts or jobsites in this great country to absorb them all. And what’s more, after more than 12 years at war, 

this generation of innovative and eclectic combat veterans will likely not be satisfied by making PowerPoint slides everyday sporting 

ties or high heels. 

But every one of you there on the dais knows well the challenge 

we face in this arena. What I would like to talk to you about today 


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is the great opportunity we can realize as a nation if we recognize 

it and provide our support. 

For the last decade we sent our volunteer military abroad in defense of our nation to places like Iraq, Afghanistan, the Arabian 

Peninsula and East Africa—often with a mission and expectations 

that far exceeded the resources we gave them on the way out the 

door. But they did not make excuses or come up short on those expectations; they exceeded them. 

The professional young men and women of our military merely 

responded with an entrepreneurial spirit not unlike what our forefathers witnessed after our Revolution when the first patriots 

turned to the task of building an America worthy of the American 

Dream. 

They responded with a dedication not unlike what we saw when 

our Veterans were called to heal and rebuild a nation torn apart 

by a Civil War. 

Our nation’s veterans have responded throughout history with a 

spirit and drive that welcomed challenge embraced risk to pursue 

a better life for their families and their communities. 

And the Government has always been a key enabler and reliable 

partner to our veterans. 

When the nation mobilized for World Wars to keep the world 

safe for democracy. We forged a new generation of leaders in business, government and industry that we proudly called our Greatest 

Generation because they helped to start a new economy that rebuilt a country that was living in the shadows of the Great Depression and 4 years of war. 

And, with the help of a Congress that gave us the GI Bill, we 

created a first generation of college educated Americans. 

Now some of the logic behind incentivizing these vets to attend 

college was that there were not enough jobs available and higher 

education gave the economy the time and space to absorb many of 

them. But far more important, education gave them the skills and 

confidence they needed to start their own companies and set the 

conditions for economic growth that fueled an unprecedented six 

decades of economic growth. 

The current generation of veterans shares with those generations 

that came before them three very important traits. 

First, we work well as teams. Regardless of demographic—- race, 

ethnicity, or gender—- the military taught us to work with people 

we didn’t previously know—or in some cases relate to or understand. 

Second, we solve problems. On the hillsides of Afghanistan or on 

the roads in Iraq, we learned to solve problems with the resources 

given without worrying or whining that our higher headquarters 

did not give us enough. 

Last, most of us experienced a post-traumatic growth. As General 

Casey, former Army Chief of Staff, used to say, ‘‘while some of our 

veterans are experiencing a very real stress from a post-traumatic 

experience—and they need our help and assistance—the great majority of our veterans returned from combat experiencing a very 

real, post-traumatic growth. We have a new found sense of confidence. We have a perspective that does not revolve around the 

petty or trivial. We know that in tight situations, through teamVerDate Aug 31 2005 11:04 Oct 15, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\PAT’S DOC\85867.TXT PAT

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work and training, we can thrive and survive.’’ Simply put—we 

don’t sweat the small stuff. 

As was the case with our past generations, a public-private partnership is more than necessary—it is essential. Today’s veterans 

need a basic education in the business of business, along with introductions to the network of wealth and capital that provide us 

the resources we need to get started. 

I believe Congress can help stimulate the growth of a new economy going forward it to provide the minimum access to education, 

training and resources needed to start a business. The cumbersome 

process of the Veteran-owned business concept needs to be revised 

and streamlined. In short, the government would serve its veterans 

best by providing access to capital and then give them the freedom 

to succeed. If you do this, I promise you will not be disappointed 

with what they accomplish. 

I say these things with confidence because I am one of those veterans. And for 20 years I worked with countless professionals who 

embody the same spirit and commitment. 

In creating RideScout, I was on a journey to make life easier for 

everyday Americans to find the transportation they needed in the 

hope they could leave their car behind. We waste so much energy 

everyday sitting in traffic, burning fuel—I got tired of it. I set out 

to find a web site or mobile App that would show me all my options 

in one place. I found great sites for buses and some for cabs and 

even a few carpool sites—but nothing that brought them all together. In Iraq, I was involved in making life better for Iraqis . . . 

Today, I’m proud to be making life better for all Americans. While 

I think its great that someone invented Angry Birds or SnapChat, 

I think it is a mark of things to come that our company is designed 

to make a real impact in improving the lives of people and our 

planet—- and if we happen to make a profit along the way for our 

investors—there is nothing wrong with that either. 

RideScout has found success in large part because I willed it to 

be and because the culture that I grew up in does not acknowledge 

failure as an option. But of course I could not have started this 

company without help. I have spent the last few minutes talking 

to you about the value of veteran human capital and there is no 

better proof that I believe what I say than the composition of my 

team. Four combat vets with over four decades of military service. 

And when my team needed help to get started—from advisors to 

sit on our board, to investors, to mentors—I turned to veterans. 

And they responded as you know they would: they ran to the sound 

of the guns. 

For the last 5, 10 and in some case 20 years, we served our country in support of defending the American dream of free enterprise. 

Today marks our turn to participate in that dream. And whether 

you are a for-profit business, a consumer of American goods and 

services, or a member of Congress, the Veteran is a wise repository 

in which to invest your time and your money. 

People matter. 

Want help from someone for the school fundraiser? Find a veteran. 

Want someone to stand with you and speak up at City Council 

on your behalf? Find a veteran. 


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Want to find a partner to start a business? Find a veteran. 

Making it happen . . . it’s what we do. 

I am proud to testify today in front of a legislative body that not 

only understands the challenge we face but also embraces the opportunity to be a partner with and invest in one of our nation’s 

most important enterprises—the U.S. Military Veteran. 

Mr. Flores. Thank you, Mr. Kopser. 

Before we go on, I would like to go off script for a little bit. If 

we have anybody in the audience that is active military, Reservist, 

or Guard, would you please stand? 

[Nonverbal response.] 

Mr. Flores. And then any veterans in the crowd? I know we have 

got a number of them, including most of the panel here. So please 

stand. 

[Nonverbal response.] 

[Applause.] 

Mr. Flores. I thank the first panel for their remarks, and I now 

recognize myself for 5 minutes for questions. 

This is a question for each of you, and I think, Mr. Kopser, you 

hit on this. So I am going to start with you, if that is all right, and 

then we will work back this way. 

What types of characteristics do veterans have that make them 

such great employees? I mean, you kind of went through that. Why 

don’t you go through that again for our benefit, if you would? 

Mr. Kopser. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

So, first and foremost, we work well in teams. The beauty of the 

United States military, because we are a volunteer force, we come 

from every county, every zip code, and every congressional district 

in the U.S. You are forced very early on in your military career to 

work with people you don’t like, and then, over time, you learn to 

like them because you value the contribution of their talents rather 

than the color of their skin, their ethnicity, or even the way they 

talk. 

That is the first thing we do. We work really well in teams. 

Secondly, we solve problems. When we put young men and 

women into Afghanistan and Iraq, we often put them, sadly, without the resources they should have or deserve to have. But we 

didn’t allow them, and they didn’t and we didn’t accept excuses as 

a reason to not accomplish the mission. 

Whatever is legal, moral, and ethical, the United States service 

member and veteran today will get it done, and they will do it in 

a way that makes not only themselves proud, but it benefits the 

community. So it is a win-win for all involved. We solve problems. 

And thirdly, and this is a real point, there is a lot of discussion 

about post traumatic stress, or the after-effects of trauma. And 

while there are a number of people who deserve and need extra attention and care, there is a greater number of veterans who experience what we call post traumatic growth. In other words, after they 

have been through combat and they have literally had people been 

shooting at them, and they learned through training to their buddies out safely and to take care of those needs, we come out with 

a sense of confidence, a sense of purpose, and we are not going 

back to the old ways of doing business, whether it be in training 


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in our services today or how we go into communities and solve 

problems. 

That resiliency, that confidence is something that is rare among 

people, except for some of our first responders, to ever really put 

themselves in harm’s way. So it is teamwork. It is the problem 

solving, and it is that resiliency that make us great in the civilian 

community as well as the military. 

Mr. Flores. Thank you, Mr. Kopser. 

Mr. Vizner, I would like to ask you all to keep your answers to 

about a minute. 

Mr. Kopser. Sorry. 

Mr. Flores. That is okay. I think there is a little bit of passion 

at that end—well, through the whole table, but particularly on that 

end of the table. 

Mr. Vizner? 

Mr. Vizner. To expand on the leadership portion of teamwork, we 

see our veterans step up on these teams and actually lead teams. 

From our hourly employees on the shop floor, all the way up 

through our executive office. So we see that teamwork is well beyond just participating, to really leading the team efforts. 

Lastly, accountability is probably one that comes to my mind. We 

can count on our veterans every single day. The workforce we have 

entering right now, the younger generation that are not veterans, 

it is hard just to get them to show up to work every day. 

Our veterans are very accountable, and they are there to serve 

us and to do what they can to be successful within our company. 

Mr. Flores. Mr. Burton? 

Mr. Burton. Thank you. Thank you. 

I think a poster child would be Mr. Kopser here. That would be 

exactly what I would be looking for when I was looking to bring 

somebody onto my team. 

You know, we look for the same skills that we look for for many 

of our associates, but a commitment to customer service and a 

‘‘whatever it takes’’ philosophy, which you will find in most service 

people. 

You know, obviously, leadership, the ability to critically think, 

teamwork, empowerment, the ability to make decisions on your 

own, you know, are something—many of the attributes that many 

of our service people, servicemen and women, we look for. 

And people that embrace, you know, the values that our company 

were built on and the inclusion and passion for what they are 

doing. Many of the panel members have already alluded to just the 

things that are exhibited by most servicemen and women. 

Thank you. 

Mr. Flores. Mr. Amsden? 

Mr. Amsden. Very well said by all. There is only a few things I 

could add, and that is so we are in a global economy. And any experience that our veterans pick up serving around the world is definitely transferable back to when they come back home. 

In terms of understanding cultures, their ability to learn new 

cultures and translate that into the business workforce is very effective. It helps their colleagues that might not have global experience. So that is one thing. 


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The other thing is in business today, we don’t know what 9-to5 is. We are not a 9-to-5 workforce anymore. We are in a workforce 

that has no time barriers, has no time limits. It is just about getting the job done and getting it done well as quickly as possible. 

And any of the veterans that we work with, they pick up with 

this experience of it is a selfless service. It is we are going to work 

until we get the job done, even if it impacts the family at home. 

So these are things that you can’t necessarily teach just out in the 

community. 

These are skills that these folks, these professionals pick up 

while they are on active duty or in the Reserves or in the Guards 

that they do make sacrifice. So, and they do know having time barriers. So that is what today’s global workforce is about, and that 

is what these folks are picking up. 

Mr. Flores. Thank you, Mr. Amsden. 

And I am running over time, but I do want to get to Ms. Thompson. You made a suggestion in your testimony about getting Congress to pass the Help Veterans Own Franchise Act. Do you have 

an idea of the impact that would have had on the Dwyer Group in 

terms of how many more franchisees you would have been able to 

offer to veterans? Do you have a feel for that? 

Ms. Thompson. I don’t have a feel for that, but I will tell you 

this. As someone who was a business owner, was a franchisee, 

came into franchising right out of the Marine Corps, and the Marine Corps did not pay a lot, I had to scrimp and save. This tax 

credit will give the veteran more money for getting them into business faster. It gets them on their feet faster. 

It allows them to hire more people faster and to get in their community as quickly as possible. And veterans hire more veterans. 

You know, when you ask about what do veterans do? Veterans understand commitment. 

I have a friend that always says the best thing about a veteran 

is they can put on their resume—you want to understand commitment—that they were willing to take a bullet for their previous employer. They completely understand that commitment. 

Mr. Flores. Okay. Thank you, Ms. Thompson. 

Sorry I ran over a little bit on my questioning. 

Mr. Takano, you are recognized for 5 minutes. 

Mr. Takano. Mr. Chairman, could you tell me more about Help 

Veterans?—Is it referred to our committee and has it been introduced? 

Mr. Flores. It has been introduced, but I think it is in Ways and 

Means. 

Ms. Thompson. It was introduced in the 112th Congress, and 

they didn’t get it finished. So we are asking that it be reintroduced 

in the 113th Congress. And what we—what we want to do, all it 

does is it offers a tax credit to the veteran for up to 50 percent of 

their franchise fee. It is capped at $25,000. 

And I would contend that as soon as they hire somebody, what 

they are paying in payroll taxes will more than offset that $25,000 

tax credit. 

Mr. Flores. So I think the jurisdiction is under Ways and Means, 

but I will work with you so that we can prod that along. 

Mr. Takano. Well, it is a very interesting. 


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Mr. Flores. No, but I want to take action and apologize later 

about it. 

Mr. Takano. That is okay. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. Takano. Well, you know, it seems to me that there is a way 

to synthesize some of the ideas here. Mr. Kopser, your idea of 

$1,000 matching for every year, and the idea that people build up 

educational benefits over time... and also, banking investment potential while in military service are ideas that could be coupled 

perhaps, to get veterans into franchising. 

I am curious. Does this bill also deal with perhaps the educating 

of the systems? I mean, what I like about franchising is the fact 

that it is a proven concept. There are already systems, a way to 

educate veterans toward the tail of their career to go through a 

sort of mini business school. 

Ms. Thompson. The beauty of franchising is that it is systems 

based. I didn’t even know what P&L stood for. I didn’t know it 

stood for profit and loss. But my franchisor taught me that, and 

they taught me how to understand that, and they taught me how 

to go in and run the business the way I needed to. 

And so, they can step into those systems which they understand 

and they already appreciate. And once they get into that franchise, 

they get franchise training. They get ongoing training. They have 

got support, somebody who is going to go out and work with them 

and help them get into that. 

If I had started my first business by myself, I don’t think I could 

sit here and say I was a successful business woman starting off. 

No one in my family had ever been an entrepreneur. 

I knew I wanted to run my own team. I wanted to lead a team 

in a common mission. I wanted to be in business. I wanted to settle 

down in my community. But I needed help, and franchising was a 

great way to help. 

Mr. Takano. I see. The same way you have training wheels to 

work on a bicycle, franchising as a first business experience maybe 

a good way to go. 

I will tell you where I am coming from as a trustee of the community colleges in California for a number of years. We were toying 

with trying to set up a franchise center where the community colleges would provide a lot of the coursework. But we would have a 

one-stop shop where the student could learn about the different 

business skills and the knowledge you need, but also connect with 

the specific franchises that were a match for them, and also the financing. 

I can imagine something similar if we encouraged a community 

college or some institution to supply that one-stop shop or that 

transition for the veteran. 

Ms. Thompson. And could you use part of your GI bill? Not all 

military veterans who come out go right into college, but if they 

could use that for franchise education to get them into business 

quicker? 

Mr. Takano. That is where I am also going with it, and I also 

like the idea that they have a little pot of money that they can put 

toward actually buying the franchise. Or we have ways to help 

them finance purchase of the franchise. 


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Ms. Thompson. And with VetFran, the 600 participating 

franchisors that participate, we offer our best discounts to the veterans coming in because we want them to have working capital as 

quickly as possible. 

Mr. Takano. Well, that is—go ahead. I will let you comment, Mr. 

Kopser. 

Mr. Kopser. Thank you, Congressman. 

The two points I hit and I want to reinforce is capital, which we 

very clearly have identified, but the freedom. And what I mean by 

the freedom is, whether it be a franchise or a high-tech company 

like what we are building, the best freedom for a transitioning 

service member is time. 

And laced also to the $1,000 per year of honorable service in the 

military would be 1 week of permissive TDY is what we call it in 

the military, where you are not required to go to your Army job or 

your military job, but you are still being paid. So it is permissive 

TDY, temporary duty, where they could either go to a community 

college model or go to a local university and just audit, just sit in 

the back of the class—not even for a grade, not even the whole semester—until they got, as you say, the training wheels to go 

through it. 

So it is to give them the flexibility. And that freedom comes with 

time, as well as the capital in the form of money, a direct grant. 

Mr. Takano. Mr. Chairman, I will yield back at this point. 

Mr. Flores. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Takano. 

Mr. Williams, you are recognized for 5 minutes for questions. 

Mr. Williams. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

And I will be—I want to thank all of you for being here. You are 

doing a fantastic job. 

I will start with you, Ms. Thompson. I am a franchisee. My family has been in the franchise business since 1939, and it is the 

greatest opportunity for anybody to get into business. 

Ms. Thompson. I agree. 

Mr. Williams. And I want to let you know I support it very much. 

I believe incentivizing rather than penalizing. 

Ms. Thompson. Amen. 

Mr. Williams. And the franchise system does that and seeding 

and visibility unlimited to the franchisee. So I am very —— 

Ms. Thompson. It is the great American dream. 

Mr. Williams. There is no question about it. And like I say, since 

1939, my family has been in it. 

And but I also want to emphasize, too, and you have heard support here from my two colleagues, the fact that you bring up about 

the 50 percent franchise fee tax credit is a huge thing. It converts 

to cash flow. That is the operating capital for that franchisee. 

And I will let you know I will support anything that has anything to do with that because that is the way to help franchisees 

get their seed capital. 

And also just to remind everybody, small business is what we are 

all talking about, is half the payroll, half the workforce in America 

is what builds—is totally what builds this country. So I want to tell 

you, you are on the right path, and I will be more than glad to help 

you as we go through, too. 


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Ms. Thompson. On behalf of the veterans and franchising, thank 

you. It matters. What you are doing really matters, and this could 

make a big difference to someone going into business 2 years earlier or getting off the ground 3 months faster. 

Mr. Williams. I am with you. I get it. So thank you. 

And also, Mr. Amsden, thank you for your work today. I found 

several things you said interesting. You talk about some challenges 

you had, one of which you thought that vets need a better way to 

market themselves. 

And you know, the truth of the matter is, life is retail. And when 

you have been in the service, sometimes you don’t have that opening to understand that until later. What—and very briefly, what do 

you think we can do to help these vets market themselves as the 

great people they are and the great workers they will be and are? 

Mr. Amsden. Well, I think you all can look at developing some 

type of what I would call a shared services model. So whether it 

is for additional capital, whether it is legal services, where when 

you are starting a business, you need all types of ancillary services, 

which any franchisee or any entrepreneur needs to go through. It 

could be legal. It could be accounting. It could be sales/marketing, 

whatever. 

But now, so building a shared services model to support entrepreneurial growth, if you guys could build something like that, that 

would be very, very helpful to anyone that is trying to build a business. 

Now regarding the specific individuals, the soldiers that are getting out of the service, I think it was very eloquently stated, when 

these folks are first getting out of the service, it is like a hard and 

fast stop. They work, work, work, and there is no real serious transition phase for them to get trained or to even give them the period 

to learn how to interview, go take interviews. 

They should be encouraged to partner with private business and 

go take interviews, learn how to interview, learn how to market 

their skills. And very importantly, these are professionals that they 

have often gone around in the world in their service, but their 

mindset when they get out is often to come home—to come back 

to Texas, right? 

Which I am not trying to push anyone away from Texas. But the 

reality is, it’s a national economy. And one of the things that these 

folks need to learn is that there are jobs in Seattle. There are jobs 

in California. There are jobs in Massachusetts. And they need to 

market themselves not just to Texas, but to our country in the private sector. And that is one of the things they need to learn. 

Mr. Williams. We want to work with you on that. 

The next thing is to John. Thanks for your service. Appreciate 

it very much. 

Let me go back to Chris real quick. Thanks for what you guys 

are doing. I found very interesting your translation program, I 

think that is great, and I think you need to keep that up. And anything we can do to help you with it. Because that is important. 

Terms can mean a lot of different things to people. 

Mr. Burton. Yes, sir. 

Mr. Williams. And I want to thank you. I want to thank you for 

that. 


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And to John with Caterpillar, you guys do a fantastic job. I 

picked up on where you said welders are something we need to 

have. I can show where we have lost a lot of business right here 

in Texas because we don’t have enough welders. And keep those 

things up. 

And the 100,000 goal of employees by 2020, I think I understood 

that. 

Mr. Vizner. That is correct. But we are well beyond that path. 

I believe there is over 92,000 with 6 to 7 years to go. 

Mr. Williams. That is what I heard you say. That is great. And —— Mr. Vizner. We could set another milestone, though. 

Mr. Williams.—we want to help you get to 200,000, if we can. 

And Joseph, you talked about angel investors. We have got a lot 

of issues right now that we have got to do better to promote angel 

investors. We need to instead of penalizing them, we need to be 

able to promote them. Because in many cases, that is the cash flow 

that these small business owners need to get. I understand that, 

and I want to help you there. 

And capital is the seed. We have got to be able to free up capital 

and let investors, whether they be private investors, banks, or 

whatever, be able to loan that capital, be able to let people take 

risk, and be able to let people get rewarded. 

That translates into entrepreneurship, capitalism, and the great 

American dream. I think we all get that, and I appreciate your 

words on that, and I think you can count on this group of people 

here to work for it and help you there. 

Mr. Kopser. Thank you, Congressman. 

Mr. Williams. Thank you very much. I yield back. 

Mr. Flores. Thank you, Mr. Williams. 

Normally, we don’t do this. But I thought this panel was particularly instructive. How many in the audience agree with that? So 

—— [Applause.] 

Mr. Flores. Thank you for the first panel. We are going to ask 

you to be dismissed, and then we will bring up our second panel. 

On our second panel, we are going to have Dr. Janet Bagby, with 

Baylor University; Mrs. Kris Cervantes, with McLennan Community College; Mr. Rob Wolaver, with the Texas State Technical College; and finally, Colonel Gerald Smith, with Texas A&M University. 

I would like to thank the second panel for joining us today, and 

I would like to start with you, Dr. Bagby. You are recognized for 

5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF JANET BAGBY 

Ms. Bagby. 

Good morning. 

Thank you, Chairman Flores, Ranking Member Takano, and 

Congressman Williams, for the opportunity to address this subcommittee. 

It is an honor to come before you and to represent Baylor University. My name is Janet Bagby. I am a faculty member in the School 

of Education and the VETS coordinator. 


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On behalf of our president, Judge Kenneth Starr, I welcome you 

to our campus. 

As Judge Starr said in his opening remarks, we have about 100 

student veterans attending Baylor. Since Baylor is a private school, 

the financial benefit provided by the GI bill covers only about one 

semester of Baylor’s tuition. By electing to participate in the Yellow 

Ribbon program, Baylor has made the financial commitment to 

support student veterans who choose to attend our university. 

While our student veteran enrollment may never match that of 

public universities, I am extremely proud of the services and support we are providing for those veterans who do attend. 

After researching the needs of student veterans on campus, 

Baylor created the Veteran Educational and Transition Services, 

VETS, program in the fall of 2012 to support the academic success 

of student veterans attending our campus. I work closely with our 

campus VA certifying agent, who assists our student veterans in 

their certification needs. 

Through the VETS program, I serve as an advocate and mentor 

for student veterans on campus. Undergraduate student veterans 

during their first semester at Baylor take a 1-hour, 1-credit course 

to assist in their transition to college and specifically to Baylor. 

Coming from a highly structured environment of the military to a 

highly unstructured environment of a university can present challenges for incoming student veterans. 

For those veterans who need extra assistance with math classes, 

the VETS program has partnered with our Air Force ROTC to offer 

free tutoring by the cadets who are fifth-year engineering majors. 

We have developed a similar partnership with Army ROTC to provide tutoring for student veterans in other content areas. 

Although VETS has existed for only three semesters, we are 

making a difference and positively impacting the lives of our student veterans. We are tracking their progress and look forward to 

sharing this data with you in the near future. 

Last spring, a Baylor counselor informed me that Armando, a 

senior philosophy major and an Army veteran, was in difficulty and 

asked if I could help. During the fall semester, Armando had been 

sitting on his motorcycle at a traffic light when a car crashed into 

him. His injuries were so severe that he had to take incompletes 

in all of his classes and postpone his pending graduation. 

In the spring semester, Armando worked with the professors of 

his six classes to satisfy requirements. However, since he was not 

formally registered for classes, Armando did not have access to the 

library or the student athletic facility. He was struggling to complete the required coursework without library resources, and without access to the fitness equipment in the Baylor Health Center, 

his physical healing suffered as well. 

I immediately assumed an advocacy role and shared Armando’s 

story with the provost’s office and the assistant vice president for 

student financial services. Within several days, Armando was enrolled in our VETS course, tuition free, and was granted access to 

all Baylor facilities. I am happy to report that he was able to complete all his coursework and graduated in May. 

The VETS program is currently partnering with Baylor’s Career 

Development Department to develop or adapt career resources to 


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specifically address the needs of our student veterans. Three years 

ago, the Veterans of Baylor student organization was chartered 

with the mission of providing a community for student veterans on 

campaign. I serve as the faculty adviser for Veterans of Baylor. 

While Baylor has a long tradition of being military friendly, we 

are now dedicated to becoming a military-embracing campus by cooperating together for the good of our students. In addition to 

partnering with our ROTC programs, career development, and our 

law school, who provides free legal advice for our veterans, we are 

also connecting with the veterans One-Stop shop downtown Waco 

and local veterans in the business community. 

In conclusion, the VETS program, the Veterans of Baylor student 

organization, Army ROTC, and Air Force ROTC are cosponsoring 

a Veterans Day ceremony on November 11th at 5:00 p.m. on campus for the Baylor and the Waco communities. 

Chairman Flores, Ranking Member Takano, Congressman Williams, this concludes my testimony today, and I am happy to answer any questions that you may have. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Bagby] 

Preparing for Oral Testimony before Congressional Committee 

Dr. Janet Bagby09 Baylor University 

Opening Statement: 

Good morning, 

Thank you, Chairman Flores and Ranking member Takano for 

the opportunity to address the subcommittee this morning. It is an 

honor to come before you and to represent Baylor University. 

My name is Dr. Janet Bagby, Senior Lecturer in the Department 

of Educational Psychology and the VETS Coordinator. On behalf of 

our President, Judge Kenneth Starr, I welcome you to our campus. 

Testimony: 

Currently we have approximately 100 student veterans attending 

Baylor. I say ‘‘approximately’’ because we cannot identify our student veterans unless they are using VA benefits to pay for their 

tuition. Beginning in 2015, students will have the opportunity to 

check a box on the Baylor application if they are veterans. At that 

point, we will be able to identify all incoming Baylor student veterans not just those using GI benefits. Since Baylor is a private 

school, the financial benefit provided by the GI Bill covers only 

about one semester of Baylor’s tuition. By electing to participate in 

the Yellow Ribbon Program, Baylor has made the financial commitment to support student veterans who choose to attend our University. While our student veteran enrollment may never match that 

of public universities, I am extremely proud of the services and 

support we are providing for those veterans who do attend. 

After researching the needs of student veterans on campus, 

Baylor created the Veteran Educational and Transition Services 

(VETS) Program in the fall of 2012 to support the academic success 

of student veterans attending the University. The VETS office, located in the Army ROTC facility, is administratively part of the 

Paul L. Foster Success Center that focuses on meeting the academic and career needs of all Baylor students. The VETS Program 

is staffed by LaNette Thompson, the VETS Transition Coach and 


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an Educational Psychology doctoral student. Ms. Thompson’s position has been generously funded by Baylor’s Graduate School Dean 

for the past two years. In addition to my teaching responsibilities 

in the Educational Psychology Department, I serve as the VETS 

Coordinator. The Provost’s office supports the VETS Program with 

an annual operating budget. The Baylor Veterans’ Coordinator is 

Ms. Jessica Alford whose full-time responsibilities include assisting 

our student veterans in their VA certification needs. The VETS 

Program and the Veterans’ Coordinator provide duel support for 

Baylor’s student veterans. 

Through the VETS Program, I serve as an advocate and mentor 

for student veterans on campus. Having loved my experience of 

being a Baylor faculty member for over 20 years, I have developed 

a strong passion for serving this special population. 

Undergraduate student veterans, during their first semester at 

Baylor, take a one-hour, for-credit course to assist in their transition to college and specifically to Baylor. This class gives student 

veterans an opportunity to connect on campus. Coming from a 

highly structured environment of the military to the highly 

unstructured environment of a university can present challenges 

for incoming student veterans. Topics covered in the course include: 

Implementing study strategies 

Utilizing Baylor’s technology 

Accessing support systems on campus 

Registering for classes and securing tuition assistance 

Planning a career path 

Receiving free legal assistance through Baylor’s Law School 

The majority of these sessions are presented by key faculty/administrators who have expertise in these areas and who demonstrate their support by personally addressing the students. One 

class member, an Army veteran whose husband was just deployed, 

leaving her to cope alone with four small children while at the 

same time beginning her college career, has especially appreciated 

the support that the class provides. As part of the course, student 

veterans submit a writing sample and receive individual feedback 

on techniques for improving their writing skills, a practice that is 

helping them in their other classes. For those student veterans who 

need extra assistance with math classes, besides options in the 

Paul L. Foster Success Center, the VETS Program has partnered 

with Air Force ROTC to offer free tutoring by the AF cadets who 

are fifth year Engineering majors. We are in the process of developing a similar partnership with Army ROTC to provide tutoring 

for the student veterans in other content areas. 

Although VETS has existed for only three semesters, we are 

making a difference and positively impacting the lives of our student veterans. Last spring, a Baylor counselor informed me that 

Armando, a senior Philosophy major and an Army veteran, was in 

difficulty and asked if I could help. Armando had been sitting on 

his motorcycle at a traffic light when a car crashed into him. His 

injuries were so severe that he had to take incompletes in all his 

classes and postpone his impending graduation. That spring, 

Armando worked with the professors of his six classes to satisfy requirements. However, since he was not formally registered for 

classes, Armando did not have access to the library or the student 


VACREP180 with DISTILLER
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athletic facility. He was struggling to complete the required 

coursework without library resources, and without access to the fitness equipment in the Baylor health center, his physical healing 

suffered as well. I immediately assumed an advocacy role and 

shared Armando’s story with the Provost’s office and the Assistant 

Vice-President for Student Financial Services. Within several days, 

Armando was enrolled in our VETS course, tuition-free, and was 

granted access to all Baylor facilities. I am happy to report that he 

was able to complete all his coursework and graduated in May. 

The VETS Program is currently partnering with Baylor’s Career 

Development Department to develop or adapt career resources to 

specifically address the needs of our student veterans. For example: 

Resume/cover letters: Tailoring military language and experience 

to civilian job market and skills 

Interview practice: Customize specific questions veterans might 

encounter in interview settings 

Veteran Mentor Program: Develop a mentoring program where 

student veterans are paired with successful alumni who are also 

veterans. 

A VETS Advisory Board, composed of key Baylor administrators 

and community leaders, meets regularly to guide and support the 

VETS Program. 

Three years ago, the Veterans of Baylor student organization was 

chartered with the mission of providing a community for student 

veterans on campus. I serve as the faculty advisor for Veterans of 

Baylor. With cooperation from the Provost’s office, we are in the 

process of identifying Baylor faculty and staff who are veterans or 

who have immediate family members currently serving in the military. 

While Baylor has a long tradition of being ‘‘military friendly,’’ we 

are now dedicated to becoming a ‘‘military embracing’’ campus by 

cooperating together for the good of our students. For example, the 

VETS program, the Veterans of Baylor student organization, Army 

ROTC, and Air Force ROTC are co-sponsoring a Veterans Day 

Ceremony on November 11th at 5:00 PM on campus for the Baylor 

and Waco communities. 

Conclusion: 

Chairman Flores, Ranking member Takano this concludes my 

testimony today. I am happy to answer any questions that you may 

have. 

Mr. Flores. Thank you, Dr. Bagby. And thank you for what you 

did to help Armando out. 

Ms. Cervantes, you are recognized for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF KRIS CERVANTES 

Ms. Cervantes. Good morning. It is a pleasure to be here. 

My name is Kris Cervantes, and I am the veterans specialist at 

McLennan Community College here in Waco. I am a military 

spouse. My husband is now finished with the military and works 

at the VA Center for Excellence. 

At MCC, we have a program called RSVP, and it came to their 

attention that veterans experience higher unemployment rates 

than the general population. There are lots of causes for this, but 


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some of the contributing factors, according to the Texas Veterans 

Commission and the VA Center for Excellence, are lacks in the 

areas of personal support, up to date work experience and resumes, 

and also that veterans aren’t necessarily willing to just settle for 

any old job. They want a job that has meaningful purpose. 

With that in mind, the RSVP program received funding from the 

Corporation for National and Community Service, and the MCC 

Foundation also applied for and received funding from the Texas 

Veterans Commission to expand their offerings to veterans, and the 

Connect-A–Vet program was created. 

There is a reason that it is called military service. Veterans want 

to give back to their community. And what Connect-A–Vet does is 

it addressed all those lacks we mentioned. It creates networks of 

personal support, allows the opportunity for veterans to update 

their resumes, and provides meaningful work that makes a difference. 

And the way it does that is that if a veteran is referred to Connect-A–Vet, they might come from the TVC, from the One-Stop 

shop downtown, from me as the education officer at MCC. They 

would come in and meet with a Connect-A–Vet counselor and be 

paired with a veteran mentor. And then that veteran is paired with 

an agency—an area nonprofit that they can volunteer with. 

This volunteer work is done while the veteran is adjusting to 

community life, pursuing needed treatments, and exploring education options. For example, a veteran with an MOS in transportation might be assigned to a local area agency that has a fleet of 

buses used to transport Head Start children. We have nearly 1,000 

in the Waco area alone. 

In this way, the veteran’s resume is going to be updated. They 

are going to get a good reference, and they might eventually be 

able to leverage that into a paid position. 

Some other examples might be that somebody with experience in 

inventory could be matched with Caritas, a local food back, to help 

them deal with over 6,000 clients. A veteran who is good with their 

hands might be assigned to work with Habitat for Humanity. 

A veteran who needs to change over to office work but lacks some 

computer skills would be given some training through Connect-A– 

Vet and MCC and then perhaps put into an administrative position 

in a local nonprofit, and thereby, they get some experience on the 

job so that they can translate that into a position. 

According to the National Survey on Giving, Volunteering, and 

Participating, 28 percent of survey volunteers said their unpaid 

service helped them obtain jobs. So far—and let me just say this 

program is in its infancy. We really just started accepting cases in 

September of this year. 

So far, we have already had enrollment in case management of 

14 veterans. We have 11 mentors onboard, 9 of whom have completed training. We have already done resource referral for two 

military dependents. We have placed five veterans in local nonprofit volunteer positions, and we have two veterans who have already had paid employment as an outcome of their connection with 

this program. 

We do have a resource center at the MCC campus, which has a 

beautiful framed flag from Congressman Flores’ office. Thank you. 


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Mr. Flores. You are welcome. 

Ms. Cervantes. Some other Connect-A–Vet services that we will 

be offering include resume building, resource referrals. Of course, 

education information and referral, they are free to send veterans 

to me, and whether the veteran wants to attend MCC or another 

college, I will be happy to help them connect with what their benefits are. 

We have a small business development center on MCC’s campus 

that is award winning and can give them lots of great information 

about how to start their own business. Career planning, networking opportunities. 

Emotional assessment services. One of the main things that this 

program is meant to address is that feeling of disconnect and sort 

of culture shock as a person leaves the military and may not have 

gainful employment already set up. We want to help them fill their 

days with something meaningful. And of course, we will recognize 

their service. 

McLennan Community College, as a college, has over 100 certificates and degrees which are approved for pursuit with Federal education benefits. And we have partnerships with six Texas public 

universities as well as Baylor. We have award-winning programs 

and instructors in a wide variety of fields. 

Most of the veterans that we see on campus are combat veterans. 

They have seen combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are family 

members. They have wives, children, husbands, et cetera. 

At MCC, last spring, I processed 575 State and Federal claims 

for veterans and their dependents. So we have a fairly large military population on campus. We have so far this fall already processed 581 claims. So it is ahead of the curve, and we expect those 

numbers to continue growing. 

And that is all. If anybody has any questions, I would be happy. 

And thank you for the opportunity to speak. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Cervantes] 

Connect-a-Vet Project and Other Veterans’ Services 

RSVP, McLennan Community College and MCC Foundation 

Presenter: Kris Cervantes, VA Specialist in the Office of Financial Aid, McLennan Community College 

CONNECT–A-VET PROJECT 

Over 2.2 million veterans served in Iraq and Afghanistan as part 

of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. The Department of Labor (DOL) state unemployment rates for these returning 

veterans is more than 2% higher than the rates from other combat 

eras and is 29.1% for those aged 18–24. Texas Veteran’s Commission (TVC) and the VA Center for Excellence report that lack of 

personal support, current work experience and meaningful purpose 

during the first months of transition to civilian life is a contributing factor to these statistics. 

Screened and referred by TVC and other organizations, veterans 

will be placed in volunteer positions with partner non-profit agencies. Participating agencies will sign an updated Memorandum of 

Understanding that not only secures proper supervision and safety, 

but will encourage learning opportunities and job placement for the 


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veterans when possible. RSVP volunteers will provide training and 

mentor support, all while our veterans provide manpower needed 

to meet growing demands for social services. This project will assist 

veterans in adjusting to their community while they, in turn, help 

build the capacity of the nonprofit organizations. The concept creates a two-fold impact. 

Veterans can ‘‘make a difference’’ while they may also be receiving treatment, counseling, attending school, seeking jobs or re-connecting with their families. Resumes will be strengthened and selfvalue will be increased. TVC reports veterans often face months of 

uncertainty, plagued with dated work experience, empty days and 

lack of direction. We will fill that gap with 30 new RSVP volunteers to supervise veterans. 

Over 800 HOT RSVP volunteers serve in McLennan, Hill, 

Bosque, Falls, Freestone and Limestone counties, 15% of them veterans. With the exception of Waco itself, the area is widely rural 

with a total of 52,500 veterans living in our region. This RSVP is 

only six miles from the Waco VA Medical Center, 30 miles from the 

Temple VA Medical Center and 46 miles from Fort Hood’s military 

installation. For these reasons among others, Waco has been designated by USAA Magazine as the #1 location nationally for military retirement, providing a ready supply of new volunteers. 

Some examples of how the project will work: A soldier returns 

from duty with an MOS in transportation. He might volunteer with 

our regional community action agency to maintain a fleet of buses 

used to transport the 1,000 Head Start children in this area. Another veteran has experience in shipping and receiving supplies, a 

skill that could be utilized by our local food bank in serving 6,000 

clients monthly. Maybe a third veteran was in combat for so long 

that she lost relevant skills, or perhaps she simply has the desire 

to learn something new. Habitat for Humanity could teach a building trade. A veteran with new physical limitations could obtain office or management experience. The possibilities are endless. Some 

agencies may wish to hire our heroes and benefit from the tax credits available. At the very least, these veterans have added experience to their resume and begun the process of rejoining their community. With a proven Emotional Assessment Profile pre- and posttest given by trained professionals at MCC, RSVP will be able to 

document that depression is lessened, self-worth is increased, resources have become more accessible and relationships built. As an 

added benefit, agencies will have increased their capacity to serve 

this region. 

Participating Agencies: 

* HOT Veterans Coalition (Veterans One Stop) 

* Congressman Bill Flores’ District Office 

* Waco Transit 

* McLennan County Veterans Services 

* Advocacy Center 

* Waco Habitat for Humanity 

* Friends for Life 

* Mission Waco 

* Caritas of Waco 

* Area Agency on Aging/HOTCOG 

* Tarleton University School of Social Work 


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* VA Medical Center 

* MCC Mental Health Division 

* MCC Adult Basic Education program 

* San Saba RSVP (Ft. Hood) 

* Meals and Wheels 

* Helpings SNAP Outreach 

Grants were provided to RSVP by the Corporation for National 

and Community Service. The McLennan Foundation later applied 

for an additional grant through the Texas Veterans Commission, 

which allowed the RSVP program serving veterans to be greatly expanded. McLennan Community College sponsors RSVP in the 

Heart of Texas, which is funded by the Corporation for National 

and Community Service and the Texas Department on Aging. 

McLENNAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE VETERANS’ SERVICES 

McLennan Community College offers more than 100 certificate 

and degree programs which are approved for pursuit using federal 

and state veterans’ education benefits (visit http:// 

www.mclennan.edu/students/admissions/aprog.html for a list of 

programs). We also partner with six state universities and Baylor 

University to offer transfer programs which allow students to complete a variety of Bachelor, Masters, and Doctoral programs here 

in Waco. 

Veterans are offered exceptional service through all departments 

of the college, as well as personalized assistance in using federal 

and state education benefits by the Veterans Specialist within the 

Office of Financial Aid. MCC is a Servicemembers’ Opportunity 

College which has processed over 580 state and federal VA education claims so far this Fall (2013): 

* 11 students using Reserve education benefits. 

* 25 veterans using the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program. 

* 33 students using VA Vocational Rehabilitation. 

* 35 students using the Montgomery GI Bill. 

* 87 dependents of deceased or 100% disabled veterans, using the 

Dependents Education Assistance Program. 

* 196 students using the Post-9/11 GI Bill. 

* 63 veterans using Hazlewood alongside another VA benefit. 

* 46 veterans using only the Hazlewood benefit. 

* 24 dependents using the Hazlewood alongside their dependent 

benefits. 

* 61 dependents using only the Hazlewood benefit. 

McLennan Community College’s mission is to provide access to 

excellent workforce and transfer programs, student services, and 

continuing education that promotes student success including proficiency in identified student learning outcomes, successful course 

completion, graduation, employment, and transfer to a senior institution. The college engages and strengthens its community through 

successful educational attainment, strong leadership, sustainability 

efforts, best practices, community service, and integrity. 

MCC is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award the Associate in 

Arts, Associate in Science, Associate in Applied Sciences, and Associate of Arts in Teaching degrees. The school was established in 

1965 by the citizens of McLennan County. MCC provides equal 

educational opportunity for all qualified students and does not disVerDate Aug 31 2005 11:04 Oct 15, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\PAT’S DOC\85867.TXT PAT

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criminate on the basis of sex, disability, race, creed or religion, 

color, age, national origin or any other unlawful factors in its educational program, activities, or employment, as required by Title VI 

of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation 

Act of 1973, Total IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972 

and the Age Discrimination Act of 1978. 

FEDERAL GRANT AWARDS ACTIVE FOR FY2014 

(Does not include Federal Student Financial Aid) 

McLennan Community College 

* Small Business Development Center (SBDC); $105,815 awarded by U.S. Small Business Administration. * RSVP Continuation Grant; $62,865 by the Corporation for National and Community Service. * RSVP Veteran Augmentation Grant; $10,500 by the Corporation for National and Community Service. * Adult Basic Education Consortium; $513,416 plus $67,891Federal TANF by U.S. Department of Education. * TRIO Upward Bound; $342,068 by U.S. Department of Education. 

* TRIO Student Support Services; $305,051 by U.S. Department 

of Education. 

* Perkins; $711,119 by U.S. Department of Education. 

Mr. Flores. Thank you, Ms. Cervantes. 

Mr. Wolaver, you are recognized for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF ROB WOLAVER 

Mr. Wolaver. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member 

Takano, Congressman Williams. Thank you for the opportunity for 

Texas State Technical College to participate today. 

My name is Rob Wolaver. I am the executive vice president. I am 

here today representing Chancellor Mike Reeser, who is out of 

town at our college’s Board of Regents meeting. 

TSTC is soon approaching our 50-year anniversary as a 2-year 

institution of higher education, offering occupationally oriented programs in advanced and emerging technical fields. The core mission 

of TSTC and our programs is to produce top-quality graduates and 

to place them in high-demand, high-earning fields. 

TSTC is the only State-supported technical college system in the 

State of Texas. We have locations in Harlingen, Marshall, Sweetwater, Waco, and centers that are located in Abilene, Breckenridge, 

Brownwood, Hutto, Ingleside, Red Oak, and Richmond. 

TSTC system offers 151 associate of applied science degrees and 

7 associate of science degrees. We are very proud to have produced 

93,000 graduates in our 48-year history. 

Currently, there are 611 veterans enrolled across the TSTC system. Those students have the opportunity to participate in a number of financial assistance programs, VRAP, post 9/11 GI bill, the 

Reserve Educational Assistance Program, Montgomery GI bill, Veterans Assistance Program, Rehabilitation Act, and Hazlewood. 

TSTC deploys various strategies specifically targeted providing 

additional support to veteran students. The military credit crosswalk is a Web-based tool that allows veterans to determine ahead 

of time potential college credit for training that they have received 

while in the service. 


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The Veterans Council, a group of individuals that represent military support services, as well as college staff meet monthly to promote awareness on veterans issues and to explore additional assistance opportunities for veterans. The Veterans Support Center, fully 

deployed at our Harlingen location and currently in development at 

the Waco location, provides enhanced intake services, expedited 

benefits assistance and processing, specialized counseling services 

and referrals, educational support through coaching and mentoring, 

social activities, enhanced placement services. 

In addition, the college actively conducts expanded recruiting 

programs at military installations for veterans who are in the process of processing out of services. For instance, in Fort Hood, Congressman Williams. 

Customized competency-based curriculum is a pilot project that 

we have initiated which decouples skills development, a student’s 

skills development from a traditional semester credit-hour format. 

This format allows a student to demonstrate mastery of real-world 

job skills at their own pace, expediting their path to a credential 

and placement in the workforce. 

This curriculum is an important and viable option, we believe, 

for veterans to utilize because it allows them to utilize the skills 

that they learned in the service and advance through an educational curriculum at an accelerated pace. This program is currently fully deployed in one discipline at our Harlingen location, 

and we are in the initial rollout stages of this format at our East 

Williamson County Higher Education Center, which is located in 

Hutto, in multiple disciplines. 

We are very proud that in the past few years, TSTC has seen a 

32 percent increase in graduates and a 36 percent increase in 

placements. TSTC has graduated 134 veterans this past year, and 

TSTC Waco alone has graduated 279 veterans since 2009. 

Texas State Technical College is committed to serving veterans 

through a number of opportunities—the expansion of support services that we offer to those, the development of new methods of 

skills assessment allowing a veteran to progress through a training 

curriculum at an advanced pace, additional customized curriculums 

that allow for an efficient pathway to employment and credential, 

and the development of specialized short-term training programs 

that are targeted directly at those veterans. 

Thank you again, Mr. Chairman, Members of Congress, for the 

opportunity for TSTC to be here today and to serve the veterans 

of the United States. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Wolaver] 

House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

Oversight Field Hearing for the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity 

‘‘Texas’ Innovative Approaches to Jobs and Employment for Veterans’’ 

Presentation by 

Texas State Technical College System 

Mr. Rob Wolaver 

Executive Vice President, TSTC Waco 


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Background and History 

Texas State Technical College was established in 1965 as the 

James Connally Technical Institute (JCTI) of Texas A & M University to meet the state’s evolving workforce needs. JCTI was located 

in Central Texas at the former James Connally Air Force Base in 

Waco. In 1967, JCTI expanded to include a South Texas campus 

in Harlingen. Additional locations soon followed. 

JCTI separated from Texas A&M University in 1969 and became 

an independent state system with its own nine-member Board of 

Regents and the name Texas State Technical Institute (TSTI). In 

1991, the Texas Legislature elevated the status of TSTI’s campuses 

by designating them as technical colleges with the name Texas 

State Technical College. 

The four independent colleges within the Texas State Technical 

College System (TSTC) are co-educational, two-year institutions of 

higher education offering occupationally oriented programs with 

supporting academic courses for certificates or associate degrees. 

Emphasis is on advanced and emerging technical programs not 

commonly offered by public junior colleges with a core focus on 

placement and earnings outcomes. For 48 years, TSTC has been 

producing top-quality graduates, who are nationally recognized for 

their highly specialized, technical capabilities and job-ready skills. 

TSTC’s strong relationship with business and industry ensures 

that coursework focuses on the regional and statewide needs of 

Texas’ employers and leads to success in the job market. 

TSTC is Texas’ only state-supported technical college system. Its 

statutory mission is to provide an articulated and responsive technical education system aimed at identifying and addressing industry needs. These two features make TSTC unique among institutions of higher education. The TSTC System currently has campuses in Waco, Harlingen, Marshall and West Texas, with locations 

in Abilene, Breckenridge, Brownwood and Sweetwater. The System 

also has extension centers in Hutto, Ingleside, Red Oak and Richmond, in addition to partnerships with many of the state’s public 

junior colleges. 

Accolades 

TSTC’s colleges consistently rank as top producers of associate 

degrees in engineering, precision production, computer information 

systems, computer & information sciences, and enrollment of Hispanic students. In Community College Week’s annual report titled 

‘‘Top 100 Associate Degree Producers,’’ TSTC has ranked number 

one in Texas numerous times in one or more categories and has 

consistently stayed among the top 50 colleges in the nation in nearly every applicable category. 

In the 2012 report, TSTC Waco ranked number one in Texas for 

graduating the most students in the categories of precision production, engineering technologies/engineering-related fields, and computer & information sciences & support services. In both 2012 and 

2013, the college ranked third in the nation for conferring engineering-related associate degrees. 

TSTC offers more than 151 Associate of Applied Science (AAS) 

degrees and certificates and has produced more than 93,570 graduates in its 48-year history. TSTC Harlingen also offers seven Associate of Science (AS) degrees in biology, computer science, engiVerDate Aug 31 2005 11:04 Oct 15, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\PAT’S DOC\85867.TXT PAT

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neering, mathematics, physics, nursing preparatory and health professions. 

Since 2009, the TSTC System has generated a 32 percent increase in graduates and a 36 percent increase in job placements. 

The combined first-year earnings of TSTC graduates are projected 

to surpass $55 million in new salaries for Texas – a 54 percent increase over the last four years. 

Demographics 

TSTC students across the System are a diverse group demographically. They are 65.7 percent minority (56.91 percent Hispanic, 8.60 percent black, 0.19 percent other minorities) and 34.3 

percent white. The student body is comprised of 39.83 percent females and 60.17 percent males. Students come from 200 of Texas’ 

254 counties, and nearly 63 percent are economically disadvantaged. 

Veterans at TSTC 

TSTC is proud to have many veterans of the armed services 

among its graduates. Since 2010, TSTC Waco alone has graduated 

279 veterans. Roger Hinojosa, from Brownwood, Texas, served in 

the United States Army as a combat medic prior to attending 

TSTC Waco. Roger completed his Associate of Applied Science degree in Avionics and is currently working for L3 Communications 

as an avionics cable assembly technician. Travis Beach, from Chester, New York, served in the United States Army as a generator 

mechanic. Travis completed his Associate of Applied Science degree 

in Aviation Maintenance, also from TSTC Waco, and is currently 

working for L3 Communications as a night shift supervisor for the 

Manufacturing Division. 

> TSTC System – Competency-Based Education, A New Approach to Workplace Readiness 

Central to TSTC’s efforts to assist veterans in their transition 

into the workplace is a new initiative intended to shorten the time 

necessary to earn an award. The new competency-based education 

model, however, does not sacrifice the quality of skills learned. 

TSTC began offering this competency-based approach in the fall of 

2013 at two locations. The model aligns particularly well with the 

needs of veterans, displaced workers and career-focused high school 

graduates. 

TSTC Harlingen has implemented the first competency-based 

certificate in Industrial Systems Technology, part of the growing 

field of Mechatronics. This prototype decouples skills development 

from semester credit hours and is recognized as being among the 

first competency-based certificates in Texas by the Texas Higher 

Education Coordinating Board. 

TSTC’s multi-institution teaching center in Hutto, the East 

Williamson County Higher Education Center (EWCHEC), has implemented competency-based instructional delivery across multiple 

certificate and degree programs. The primary emphasis is on skills 

mastery. Lecture materials are delivered online, and class time is 

focused on applied learning in state-of-the-art labs where students 

work both individually and in teams. Students are routinely assessed for their ability to demonstrate competency in skills which 

are linked to courses within a semester. 


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Competency-based programming is designed to allow a student to 

demonstrate mastery of real-world job skills at his or her own pace. 

In this way, a student will not spend unnecessary ‘‘seat time’’ in 

classes reviewing information he or she already knows, either 

through past job experience or through military service. As a result, a two-year welding degree can now be completed in as few as 

four semesters – saving time and money while minimizing a student’s deferred wages. Competency programming also ensures that 

the student learns and masters each required skill, rather than 

simply earning an average score for a semester-long course. 

> TSTC Waco – Veterans Enrichment Efforts 

Although TSTC’s smaller locations work with state and community organizations to provide services to assist veterans, the larger 

campuses have implemented a number of special programs for veterans. For the sake of brevity and this Congressional Field Hearing, the services and programs listed below are specific to TSTC 

Waco. • Veterans’ Council – Created in the spring of 2011, the Veterans’ Council meets monthly on the TSTC Waco campus in order 

to bring awareness to activities, issues and/or challenges that pertain to veteran students. The council is comprised of TSTC staff, 

faculty, students and representatives from several community support organizations. The council also coordinates an annual Veterans’ Day Appreciation Luncheon for students, faculty and staff 

who are veterans. The 2013 luncheon will be held November 7th 

at the Student Recreation Center on campus. • Credit Crosswalk – Developed through a grant in 2010, the 

Credit Crosswalk provides veterans a tool to determine if college 

credit can be awarded for their military training. The Crosswalk 

compares military occupations to TSTC’s coursework and is used to 

determine if military training is transferrable to TSTC. The Crosswalk is available online at http://www.waco.tstc.edu/veterans/ 

militaryoccupations, an efficient tool available at the fingertips of 

any veteran searching for the right place to continue his education. 

• Targeted Recruiting at Fort Hood in Killeen – TSTC Waco’s 

staff and faculty regularly make targeted recruiting trips to Fort 

Hood, located nearby in the Central Texas area. Hundreds of people transition from military assignments to civilian life each month 

from this installation. Recruiters attend transition events, along 

with job and career fairs. TSTC Waco’s information is disseminated 

to interested persons and help is offered to veterans who wish to 

begin the enrollment process. Also, Fort Hood personnel are regularly apprised of the opportunities for veterans at TSTC Waco. 

• Veterans’ Support Services Center – A Wagner-Peyser grant 

proposal is currently under consideration within the Texas Governor’s Office. Although TSTC Waco traditionally enrolls a significant population of veteran students, the college’s success in retaining and placing veteran students needs improvement. During the 

2012 – 2013 academic year, 571 veterans attended TSTC Waco, 

about 13 percent of the student population. Historically, however, 

many of them leave without earning a certificate or degree (see addendum). The college currently has only one full-time staff member 

devoted to the needs of veteran students. The Wagner-Peyser funding will launch a Veterans’ Support Services Center with the goal 


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of improving TSTC Waco’s ability to recruit, enroll, retain and 

graduate veteran students into high-demand occupations. 

TSTC Waco’s Veterans’ Support Services Center will be located 

within the Division of Student Development and will provide the 

following services: • Expanded recruiting efforts, especially at Fort Hood which is 

located approximately one hour south of campus (In fiscal year 

2013, approximately 11,000 soldiers will exit the service from Fort 

Hood.) • Enhanced intake assistance, including review of military training transcripts and TSTC Waco program recommendations and including the use of Credit Crosswalk software to review military 

transcripts for college credit • Expedited benefits assistance, processing and validation • Social services support and referrals • Specialized counseling support and referrals (PTSD, social adjustment, etc.) • Educational support (coaching, mentoring, tutoring, etc.) • Enhanced placement assistance 

The project will utilize strategies from the Texas Workforce Commission’s College Credit for Heroes, along with the Credit Crosswalk developed at TSTC Waco, to ensure that military training can 

be applied to a technical training program. 

TSTC Harlingen recently created a similar full-service Veterans’ 

Center, serving approximately 200 veteran students. Services offered include benefit assistance, referrals for support services, 

scholarships, tutoring, academic advisement and veterans’ event coordination with outside service agencies. The college is also actively 

involved in the College Credit for Heroes Scholarship Program. 

Conclusion 

Without exception, the colleges within the TSTC System are committed to serving U.S. military veterans. That commitment has led 

to the creation of a Veterans’ Service Center on one campus and 

to the development of plans for another. TSTC is also committed 

to finding innovative educational pathways for the efficient and 

cost-effective transition of veterans into the workplace. The competency-based learning prototype is but one such pathway. As part 

of Texas’ Skilled Workforce Initiative, the prototype is intended for 

statewide implementation and is geared toward assisting veterans 

wanting to maximize military training and earn a college credential. With the competency-based learning model in place and access 

to the Credit Crosswalk, veterans attending TSTC will be able to 

make the most of their military training as they successfully transition into the civilian workforce. 

Texas State Technical College System / November 6, 20130Page 

1 

Mr. Flores. Thank you, Mr. Wolaver. 

Colonel Smith, you are recognized for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF COLONEL GERALD ‘‘JERRY’’ L. SMITH 

Colonel Smith. Yes, sir. Chairman Flores and distinguished subcommittee members, as I look down the line to my colleagues here, 

I don’t have a fancy slide presentation, but I can offer you a good, 

old-fashioned Texas A&M howdy. 


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Mr. Flores. Howdy back. 

Colonel Smith. My name is Gerald Smith, and I have had the 

privilege to serve as the Director of the Texas A&M Veteran Resource and Support Center, or VRSC, for the last year. I retired as 

a Colonel with 30 years of experience in the U.S. Marine Corps 

when I opened the doors of our VRSC last year. 

First, I would like to thank you for this opportunity. Texas A&M 

deeply values the service and sacrifice of our veterans and their 

families, and we also value your support of our veterans. Given our 

rich military history, A&M is committed to supporting our over 650 

student veterans with a unique, dual-office partnership. 

The first office is our Financial Aid Veteran Services Office. It is 

a direct extension of our original Aggie Veteran Office that opened 

in 1946. They offer streamlined military educational benefit processing, and they also award veterans scholarships. 

To better serve well those who have served, we opened our VRSC 

last year, and we now perform all of the other functions outside of 

those financial aid functions to identify and provide uniquely tailored resources to our military-affiliated students. Our two offices 

now together support veterans from application to vocation. 

Initially, our office focused on facilitating student veteran transitions, and we launched our Aggie Veteran Network to connect students with existing resources. Next year, we will take this network 

and we will link it to our new Association of Former Students Veteran and Military Constituent Network. In the future, they will 

connect current student veterans to one of the largest and most active former student organizations in the country to promote countless employment and other opportunities. 

Back in 2008, our Mays School of Business introduced the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities, or EBV, following the original program that started in 2007 at Syracuse University. It offers experiential training in entrepreneurship and 

small business management to veterans who are disabled as a result of service since 9/11, and it is entirely free to qualifying veterans. 

Two-thirds of our participants have started and continue to grow 

a business through the EBV. Along with Syracuse and Texas A&M, 

it has also been adopted by six other universities across the country. 

Now within weeks of opening our VRSC, we immediately 

partnered with our career center on campus. Our first cosponsored 

event was called Boots to Business Suits, where we brought in corporate leaders to discuss the skills valued in veterans, job search 

techniques, and other employer assistance. 

What we found is frequently we get prospective employers would 

contact their office or our office to talk about veteran employment, 

and we didn’t always give them the full package. We now have a 

very systematic plan to make sure both offices are included in the 

discussion to better serve prospective employers and students. 

We have also started collecting security clearance information in 

our student veterans so that we can use the previous clearances to 

help connect them with Federal agency opportunities out there, 

and that has paid us a lot of dividends on the employment with 

Federal agencies. 


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In August, we held our first Aggie Veteran Camp. It is an indepth orientation for new student veterans, and typically, these 

kind of orientations focus on the short-term transition challenges. 

But we took a broader, longer-term perspective. We brought in the 

career center to immediately stress the importance of connecting 

with employment resources from the time they first start their college experience. 

Our career center also continues to develop other veteran-specific 

programs. They have two dedicated student veteran advisers, both 

with military experience. They have updated their post graduation 

survey to track veteran employment better. Their database flags 

both recruiters and student veterans. 

They specifically market existing programs for veteran students. 

In the last year, they have had over 350 student veteran advising 

contacts and 400 interviews on campus. Since August, they have 

had over 200 student veterans access their online recruiting system. 

Some of our other veteran employment initiatives are going to include next February, we are going to host Operation Vet Success, 

which will be Texas A&M’s first annual national student veteran 

career fair. We also work with local Texas workforce and TVC by 

referring students to these offices, and we invite them on campus 

to meet with students. We use social media to advertise, and we 

even provide them with the office space. And we have had representatives from the Texas Veterans Leadership Program also 

come to campus and provide one-on-one campus resume reviews. 

We assist in part-time employment for student veterans, and we 

recently reorganized our Student Veteran Association. We had a 

student veteran employment liaison officer to facilitate employment 

for other members of the SVA. Future programs that we are going 

to start will include student veteran family programs to assist in 

numerous areas, including spouse employment and scholarships. 

Now our new office is just beginning to develop some of these 

programs to serve veterans like James Rowin, who is with me 

today. In his 10 years in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, he went 

to Iraq three times and later deployed to the Horn of Africa in a 

civilian capacity. 

His wife is a U.S. Army Reserve officer. They are both Aggie student veterans who exemplify another generation of great Americans who have earned and deserve our support. Our VRSC is determined to help develop innovative best practices to enhance the future success of our student veterans. 

Thank you again for this opportunity for myself and Texas A&M 

to assist you in your efforts. God bless, and gig ’em. 

[The prepared statement of Colonel Smith] 

Written Testimony of 

Colonel Gerald L. Smith, (USMC) Ret. 

Director, Veteran Resource & Support Center, Texas A&M University 

Before the 

Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity of the House Committee 

on Veterans’ Affairs 


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Field Hearing on ‘‘Texas’ Innovative Approaches to Jobs and Employment for Veterans’’ 

November 6, 2013 

Chairman Flores and distinguished members of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity of the House Committee on 

Veterans’ Affairs, my name is Gerald Smith and I have the privilege of serving as Director of the new Veteran Resource & Support 

Center at Texas A&M University. In addition, I am a retired Colonel with 30 years of service in the US Marine Corps. 

I want to begin by thanking you for the chance to come before 

you today to present testimony on important issues relating to supporting veteran employment. At Texas A&M, we deeply value the 

sacrifice and service of veterans and their families. We appreciate 

this committee’s actions to investigate and focus on innovative 

ways to support meaningful employment for our service men and 

women after they leave the military. 

Today, Texas A&M remains committed to building upon our rich 

military history. Since 1876, Texas A&M has produced thousands 

of commissioned officers and has eight Congressional Medal of 

Honor recipients. No university in the nation (other than the service academies) has contributed more to military service than Texas 

A&M. In our Post 9–11 world, Texas A&M is undeniably veteran 

friendly; hence the large number of active duty personnel and veterans on campus. Currently, the veteran enrollment is approximately 650 students as Texas A&M continues to support veterans 

by enhancing their future employment opportunities through higher education. 

Through a unique and powerful ‘‘dual office partnership,’’ Texas 

A&M offers numerous programs and resources that benefit veterans. We now have two offices designed specifically to support veterans. The Scholarships and Financial Aid Veteran Service Office 

(VSO) is the direct extension of the original Veterans Advisory Office that opened in 1946. To better ‘‘serve well those who have 

served,’’ we opened the Veteran Resource and Support Center 

(VRSC) in 2012. Together, these offices provide a robust capability 

that truly supports our Aggie veterans from ‘‘application to vocation.’’ 

The VSO offers streamlined processing of all federal and state 

educational benefits, deferred tuition pending Veterans Administration (VA) funds, veteran new student orientation, faculty and 

staff mentor training and cross campus referrals that reach campus 

wide. The VSO also identifies and awards scholarships for veterans. We are a partner school with the Pat Tillman Foundation 

and currently have recipients on campus that benefit from that 

scholarship. Recent procedural improvements in the VSO have significantly improved military educational benefit processing to ensure the best possible financial support for both veterans and military dependents. 

The mission of the VRSC is to constantly enhance Texas A&M’s 

‘‘military friendly’’ legacy by identifying, developing and providing 

uniquely tailored resources & programs to students that are: Veterans, Active Duty, Reserve or National Guard, military dependents, survivors and families in order to enrich their holistic development and overall academic success. By embracing the ‘‘applicaVerDate Aug 31 2005 11:04 Oct 15, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\PAT’S DOC\85867.TXT PAT

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tion to vocation’’ mindset, we support veteran recruiting and college/career transitions by leveraging our Aggie Core Values to 

‘‘Serve Well Those Who Have Served!’’ 

The VRSC vision is to become ‘‘the Texas A&M System Model 

University’’ and improve our national ranking to truly become the 

university known for personal, all-inclusive support to Aggie Veterans and their families. As a highly visible institutional single 

point of contact (‘‘one-stop referral shop’’), the VRSC finds new avenues to maximize both TAMU and external resources to ensure 

world class academic and transition support that prepares Aggie 

Vets for future leadership in a global society. In short, as the focal 

point of Aggie Veteran collaboration and support, we foster a new 

sense of Aggie tradition to ‘‘Serve Well Those Who Have Served!’’ 

Using these mission and vision statements as a guide, the VRSC 

has developed and implemented a variety of new programs that enhance veteran recognition, improve health service access, increase 

academic support, connects students with local community resources, and identifies employment opportunities (both full and 

part time). The VRSC was designed to ensure that Texas A&M continues to improve the quality of support as our student veteran 

population increases. 

The VRSC recently launched the Aggie Veteran Network (AVN). 

It is designed to connect Aggie student vets, dependents, military 

families, and veteran faculty/staff with each other and with external organizations. The mission of the AVN is twofold: First, to connect those who are providing, or are willing to provide, resources 

and support to our students. The second part of the AVN mission 

is to link our military affiliated students with high-impact opportunities to support each other and the local community. In the next 

year, the AVN will link with the new Association of Former Student Aggie Veteran & Military Constituent Network. As these programs grow, they will become a foundational and innovative method to effectively link and network current student veterans with 

one of the largest and most active former student organizations in 

the country to promote countless internship and employment opportunities. 

In 2008, the Mays School of Business at Texas A&M University 

introduced the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) which followed on the heels of a successful program 

launch at Syracuse University in 2007. At Texas A&M, EBV is a 

collaboration between the Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship, and the Center for Executive Development and Mays 

Business School. The EBV initiative offers cutting edge, experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management 

to Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines disabled as a result of 

their service supporting operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi 

Freedom. The intent of the program is to open the door to entrepreneurial opportunity for these men and women, developing their 

competencies in the many steps and activities associated with creating and sustaining an entrepreneurial venture. Importantly, the 

program is offered entirely free to qualifying veterans. 

EBV has been a tremendously successful program for our veterans, specifically highlighting the role that entrepreneurship may 

play as a means through which our veterans with disabilities can 


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take meaningful steps toward independence. Recent survey data 

highlighted that 66% of the Texas A&M EBV participants (for the 

five year period) had started and continued to grow a business. Of 

these respondents, 87% still had a business in operation at the 

time they took the survey. Participant comments included the following: 

? ‘‘I have no words that can describe the effect this program has 

made on me. Life-changing is the closest I can think of. Dr. Lester, 

Ashley Crane, and Jennifer Cutler deserve great praise for the 

time and effort spent on the program.’’ 

? ‘‘Hands-down one of the best experiences of my life.’’ 

Along with Syracuse University and Texas A&M University the 

program was also adopted by Florida State University, U.C.L.A., 

Purdue University, University of Connecticut, LSU, and Cornell. 

In the first year, the Texas A&M VRSC also started numerous 

other initiatives to fulfill the ‘‘application to vocation’’ mission to 

better support our student veterans (see Attachment A for the complete summary). Many of the VRSC new programs are focused on 

facilitating the veteran transition from the military environment to 

the college campus. These efforts included extensive partnerships, 

workshops, programs, and events that are focused on academic success and ultimately, meaningful employment after graduation. 

To provide an immediate positive impact on the student veteran 

transition and initial academic success, the VRSC developed a series of initiatives in the new ‘‘Aggie Vet Connect Program’’ (see Attachment B for details). As ‘‘non-traditional students,’’ many of our 

veterans were unaware of existing campus and community resources. Aggie Vet Connect was designed to proactively provide student veterans with information about available resources. The elements of Aggie Vet Connect include: New student conference presentations; Vet Camp; Faculty/Staff and Academic Advisor engagement opportunities and student veteran awareness presentations 

and panels; recreational sports/wounded warrior engagement; Peerto-Peer Mentoring Training/Programs; and special events to promote veteran engagement with traditional students. As the VRSC 

prepares for the second year, the initial success of the Aggie Vet 

Connect Programs dictates that these programs will increase in 

both size and scope. 

Within weeks of opening, the VRSC established a new partnership with the Texas A&M Career Center. With the Career Center’s 

dedicated focus on student veteran employment, this partnership 

has continued to strengthen and grow over the past year. This 

partnership has produced a number of effective events and programs to include: 

* One of the first events co-sponsored by these offices was the 

‘‘Boots to Business Suits’’ program. The Career Center invited corporate leaders to discuss the skills valued in veterans, how veterans can be successful in the job search process, how employers 

assist veterans in making the successful transition into their organizations, and how veterans can continue to further their careers. 

As a result of the very positive response from student veteran 

attendees, this type of event will be repeated in the future. 

* Throughout the year, numerous corporations and federal agencies contact either the VRSC or the Career Center to specifically 


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discuss veteran internship and future employment opportunities. 

Our offices have developed a systematic plan to ensure that both 

the Career Center and VRSC staffs are represented at these meetings. This partnership allows both offices to better serve both prospective employers and our student veterans. Additionally, the 

VRSC now confidentially collects information about security clearances previously (or currently) held by student veterans. We are 

rapidly learning how to use this information to better ‘‘connect’’ 

students with clearances to federal agencies and corporations that 

require security clearances for future employment. 

* In August 2013, the VRSC held the first ‘‘Vet Camp’’ to provide 

an in-depth orientation for new student veterans prior to the first 

day of classes. The typical ‘‘best practices’’ for this type of orientation tend to focus only on the immediate ‘‘transition to college’’ 

challenges. The Texas A&M VRSC and Career Center took a slightly different approach; we included topics and information that incorporated a longer-term perspective. The Career Center provided 

three presenters to stress the importance of ‘‘connecting’’ with their 

office and employment resources early in their college experience to 

facilitate future employment. 

In addition to partnership activities with the VRSC, the Career 

Center continues to develop and expand their own veteran specific 

programs. They have designated two staff members, both of whom 

have military experience, to advise student veterans. They added 

veteran specific questions to their post-graduation survey to track 

veteran outcomes. In their employment system database, they 

added a flag to tag those recruiters interested in veteran students 

and they also added a flag for veteran students to facilitate easier 

notification of veteran students about employment opportunities. 

They have included student veterans on panels during annual Recruiter Training and during Advisory Council meetings. They have 

marketed existing programs, including a National Security Panel, 

specifically to veteran students. 

In the past year, the staff of the Texas A&M Career Center had 

more than 350 advising contacts with student veterans. In addition, student veterans had more than 400 interviews on campus 

through the Texas A&M Career Center last year. Finally, more 

than 200 student veterans have accessed their online recruiting 

system, ‘‘HireAggies,’’ since the beginning of the fall 2013 semester. 

In February 2014, the Student Government Vice President for 

Veterans Affairs will host OPERATION VET SUCCESS; the 1st 

Annual Texas A&M Student Veteran Career Fair. The mission of 

this event is to improve or build student veterans career preparation skills through the use of a national career fair, workshops, and 

keynote speakers by providing the opportunity to network with national veteran support organizations and veterans enrolled in higher education from across the country. The Texas A&M Career Center has been instrumental in the development of this event. 

The VRSC has established close ties with the local office of both 

the Texas Workforce Commission and the Texas Veterans Commission. We frequently refer students to these offices for employment 

and other assistance. Periodically, the VRSC has invited both TVC 

and TWC employees to campus to meet with students. The VRSC 

used social media to advertise the ‘‘office hours’’ and provided office 


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space for these meetings. Representatives from the Texas Veterans 

Leadership Program have used a similar arrangement to provide 

‘‘one-on-one’’ resume reviews. 

The VRSC has partnered with several university departments to 

explore unique academic, recruiting and employment support. The 

History Department (through funding by the Texas A&M Association of Former Students) is currently teaching a ‘‘Veteran Only’’ 

History class to provide student veterans with the opportunity to 

connect with each other in an academic environment. The VRSC 

has partnered with Mays Business School and the Construction 

Science Department to proactively recruit more veterans to their 

programs. As the Aggie Veteran Network expands, the VRSC will 

seek additional partnerships to assist with recruiting and employment support for our student veterans. We are only just now beginning to understand the potential impact that can be realized 

through our networking and partnerships. 

In addition to full time employment assistance, the VRSC also 

provides student veterans with numerous part time employment 

opportunities that provide financial support while enrolled in classes. The VRSC maintains lists of local businesses (and other campus 

departments) that are actively seeking to hire veterans. These employment opportunities are advertised through the student veteran 

social media channels. The VRSC and the VSO also employ approximately 8 VA work study students on a part time basis to support the activities of both offices. 

As the Director of the VRSC, one of my roles is to serve as the 

co-advisor for the Student Veteran Association (SVA) at Texas 

A&M. In early 2013, we helped to facilitate the expansion and reorganization of the SVA. The leadership structure was expanded 

from five to 22 students. One of the new leadership positions is the 

Student Veteran Employment Liaison Officer. This position is designed to serve as a way for a student SVA leader to help collect 

information (i.e., job leads), advertise and facilitate employment for 

other SVA members. 

As the VRSC develops new programs for the second year, it is 

now evident that a student veteran spouse group or network is in 

high demand. We are currently working with the SVA leaders to 

determine the structure and focus for this effort. Although the final 

details are still under development, it will include aspects of family 

support and resources to include childcare, medical and dental 

services, marriage enrichment, financial planning, housing, and 

spouse employment. 

In August 2013, Texas A&M welcomed our new ‘‘VetSuccess’’ on 

Campus (VSOC) VA counselor. This VA funded position provides 

our students with direct access to the VA. As we develop future 

plans, we are working to determine the most efficient ways to employ this added resource. Although not directly related to future 

employment, the VSOC counselor (in a short two months) has already proven to be a superb advocate for our student veterans as 

she enhances the student’s abilities to receive timely and appropriate VA support. In turn, this helps them focus on their current 

mission: Academic Success! 

In summary, the Texas A&M VRSC is a very new office that is 

just beginning to explore and fully develop programs to better serve 


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student veterans like James Rowin whom I brought with me today. 

In his 10 years in the US Marine Corps Reserve, he deployed to 

Iraq three times and later deployed to the Horn of Africa in a civilian capacity. His wife is a US Army Reserve Officer. Both James 

and his wife are student veterans at Texas A&M. The Rowin’s exemplify another generation of great Americans who have earned 

and deserve our support. As our office grows, we are determined 

to proactively combine and leverage our networks, programs and 

resources to develop innovative best practices that enhance the development of our student veterans who have been, and remain, 

dedicated to serving the greater good. 

Thank you again for providing this opportunity for me and Texas 

A&M to support the efforts to improve programs that directly assist veterans in finding meaningful employment following the completion of their studies. 

Mr. Flores. Thank you, Colonel Smith. Thank all of the panel for 

their testimony. 

I am now going to recognize myself for 5 minutes. This is a question for everyone on the panel, and we will start with you, Dr. 

Bagby. 

The question is this, and that is what recommendations do each 

of your institutions have for Congress to help you better assist the 

veterans that are part of your communities? So, Dr. Bagby? 

Ms. Bagby. Thank you. 

Mr. Flores. And if you could, if you could keep your question to 

a little over a minute, that would be great. 

Ms. Bagby. I have three recommendations to share with you. One, we find that the $1,000 a year for 24 credits book allowance 

oftentimes does not cover the cost of the books. So if there is any 

way that you could increase. 

Our students take at least 12 hours a semester, and many times they are also taking courses in the summer as well. So the $1,000 

certainly does not cover the cost of those textbooks. 

A second issue that we are facing is with the BAH. Right now 

in Texas, in Waco, the veterans get almost $1,100 a month, which 

certainly covers housing allowance living in Waco. But we encourage our vets to do internships, and oftentimes, those internships 

are in cities that are much more costly to live. We have students 

who go into nursing, and our campus in Dallas, the cost of living 

is much more. 

So there could be any stipulation for the VAH when our students 

are temporarily leaving our campus or permanently, as in going to 

the nursing school, if it could be adjusted to that particular city’s 

housing allowance. 

The third recommendation is regarding the Fry Scholarship. The 

Fry Scholarship is for those dependents whose parents was killed 

in action. Currently, the way we understand the legislation, a student who is going to school using the Fry Scholarship is not eligible 

to participate in the Yellow Ribbon program. So, in a sense, they 

are penalized. 

And at Baylor, as I mentioned in my testimony, the GI bill covers 

about one semester at Baylor. So those would be my three recommendations. 

Mr. Flores. Thank you. 


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Ms. Cervantes? 

Ms. Cervantes. I would say she covered all the GI bill things that 

I could have thought of beautifully. VRAP, the Veterans Retraining 

Assistance Program, is currently scheduled to end in April of 2014, 

but there are several bills coming up that may extend it. And if it 

does happen, there are some changes I think that would make it 

more accessible to its target audience, which would be right now 

there is a full-time requirement, and a lot of the folks that we see 

coming in have been out of school for 20 years. 

I mean, and it is just a major culture shock to have them come 

in and be expected to be full-time students. We see quite a lot of 

classes get dropped by these students as they make that adjustment. 

Another thing that would help with VRAP is if those students 

were allowed to do the veterans work study. Currently, they are 

not eligible for it, and they are in the program specifically because 

they are unemployed. And so, it would be very helpful for them to 

have the opportunity to work as work studies at the Texas Veterans Commission, the VA hospital, or even at the schools, if there 

are positions available. 

Mr. Flores. Okay. Mr. Wolaver? 

Mr. Wolaver. Yes, Mr. Chairman. I would recommend that we 

look at the funding mechanisms that veterans have to pay for for 

training in college and try to explore some avenues for flexibility. 

I mentioned our competency-based program, the pilot project. 

Most of those funding models that veterans have access to are 

based on traditional semester credit formats, and we are trying to 

be creative and enhance those opportunities and allow students, 

whether they be veterans or not, but specifically veterans, to 

maybe start at an advanced place, rather than a starting point in 

a training curriculum and to work at their own pace and utilize the 

skills that they have developed while they are in the military toward a credential and us being able to place them in gainful employment. 

And the funding mechanisms don’t always work well with nontraditional sort of curriculum formats. 

Mr. Flores. Colonel Smith? 

Colonel Smith. I would concur with the VAH and the work study 

comments prior. The other one that I would add is priority registration. I saw a list probably 6 or 8 months ago of a lot of national universities that do have priority registration for their student veterans, and a lot of them are in California. And I have been 

told, but I can’t confirm, that it is a State law out there. 

If we can do this for our athletes at nearly every school, we 

should be able to do it for our veterans. And with the way the GI 

bill is set up, they need to get in and be on a certain degree plan 

in order to get those benefits, and we are not making enough 

progress there. 

Thank you. 

Mr. Flores. Those are helpful comments. 

I will now recognize Ranking Member Takano for 5 minutes for 

your questions. 

Mr. Takano. Ny questions are along the lines you have mentioned, Colonel Smith. In California, I do have a background in 


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community colleges, and particularly at the hearings yesterday, 

priority registration was one of the things we highlighted. Along 

with a veterans club, the college district actually allocates $400,000 

a year for its 1,200 veteran student population—with the resource 

center—to actually try to assist veterans. 

My question for all of you is, is there a variance, as you have noticed, between the success rate of your nonveteran student population and your veteran population? Just quickly go on down the 

line, starting with Ms. Bagby. 

Ms. Bagby. No. I don’t—I am hesitating because I want to be 

thoughtful with my answer. 

Mr. Takano. You only have 100 veterans here, right? 

Ms. Bagby. We do. And—— 

Mr. Takano. So it is kind of a small sample. 

Ms. Bagby. It is a small sample. What we are seeing is that 

there are not necessarily inherent challenges with those veterans 

coming to Baylor. But they are a population that is the exception 

at Baylor because they are older. They have had life experiences 

that many of our traditional student population have not had. 

Mr. Takano. Yes. Mindful of the time, I just want to sort of 

quickly move to the public institutions. 

Ms. Cervantes? 

Ms. Cervantes. I would—I don’t have numbers in front of me, but 

I would say that, generally speaking, the veterans tend to be successful. We are an open enrollment school, and so I think that most 

of the time when veterans show up at the door, they are good at 

planning ahead. They are used to having a mission and accomplishing it. 

And so, generally speaking, the ones that I don’t see are the ones 

that I don’t see are the ones who come in, get everything started. 

So I see them that one time. And then they are off. They are off 

and running, and they do well and they finish. 

And either they transfer on to another institution, since we are 

a community college, or they complete their degree, and they are 

out the door. The ones that I see are the ones in my office a lot 

are the ones who are a little more lost. 

But I do think that is a small subset. Generally speaking, I think 

they do well. 

Mr. Takano. Great. Mr. Wolaver? 

Mr. Wolaver. Our students do persist, the veterans do persist at 

a better rate than our nonveteran students. But it is still not to a 

level of satisfaction that we are pleased with at all. 

Colonel Smith. We are just trying to get our arms around some 

of the measurement terms for these nontraditional students. My 

sense is that their academic success and GPA is very consistent 

with traditional students. We are still—we are working with our 

Texas A&M system and other schools to develop better measurements and metrics for this population. 

Mr. Takano. Tell me a little more about your entrepreneurship 

bootcamp for veterans. You say it is completely paid for, no cost to 

the veteran. Tell me more about the financial support that you 

have generated. 

Colonel Smith. Yes, on the financial support, I know there are 

some grants and some other support through Texas A&M. I would 


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have to get back to you on the specifics. This is not my program. 

It is run through the Mays Business School, and it started well before I came back to start opening the center. 

It is about a 2-year process. It is 9 days during the bootcamp, but 

there is a period of time before the bootcamp where they get mentoring and training, and then there is a year follow-on after they 

finish the actual bootcamp itself. So it is a pretty lengthy process 

for them. 

Mr. Takano. Do you know how many students have gone through 

the program? 

Colonel Smith. We have had 95 go through, sir. 

Mr. Takano. And what types of businesses have they opened up? 

They tend to be the kind of—well, you probably don’t know. 

Colonel Smith. Well, I have had the opportunity the last few 

years to set—there are about 20 to 25 students each year, and they 

are all over the vocational map, if you will. It is everything from 

small ventures with water rides down off Galveston Beach to more 

along the lines of some of the businesses that we were talking 

about earlier today. 

Mr. Takano. Perhaps I can connect with whoever is running that 

program to find out more about what they are doing. 

I yield back, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. Flores. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Takano. 

I could tell you the EBV program is funded in a couple of ways. 

Mays Business School puts up some nontaxpayer dollars, and then 

they reach in the pockets of private citizens, private venture, because Gina and I have contributed to that program. Got to be a 

speaker at two of the classes, and it is a great program. 

Mr. Takano. Well, I will talk to you more about it. 

Mr. Flores. Yes. So, Mr. Williams, you are recognized for 5 minutes. 

Mr. Williams. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

And the purpose of my remarks will be basically to encourage all 

of you. You are doing a fantastic job, all of you, and I appreciate 

it greatly. 

Real quick, Dr. Bagby, one of the questions I have is are you— 

do you also focus on getting these men and women into—for an advanced degree or graduate school, too? I mean, is that something 

that you help them with or —— 

Ms. Bagby. Yes. If that is of interest to them. In fact, the president of our Veterans of Baylor student organization is graduating 

in December, and she has already been accepted at NYU to do a 

master’s in public relations. 

Mr. Williams. Well, that is great. 

Ms. Bagby. So we are really proud of her. 

Mr. Williams. You should be. That is great. Well, thanks for your 

work you are doing. 

Ms. Cervantes, you mentioned just briefly, I just want to reinforce how important it is about how you work in helping start their 

own businesses. That is so important because that converts to unemployment and employment and so forth, and I would just encourage you to keep doing that. That is what we need most of all 

right now. 

So thank you for that. 


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And Mr. Wolaver, you are doing a great job. I am familiar with 

everything that you all are doing and so forth, and I just would like 

to reinforce that we do a lot of—as I tell people, we do really great 

in graduating lawyers and business people and so forth. But sometimes we come short on some of the graduates that you are putting 

out. 

And we have about 100,000 kids a year dropping out of school 

in Texas at the ninth grade level because they don’t see any hope 

or whatever. And with the programs you are generating by helping 

these veterans get onboard, I can see the veterans beginning to 

help these 100,000 kids, help employ people. They will start their 

own businesses. They will begin to realize the dream again. 

So you have got a huge opportunity, which you are taking advantage of, and responsibility, frankly, for the future of our country, 

and I want to say thanks. Very important. 

Mr. Wolaver. Thank you, Congressman, for the recognition. 

Mr. Williams. You bet. 

And then, Colonel Smith, thanks for what you are doing. And of 

course, in my world, you hit some key buzz words. And marketing 

is important and how can these young men and women market 

themselves is important because I have found that veterans that 

I deal with, they don’t talk about their service. They are humble. 

And sometimes there has got to be a way to let them be able to 

talk about it because it is big to an employer that they know that. 

So I want to thank you for helping there, and business ownership 

is, again, what we talked about is so important. And I like your 

priority authorization ideas. I think that is something that needs 

to happen. You put it in perspective. And so, I think we are all in 

support of that. 

But that is basically all I want to say. You are doing a great job, 

and you really have the future of our country in your hands, and 

we appreciate it, and we want to help to the extent that we can. 

And you have great ideas that we can be involved with you. So 

thank you, and God bless you. 

I yield back. 

Mr. Flores. Thank you, Mr. Williams. 

And thank the second panel for your testimony. If there is any 

supplemental information you would like to submit in response to 

any of our questions, please do that within 5 days. We will incorporate that with our record, into the record, and also with potential 

activities that the subcommittee may take in the future. 

[The attachment appears] 

Written Testimony of 

Colonel Gerald L. Smith, (USMC) Ret. 

Director, Veteran Resource & Support Center, Texas A&M University 

Before the 

Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity of the House Committee 

on Veterans’ Affairs 

Field Hearing on ‘‘Texas’ Innovative Approaches to Jobs and Employment for Veterans’’ 

November 6, 2013 

Chairman Flores and distinguished members of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity of the House Committee on 


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Veterans’ Affairs, my name is Gerald Smith and I have the privilege of serving as Director of the new Veteran Resource & Support 

Center at Texas A&M University. In addition, I am a retired Colonel with 30 years of service in the US Marine Corps. 

I want to begin by thanking you for the chance to come before 

you today to present testimony on important issues relating to supporting veteran employment. At Texas A&M, we deeply value the 

sacrifice and service of veterans and their families. We appreciate 

this committee’s actions to investigate and focus on innovative 

ways to support meaningful employment for our service men and 

women after they leave the military. 

Today, Texas A&M remains committed to building upon our rich 

military history. Since 1876, Texas A&M has produced thousands 

of commissioned officers and has eight Congressional Medal of 

Honor recipients. No university in the nation (other than the service academies) has contributed more to military service than Texas 

A&M. In our Post 9–11 world, Texas A&M is undeniably veteran 

friendly; hence the large number of active duty personnel and veterans on campus. Currently, the veteran enrollment is approximately 650 students as Texas A&M continues to support veterans 

by enhancing their future employment opportunities through higher education. 

Through a unique and powerful ‘‘dual office partnership,’’ Texas 

A&M offers numerous programs and resources that benefit veterans. We now have two offices designed specifically to support veterans. The Scholarships and Financial Aid Veteran Service Office 

(VSO) is the direct extension of the original Veterans Advisory Office that opened in 1946. To better ‘‘serve well those who have 

served,’’ we opened the Veteran Resource and Support Center 

(VRSC) in 2012. Together, these offices provide a robust capability 

that truly supports our Aggie veterans from ‘‘application to vocation.’’ 

The VSO offers streamlined processing of all federal and state 

educational benefits, deferred tuition pending Veterans Administration (VA) funds, veteran new student orientation, faculty and 

staff mentor training and cross campus referrals that reach campus 

wide. The VSO also identifies and awards scholarships for veterans. We are a partner school with the Pat Tillman Foundation 

and currently have recipients on campus that benefit from that 

scholarship. Recent procedural improvements in the VSO have significantly improved military educational benefit processing to ensure the best possible financial support for both veterans and military dependents. 

The mission of the VRSC is to constantly enhance Texas A&M’s 

‘‘military friendly’’ legacy by identifying, developing and providing 

uniquely tailored resources & programs to students that are: Veterans, Active Duty, Reserve or National Guard, military dependents, survivors and families in order to enrich their holistic development and overall academic success. By embracing the ‘‘application to vocation’’ mindset, we support veteran recruiting and college/career transitions by leveraging our Aggie Core Values to 

‘‘Serve Well Those Who Have Served!’’ 

The VRSC vision is to become ‘‘the Texas A&M System Model 

University’’ and improve our national ranking to truly become the 


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university known for personal, all-inclusive support to Aggie Veterans and their families. As a highly visible institutional single 

point of contact (‘‘one-stop referral shop’’), the VRSC finds new avenues to maximize both TAMU and external resources to ensure 

world class academic and transition support that prepares Aggie 

Vets for future leadership in a global society. In short, as the focal 

point of Aggie Veteran collaboration and support, we foster a new 

sense of Aggie tradition to ‘‘Serve Well Those Who Have Served!’’ 

Using these mission and vision statements as a guide, the VRSC 

has developed and implemented a variety of new programs that enhance veteran recognition, improve health service access, increase 

academic support, connects students with local community resources, and identifies employment opportunities (both full and 

part time). The VRSC was designed to ensure that Texas A&M continues to improve the quality of support as our student veteran 

population increases. 

The VRSC recently launched the Aggie Veteran Network (AVN). 

It is designed to connect Aggie student vets, dependents, military 

families, and veteran faculty/staff with each other and with external organizations. The mission of the AVN is twofold: First, to connect those who are providing, or are willing to provide, resources 

and support to our students. The second part of the AVN mission 

is to link our military affiliated students with high-impact opportunities to support each other and the local community. In the next 

year, the AVN will link with the new Association of Former Student Aggie Veteran & Military Constituent Network. As these programs grow, they will become a foundational and innovative method to effectively link and network current student veterans with 

one of the largest and most active former student organizations in 

the country to promote countless internship and employment opportunities. 

In 2008, the Mays School of Business at Texas A&M University 

introduced the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) which followed on the heels of a successful program 

launch at Syracuse University in 2007. At Texas A&M, EBV is a 

collaboration between the Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship, and the Center for Executive Development and Mays 

Business School. The EBV initiative offers cutting edge, experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management 

to Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines disabled as a result of 

their service supporting operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi 

Freedom. The intent of the program is to open the door to entrepreneurial opportunity for these men and women, developing their 

competencies in the many steps and activities associated with creating and sustaining an entrepreneurial venture. Importantly, the 

program is offered entirely free to qualifying veterans. 

EBV has been a tremendously successful program for our veterans, specifically highlighting the role that entrepreneurship may 

play as a means through which our veterans with disabilities can 

take meaningful steps toward independence. Recent survey data 

highlighted that 66% of the Texas A&M EBV participants (for the 

five year period) had started and continued to grow a business. Of 

these respondents, 87% still had a business in operation at the 


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time they took the survey. Participant comments included the following: 

? ‘‘I have no words that can describe the effect this program has 

made on me. Life-changing is the closest I can think of. Dr. Lester, 

Ashley Crane, and Jennifer Cutler deserve great praise for the 

time and effort spent on the program.’’ 

?‘‘Hands-down one of the best experiences of my life.’’ 

Along with Syracuse University and Texas A&M University the 

program was also adopted by Florida State University, U.C.L.A., 

Purdue University, University of Connecticut, LSU, and Cornell. 

In the first year, the Texas A&M VRSC also started numerous 

other initiatives to fulfill the ‘‘application to vocation’’ mission to 

better support our student veterans (see Attachment A for the complete summary). Many of the VRSC new programs are focused on 

facilitating the veteran transition from the military environment to 

the college campus. These efforts included extensive partnerships, 

workshops, programs, and events that are focused on academic success and ultimately, meaningful employment after graduation. 

To provide an immediate positive impact on the student veteran 

transition and initial academic success, the VRSC developed a series of initiatives in the new ‘‘Aggie Vet Connect Program’’ (see Attachment B for details). As ‘‘non-traditional students,’’ many of our 

veterans were unaware of existing campus and community resources. Aggie Vet Connect was designed to proactively provide student veterans with information about available resources. The elements of Aggie Vet Connect include: New student conference presentations; Vet Camp; Faculty/Staff and Academic Advisor engagement opportunities and student veteran awareness presentations 

and panels; recreational sports/wounded warrior engagement; Peerto-Peer Mentoring Training/Programs; and special events to promote veteran engagement with traditional students. As the VRSC 

prepares for the second year, the initial success of the Aggie Vet 

Connect Programs dictates that these programs will increase in 

both size and scope. 

Within weeks of opening, the VRSC established a new partnership with the Texas A&M Career Center. With the Career Center’s 

dedicated focus on student veteran employment, this partnership 

has continued to strengthen and grow over the past year. This 

partnership has produced a number of effective events and programs to include: 

* One of the first events co-sponsored by these offices was the 

‘‘Boots to Business Suits’’ program. The Career Center invited corporate leaders to discuss the skills valued in veterans, how veterans can be successful in the job search process, how employers 

assist veterans in making the successful transition into their organizations, and how veterans can continue to further their careers. 

As a result of the very positive response from student veteran 

attendees, this type of event will be repeated in the future. 

* Throughout the year, numerous corporations and federal agencies contact either the VRSC or the Career Center to specifically 

discuss veteran internship and future employment opportunities. 

Our offices have developed a systematic plan to ensure that both 

the Career Center and VRSC staffs are represented at these meetings. This partnership allows both offices to better serve both proVerDate Aug 31 2005 11:04 Oct 15, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00071 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\PAT’S DOC\85867.TXT PAT

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spective employers and our student veterans. Additionally, the 

VRSC now confidentially collects information about security clearances previously (or currently) held by student veterans. We are 

rapidly learning how to use this information to better ‘‘connect’’ 

students with clearances to federal agencies and corporations that 

require security clearances for future employment. 

* In August 2013, the VRSC held the first ‘‘Vet Camp’’ to provide 

an in-depth orientation for new student veterans prior to the first 

day of classes. The typical ‘‘best practices’’ for this type of orientation tend to focus only on the immediate ‘‘transition to college’’ 

challenges. The Texas A&M VRSC and Career Center took a slightly different approach; we included topics and information that incorporated a longer-term perspective. The Career Center provided 

three presenters to stress the importance of ‘‘connecting’’ with their 

office and employment resources early in their college experience to 

facilitate future employment. 

In addition to partnership activities with the VRSC, the Career 

Center continues to develop and expand their own veteran specific 

programs. They have designated two staff members, both of whom 

have military experience, to advise student veterans. They added 

veteran specific questions to their post-graduation survey to track 

veteran outcomes. In their employment system database, they 

added a flag to tag those recruiters interested in veteran students 

and they also added a flag for veteran students to facilitate easier 

notification of veteran students about employment opportunities. 

They have included student veterans on panels during annual Recruiter Training and during Advisory Council meetings. They have 

marketed existing programs, including a National Security Panel, 

specifically to veteran students. 

In the past year, the staff of the Texas A&M Career Center had 

more than 350 advising contacts with student veterans. In addition, student veterans had more than 400 interviews on campus 

through the Texas A&M Career Center last year. Finally, more 

than 200 student veterans have accessed their online recruiting 

system, ‘‘HireAggies,’’ since the beginning of the fall 2013 semester. 

In February 2014, the Student Government Vice President for 

Veterans Affairs will host OPERATION VET SUCCESS; the 1st 

Annual Texas A&M Student Veteran Career Fair. The mission of 

this event is to improve or build student veterans career preparation skills through the use of a national career fair, workshops, and 

keynote speakers by providing the opportunity to network with national veteran support organizations and veterans enrolled in higher education from across the country. The Texas A&M Career Center has been instrumental in the development of this event. 

The VRSC has established close ties with the local office of both 

the Texas Workforce Commission and the Texas Veterans Commission. We frequently refer students to these offices for employment 

and other assistance. Periodically, the VRSC has invited both TVC 

and TWC employees to campus to meet with students. The VRSC 

used social media to advertise the ‘‘office hours’’ and provided office 

space for these meetings. Representatives from the Texas Veterans 

Leadership Program have used a similar arrangement to provide 

‘‘one-on-one’’ resume reviews. 


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The VRSC has partnered with several university departments to 

explore unique academic, recruiting and employment support. The 

History Department (through funding by the Texas A&M Association of Former Students) is currently teaching a ‘‘Veteran Only’’ 

History class to provide student veterans with the opportunity to 

connect with each other in an academic environment. The VRSC 

has partnered with Mays Business School and the Construction 

Science Department to proactively recruit more veterans to their 

programs. As the Aggie Veteran Network expands, the VRSC will 

seek additional partnerships to assist with recruiting and employment support for our student veterans. We are only just now beginning to understand the potential impact that can be realized 

through our networking and partnerships. 

In addition to full time employment assistance, the VRSC also 

provides student veterans with numerous part time employment 

opportunities that provide financial support while enrolled in classes. The VRSC maintains lists of local businesses (and other campus 

departments) that are actively seeking to hire veterans. These employment opportunities are advertised through the student veteran 

social media channels. The VRSC and the VSO also employ approximately 8 VA work study students on a part time basis to support the activities of both offices. 

As the Director of the VRSC, one of my roles is to serve as the 

co-advisor for the Student Veteran Association (SVA) at Texas 

A&M. In early 2013, we helped to facilitate the expansion and reorganization of the SVA. The leadership structure was expanded 

from five to 22 students. One of the new leadership positions is the 

Student Veteran Employment Liaison Officer. This position is designed to serve as a way for a student SVA leader to help collect 

information (i.e., job leads), advertise and facilitate employment for 

other SVA members. 

As the VRSC develops new programs for the second year, it is 

now evident that a student veteran spouse group or network is in 

high demand. We are currently working with the SVA leaders to 

determine the structure and focus for this effort. Although the final 

details are still under development, it will include aspects of family 

support and resources to include childcare, medical and dental 

services, marriage enrichment, financial planning, housing, and 

spouse employment. 

In August 2013, Texas A&M welcomed our new ‘‘VetSuccess’’ on 

Campus (VSOC) VA counselor. This VA funded position provides 

our students with direct access to the VA. As we develop future 

plans, we are working to determine the most efficient ways to employ this added resource. Although not directly related to future 

employment, the VSOC counselor (in a short two months) has already proven to be a superb advocate for our student veterans as 

she enhances the student’s abilities to receive timely and appropriate VA support. In turn, this helps them focus on their current 

mission: Academic Success! 

In summary, the Texas A&M VRSC is a very new office that is 

just beginning to explore and fully develop programs to better serve 

student veterans like James Rowin whom I brought with me today. 

In his 10 years in the US Marine Corps Reserve, he deployed to 

Iraq three times and later deployed to the Horn of Africa in a civilVerDate Aug 31 2005 11:04 Oct 15, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00073 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\PAT’S DOC\85867.TXT PAT

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ian capacity. His wife is a US Army Reserve Officer. Both James 

and his wife are student veterans at Texas A&M. The Rowin’s exemplify another generation of great Americans who have earned 

and deserve our support. As our office grows, we are determined 

to proactively combine and leverage our networks, programs and 

resources to develop innovative best practices that enhance the development of our student veterans who have been, and remain, 

dedicated to serving the greater good. 

Thank you again for providing this opportunity for me and Texas 

A&M to support the efforts to improve programs that directly assist veterans in finding meaningful employment following the completion of their studies. 

Mr. Flores. So you are now dismissed. We will change panels. 

Some of us on the dais may leave for a couple of minutes, and then 

we will come back and get ready for the third panel. 

[Recess.] 

Mr. Flores. I would like to recognize the third panel and continue 

with our hearing this morning. The third panel consists of Chairman Andres Alcantar, with the Texas Workforce Commission, and 

Mr. Shawn Deabay, with the Texas Veterans Commission. 

Each of you will be recognized for 5 minutes, and we will begin 

with Chairman Alcantar. I would like to remind everybody the 

green light means that the timer has started. The yellow light 

means you have a minute left, and the red light means that you 

need to wrap up pretty quickly. 

So, Chairman Alcantar, let us start with you. 

STATEMENT OF ANDRES ALCANTAR 

Mr. Alcantar. Thank you. Good morning, Chairman Flores, 

Ranking Member Takano, and Congressman Williams. 

I am Andres Alcantar, chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission. Thank you for the opportunity to offer testimony and appear 

before this committee. 

The Texas Workforce Commission partners with 28 local boards, 

including Workforce Solutions for the Heart of Texas that serves 

the Waco area, and fellow State agencies, such as the Texas Veterans Commission, to provide a broad range of employment, job 

training, and related services to our veterans. All veterans walking 

through the doors at our Workforce Solutions offices across the 

State receive priority of service across employment and support 

service programs. 

These programs include the Employment Services Program, 

Workforce Investment Act, TANF, SNAP, child care, and other support services. This priority of service extends to TWC’s work in 

Texas.com, the State’s largest database for job matching and with 

a 2-day hold for veterans on all postings to ensure veterans receive 

first viewing and the opportunity for applying. 

We are also a partner in Texas’ dedicated Web site, the Texas 

Veterans Portal, where veterans, family members, and survivors 

can find helpful information from across a number of governmental 

agencies. 

To demonstrate our commitment to assisting veterans, let me 

take a few minutes to highlight a handful of programs at TWC. 

First, and happening next week, TWC, in partnership with our 


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boards and TVC will host in 27 cities across the State the Hiring 

Red, White, and You veterans jobs fairs on November 14th. Last 

year’s initial event of the Hiring Red, White, and You campaign attracted 12,000 veterans, 1,400 employers statewide, and resulted in 

approximately 2,800 veterans being hired by participating employers. We hope to exceed those numbers this year. 

Military veterans possess the skills, discipline, and leadership 

that employers are looking for. The Hiring Red, White, and You effort connects veterans with employers in order to help these individuals successfully transition to civilian life through employment. 

Another exciting program we have developed in Texas is College 

Credit for Heroes. Established by the 82nd Texas legislature with 

the support of Governor Perry and members of the legislature, the 

College Credit for Heroes initiative aims to maximize the amount 

of college credit that our veterans receive for their prior military 

training and occupational experience, reducing the amount of time 

that a veteran has to spend in the classroom. That is at the heart 

of this effort. 

In July 2001, TWC and the Higher Ed Coordinating Board began 

working on this initiative with seven community colleges in Texas. 

Central Texas College developed an integral part of the effort, a 

Web-based application for veterans and service members to receive 

college credit for this prior military training and education. 

Veterans using this application are receiving an average of 25 

college credits per evaluation, equivalent to almost a year of college. As of October 1, 2013, the Web site has received over 30,000 

visits and has 17,000 veteran and service member account holders 

and have requested almost 2,000 evaluations for college credits. 

Recently, the program was expanded to include six new partner 

schools. In addition, four of the originating institutions were 

awarded additional funding to continue developing innovative programs. 

Just last month, the Texas A&M system and all the universities 

operating under this system joined the program and signed agreements committing to review all the transcript evaluations used to 

award college credit to veterans and service members for their 

prior training. We now have 30 colleges and universities participating in this initiative. 

Texas has a high concentration of veterans, an estimated 1.7 million, and was 1 of 4 States selected to develop a national model for 

partnering with the Army and the workforce system to address unemployment. The State of Texas Soldier Employment Initiative was 

developed to find new ways to outreach and provide access to jobs 

and reemployment service for our veterans. 

In June 2002, the Texas Workforce Commission was awarded the 

grant. We are working hard to reduce the amount of time it takes 

for our veterans to reconnect and make a successful transition. 

In closing, I want to recognize the commitment of our 28 local 

boards to serve our veterans, all of which make our veterans a priority population that they serve, including here through the Heart 

of Texas Workforce Solutions. Workforce Solutions in central Texas, 

for example, has a business resource center jointly developed with 

the Central Texas College, Greater Killeen Chamber of Commerce, 


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and has worked hard to develop small and start-up business opportunities for our veterans. 

Another example is in the Upper Rio Grande where our local 

board there is partnering with Fort Bliss. The Texas Workforce 

Commission recognizes that the State of Texas can lead the way for 

the Nation in assisting veterans. This is an ongoing effort that requires many partners, and it is a key component of how we do 

business. 

These men and women have served our country, and we are 

proud of them and recognize the service they and their families 

have made. Our veterans have real-world experience and the education that are needed by employers, employers that are working 

hard to create opportunities all across many industries that we 

have in this State. 

And our veterans will be a key to continuing the success that we 

have been able to generate. And it has allowed Texas to be the best 

place to live, to work, and to do business. 

Thank you for the opportunity to allow me to testify before this 

committee. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Alcantar] 

Oral Testimony of Andres Alcantar, Chairman, Texas Workforce 

Commission 

U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity 

‘‘Texas’ Innovative Approaches to Jobs and Employment for Veterans’’ 

November 6, 2013 

Good morning Chairman Flores, Ranking Member Takano and 

distinguished members of the Subcommittee. I am Andres 

Alcantar, Chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission. Thank 

you for the opportunity to offer testimony and appear before this 

committee. 

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) partners with 28 Local 

Workforce Development Boards (Boards) and fellow state agencies 

such as the Texas Veterans Commission (TVC) to provide a broad 

range of employment, job training and related services to our veterans. All veterans walking through the doors at our workforce solutions offices across the state receive priority of service across employment and support service programs. These programs include 

Employment Services, Workforce Investment Act, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition and 

Assistance Program (SNAP), Child Care and other support services. This priority of service extends to TWC’s WorkInTexas.com, 

the state’s largest database for matching job seekers with employers, with a two day veteran hold on all postings to ensure veterans 

receive first viewing and the opportunity for applying. We are also 

a partner in Texas’ dedicated website, Texas Veterans Portal, 

where veterans, families, and survivors can find helpful information from across a number of government agencies. 

To further demonstrate our commitment to assisting veterans, 

let me take a few minutes to highlight a handful of programs at 

TWC. First and happening next week, TWC in partnership with 

our Boards and TVC will host in 27 cities across the state ‘‘Hiring 


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Red, White and You!’’ veteran job fairs on November 14th. Last 

year’s event attracted more than 12,000 veterans and 1,400 employers statewide, and resulted in approximately 2,800 hires by 

participating employers. We hope to exceed those numbers this 

year. 

Military veterans possess the skills, discipline and leadership experience that are ideally suited to employers in need of a ready and 

available workforce. The ‘‘Hiring Red, White & You!’’ effort connects veterans with employers in order to help these individuals 

successfully transition to civilian life through employment. 

Another exciting program we have developed in Texas is College 

Credit for Heroes. Established by the 82nd Texas Legislature, the 

College Credit for Heroes initiative aims to maximize the amount 

of college credit that our heroes receive for their military training 

and occupational experience, reducing the amount of time a veteran spends in the classroom. 

In July 2011, TWC and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) began working on this initiative with seven 

colleges. Central Texas College developed an integral part of the effort - www.collegecreditforheroes.org - a web-based application for 

veterans and service members to receive college credit hours for 

prior military education and training via an official transcript. Veterans utilizing this application are receiving an average of 25 college credits per evaluation, equivalent to almost one year of college. 

As of October 1, 2013, the website has received over 30,000 visits 

and has 17,000 veteran and service member account holders who 

have requested almost 2,000 evaluations for college credit. 

Recently, the program expanded to include 6 new partner 

schools. In addition, four of the originating institutions were 

awarded additional funding to expand their offerings to veteran 

students. Just last month, the Texas A&M System and all universities operating under the System joined the program and signed 

agreements committing to review all the transcript evaluations 

used to award college credit to veterans and service members for 

their military training. We now have 30 colleges and universities 

participating in the initiative. 

Texas has a high concentration of veterans in our state, an estimated 1.7 million and was one of four states selected to develop a 

national model for partnerships between the Army and the workforce system, including Unemployment Compensation. The State of 

Texas Soldier Employment Initiative was developed to find new 

ways to outreach and provide access to jobs and reemployment 

services to recipients of Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Service Members (UCX) and, where possible, to reduce the duration of 

the receipt of UCX benefits. In June 2012, the Texas Workforce 

Commission was awarded the grant. 

The focus of the grant is to provide enhanced outreach and employment services that lead to employment before or shortly after 

soldiers separate from active duty. A major part of the overall 

strategy is to build and enhance partnerships between participating entities, improve data sharing, and develop innovative outreach and reemployment strategies for the Veteran population. The 

overriding goal of the pilot program is to provide meaningful emVerDate Aug 31 2005 11:04 Oct 15, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00077 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\PAT’S DOC\85867.TXT PAT

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ployment that gives the financial freedom that former service members need to provide for themselves and their families. 

In closing, I want to recognize the commitment of our 28 local 

Boards to serve our veterans, and highlight the efforts of two local 

boards with military bases in their territory. First, Workforce Solutions of Central Texas has a Business Resource Center jointly supported through a unique partnership of Central Texas College, 

Greater Killeen Chamber of Commerce, and Workforce Solutions of 

Central Texas. The Business Resource Center provides small and 

start-up business development guidance, services, and workshops. 

Veterans benefit from counseling and training for entrepreneurship 

and small business ownership. Two of the initiatives include the 

Fort Hood Veterans Entrepreneur Bootcamp and the Fort Hood Region Government Vendor Conference & Exposition. 

Another example is underway by our Upper Rio Grande Workforce Board. In September, Board staff met with the Transition 

Manager at Fort Bliss to discuss how to work better together in 

matching employers with soldiers and family members. On October 

16th, the Board provided its mobile unit and staff to assist soldiers 

and family members at the Fort Bliss job fair. 

The Texas Workforce Commission recognizes that the State of 

Texas can lead the way for the nation in assisting veterans. This 

is an ongoing effort that requires many partners working together 

to ensure that veterans’ needs are being fully addressed. These 

men and women have served their country, and we are proud of 

them and recognize the sacrifice they and their families have made. 

Our veterans have real world experience, leadership skills, and 

education. Their military contributions kept our nation secure, and 

now their contributions and talents as veterans will continue to 

make Texas the best place to live, work and do business. Thank 

you for allowing me to testify and I look forward to answering any 

questions. 

Mr. Flores. Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, Chairman 

Alcantar. 

Mr. Deabay, you are recognized for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF SHAWN DEABAY 

Mr. Deabay. Good morning, Mr. Chairman Flores, Ranking Member Takano, and committee members. 

My name is Shawn Deabay. I am the Director of Veterans Employment Services for the Texas Veterans Commission. I have been 

in Veterans Employment Services for close to 14 years and an 

Army veteran. 

I am accompanied by Duncan McGhee, who is also an Army veteran with 30 years private sector experience, and he is our Veteran 

Entrepreneur Program Manager and also a U.S. Army veteran. 

The Texas Veterans Commission has four major programs— 

Claims Representation and Counseling, Education, Grant Funding, 

and the Veterans Employment Program. We also, within those four 

programs, have two initiatives. One is the Women Veterans Initiative and also the Veteran Entrepreneur Program. 

So what we have done and we would like to do with the Texas 

Veterans Commission is find out what the need is in Texas for veterans, and what we learned was that veterans who want to start 


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their own business found it very confusing, very difficult to maneuver through the process of starting their own business and to realize all of the resources that out there for them to utilize to start 

their own business. 

So April 2012, we launched a Veteran Entrepreneur Program 

with Duncan, and what he is doing is trying to bridge that gap between those resources and the veterans. He has held seven seminars. Those seven seminars have resulted in 1,000 veterans being 

assisted towards veterans owning their own business. 

He also provides one-on-one counseling services for them to include helping with business plans, just learning what need is of the 

veteran and doing his best to help them accomplish what they 

want to accomplish as far as starting their own business. Because 

of his success, the Veteran Entrepreneur Program was officially 

started on the 83rd Texas legislative session. 

There is another phase to the entrepreneur program, which includes a Business Basics 101 course. We are investigating several 

existing curriculum sources and engaging with several Texas State 

universities in creating this curriculum, and Duncan will be able 

to answer any questions you have about the next phase and where 

we are going with the entrepreneur program. 

Now Veterans Employment Services, you probably know them as 

LVERs and DVOPs, the JVSG grant that all the States get from 

Department of Labor and Vets. Basically, we call them job coaches 

here in Texas. They help the veteran with whatever that need is, 

whether it is translating military skills, helping with resumes, application assistance, direct placement. Whatever that need is, that 

veteran that we serve, is what we try to do for them. 

We also don’t wait for veterans to come in and see us. We are 

very aggressive. We feel we should see as many veterans as we 

possibly can and provide high-quality services to them. What 

makes them successful is the one-on-one aspect of the job. They 

don’t—we don’t just rely on automated services, but we provide 

that one-on-one assistance. 

From those job coaches, or LVERs and DVOPs, we have taken 

four and made them veterans business representatives. Their number-one mission is to outreach to employers to help them with their 

hiring needs. So we help the veteran, but we also want to help the 

employers. 

And again, we want to identify the need. So what employers tell 

us a lot is we want to hire veterans, but we do now know where 

they are. How do we get them? That is where we come in. 

We can work with our job coaches, who see approximately 60,000 

veterans a year, and help those link up. They can also help them 

with their resume, make sure it is what the employer wants as far 

as skills, education level, and experience, and make sure that the 

veteran possesses those skills. 

2011 and 2012, the four business representatives helped employers with 1,428 jobs, resulting in 2,189 veteran resumes and applications to be reviewed by employers. That contributed to the overall success of the last 12-month period of 32,224 veterans locating 

and having employment, with 84.02 percent retaining employment. 

So we are very proud of that. 


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Since the inception of the VBR program, our quality of our services has gone up. In other words, the number of veterans we see, 

there is a higher percentage of those finding employment. 

In closing, I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak to 

you about what the Texas Veterans Commission is doing. Again, 

our goal is to serve as many veterans as possible. With so many 

transitioning service members coming back and will be coming 

back, we owe it to our Nation’s heroes to do the very best that we 

possibly can. 

And I just want to thank you very much for this opportunity. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Deabay] 

Good Morning, Chairman Flores, Ranking Member Takano and 

Members of the Subcommittee. On behalf of our Chairman, Eliseo 

‘‘Al’’ Cantu, and the Commissioners of the Texas Veterans Commission, I would like to thank the Subcommittee for this opportunity 

to testify before you today and for your interest in the efforts the 

state of Texas has undertaken in order to serve the 1.7 million Veterans in our state. 

My name is Shawn Deabay and I have the privilege of serving 

as the Director of Veterans Employment Services at the Texas Veterans Commission. As such, I am responsible for the management 

and execution of the Jobs for Veterans State Grant (JVSG) from 

the U.S. Department of Labor Veteran Employment and Training 

Services (DOL–VETS) for the state of Texas. I also provide oversight to our new Veterans Entrepreneur Program (VEP). 

Joining me today is Mr. Duncan McGhee, the Program Manager 

for the Veterans Entrepreneur Program (VEP). A veteran of the 

United States Army, Duncan brings over 30 years of private sector 

experience as a ‘‘serial entrepreneur’’ prior to building this new 

program at the Texas Veterans Commission. 

TEXAS VETERANS COMMISSION 

The Texas Veterans Commission is the Veterans advocacy agency 

for the state of Texas. Our mission is to advocate for and provide 

superior service to Veterans in the areas of claims assistance, employment services, education, and grant funding that will significantly improve the quality of life for all Texas Veterans, their families and survivors. The Texas Veterans Commission provides these 

services through four program areas: Claims Representation and 

Counseling, Veterans Employment Services, Veterans Education 

Program, and the Fund for Veterans’ Assistance. Additionally, the 

Texas Veterans Commission has three initiatives that connect Veterans with services: Veterans Communication and Outreach, 

Women Veterans Initiative, and the Veterans Entrepreneur Program. 

No other state has centralized all of these program areas within 

their state’s Veterans agency. Texas is becoming recognized for aggressively leading on Veteran issues. National leaders have referred to the ‘‘Texas-model’’ when advocating for the integration of 

Veterans services. This integration allows the agency to remain 

Veteran focused, with no competing priorities. 

VETERANS EMPLOYMENT SERVICES (VES) 

The Texas Veterans Commission offers employment services to 

all Veterans in Texas through our Veterans Employment Services 


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(VES) program. The goal of these services is to match Veteran job 

seekers with the best opportunities available. In addition, employers are matched with qualified Veterans. 

Veterans Employment Representatives (VER) provides a full 

range of employment services. VERs are specifically trained to assist Veterans with job applications, resume preparation, job matching, job searches, and other employment services. VES has 152 

VERs located in 92 Workforce Centers in 75 cities throughout 

Texas to provide one-on-one assistance to Veterans. 

Approximately 99% of funding for VES is provided through a federal grant from the Department of Labor, Veterans’ Employment 

and Training Services (DOL–VETS), with additional state General 

Revenue to support three (3) FTEs for the Family Employment Assistance Counselor (FEAC) program. Under this grant program, 

funds are allocated to TVC in direct proportion to the number of 

Veterans seeking employment within their state. 

VETERAN BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVES (VBRs) 

To help Texas Veterans get back to work or into better jobs, 

there must be a substantial coordination with employers. Providing 

support to employers creates more opportunities to better serve 

Veterans. Helping employers fill job vacancies provides the greatest 

potential to positively affect employer relations and improve the 

well-being of all Veterans. 

Through media coverage and active marketing, TVC has been inundated with employer phone calls and email correspondence from 

across Texas and the nation, eager to hire skilled Veterans. Because of this increased demand TVC expanded the Business Outreach Program to four positions, in 2011, and designating them as 

Veterans Business Representatives (VBR). The VBR’s are strategically located in Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, San Antonio and Austin and are vested in building relationships with large companies 

and influential Texas employers in an effort to promote the hiring 

of highly qualified Veterans. They work hand in hand with Texas 

Workforce Commission business service units (BSU) to outreach to 

employers and employer organizations such as SHRM and local 

chambers of Commerce. 

A VBR is an advocate for job-seeking Veterans, through employer 

outreach activities. VBRs use employer outreach as a tool to promote the advantages of hiring Veterans to employers and employer 

groups. The focus of the program is on marketing job seeking Veterans/eligible spouses as individuals who have highly marketable 

skills and experience. 

VBRs advocate for Veterans with business, industry, and other 

community-based organizations by participating in a variety of outreach activities such as: 

? Planning and participating in job and career fairs. 

? Coordinating with unions, apprenticeship programs, and business organizations to promote employment and training programs 

for Veterans. 

? Informing Federal contractors of their responsibility to recruit 

and re-train qualified Veterans. 

? Promoting credentialing and licensing opportunities. 

In 2011 and 2012, the VBRs helped employers recruit for 1,428 

jobs. This resulted in 2,819 Veteran resumes being reviewed by emVerDate Aug 31 2005 11:04 Oct 15, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00081 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\PAT’S DOC\85867.TXT PAT

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ployers. Over the next few years the military will continue to draw 

down troops at an unprecedented level in an economically challenging situation. The VBR program is bridging the gap between 

job-seeking Veterans and employers that are eager for Veteran employees. 

VETERAN ENTREPRENEUR PROGRAM 

There is another innovative component to meeting the Veteran 

employment need in Texas. In April 2012, the Texas Veterans 

Commission launched a pilot project to focus on promoting entrepreneurship among veterans which has hosted a series of seven 

seminars throughout the state and assisted over 1,000 Veterans towards entrepreneurship. 

Based upon this highly successful pilot project, the Veteran Entrepreneur Program, was formally established by passage of Senate 

Bill 1476, authored by State Senator Royce West, during the 83rd 

Regular Session of the Texas Legislature. State Representative 

Ralph Sheffield, who also sponsored the legislation in the Texas 

House, successfully secured funding in the state budget to fund this 

new program. 

The purpose of the Veteran Entrepreneur Program is to foster 

and promote Veteran Entrepreneurship throughout the state of 

Texas. 

Today’s Veterans are poised to be the backbone of a new generation of small businesses that can quickly build a sustainable new 

jobs base in Texas. Veterans are eager to build for themselves, 

their families, and their Veteran employees, long-term careers and 

secure retirements through small business ownership. 

The goal of Veteran Entrepreneur Program is to create a 

veritable army of Veteran Entrepreneurs throughout the state of 

Texas. These Veteran Entrepreneur businesses will add value to 

the communities where they are established and create employment opportunities for other Veterans. 

The Veteran Entrepreneur Program is delivering value to Veterans and the state of Texas in the following ways: 

1) Bridging the gap between the available resources and Veteran 

Entrepreneurs. Through the Veteran Entrepreneur Seminar series 

and in response to requests from individual Veterans the Entrepreneur Program is connecting Veteran Entrepreneurs with community resources, funding sources and sources of continuing education. 

2) Providing one-on-one business guidance and counseling. Veteran Entrepreneurs contact the Veteran Entrepreneur Program 

seeking answers to a broad array of business challenges across an 

amazing spectrum. From a mere introduction to simple business 

ideas to complex strategies for expanding and growing a business 

the Veteran Entrepreneur Program meets the challenge and, in 

every case to date, has exceeded expectations. 

3) Conducting Seminars. The Veteran Entrepreneur Program 

conducts a series of seminars around the state that provide a onestop-shopping experience where Veterans and a broad array of resources come together under one roof. Veterans are not only able 

to have their specific questions answered in this forum, they also 

enjoy the advantage of hearing their fellow Veteran Entrepreneurs 


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interface with the resources and are exposed to new ideas and concepts in the process. 

To date, the Veteran Entrepreneur Program has attained phenomenal success on a limited budget. From April of 2012 until now, 

the program has operated with a single, dedicated resource and 

achieved the following documented successes of veterans served: 

Business Plan Assistance 17 

Financing & Structure 38 

Resource Information 1,146 

Total 1,201 

The Texas Veterans Commission Veteran Entrepreneur Program 

will continue to provide the services outlined above but currently 

is developing the next phase; a ‘‘Business Basics 101’’ course. This 

will be an application driven program wherein Veteran Entrepreneurs will enter the Program with an idea and leave with the 

tools, knowledge and funding necessary for successful business 

ownership. 

The Veteran Entrepreneur Program is investigating several existing curriculum sources and engaging several Texas state universities in the creation of entrepreneur curriculum. 

CLOSING 

The state of Texas is leading on Veteran issues. The Governor, 

Lieutenant Governor, and the Texas Legislature demonstrated 

their commitment to the Veterans of Texas this past legislative session by passing a number of key legislative initiatives for Veterans 

and by obligating significant funding for programs to assist Veterans in our state. State leaders deserve recognition for taking bold 

actions to serve the Veterans of our state. 

Veterans in Texas are also served by an active Congressional delegation that continually seeks to improve the services and benefits 

provided to them. 

Our goal at the Texas Veterans Commission is to assist as many 

Veterans as we can while continuing to provide high-quality services. There will be thousands of military service men and women 

coming home over the next few years, which will increase the need 

for our services. We owe it to our nation’s heroes to assist them 

with their employment needs when they come home. Employment 

stabilizes Veterans and their family’s lives allowing them to make 

the difficult transition from military to civilian life. 

Again, I want to thank you for the opportunity to testify before 

you today. Thank you for the work are doing, and will do, on behalf 

of Texas Veterans, and all Veterans, of this nation’s Armed Forces. 

ELISEO ‘‘AL’’ CANTU, JR., Major, US Army (Retired), Chairman 

DANIEL P. MORAN, Captain, USMC (Retired) Member 

JAMES H. SCOTT, Colonel, USAF (Retired) Vice Chairman 

J.K. ‘‘JAKE’’ ELLZEY, Commander, US Navy (Retired) Member 

REV. RICHARD McLEON IV, US Army Veteran Secretary 

TEXAS VETERANS COMMISSION 

THOMAS P. PALLADINO, Colonel, US Army (Retired) Executive 

Director 

Mr. Flores. Thank you, Mr. Deabay. 

I thank the third panel for their testimony. 

I now recognize myself for 5 minutes for questions. Chairman 

Alcantar, tell us a little bit about the success of last year’s Red, 


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White, and You job fairs, and what do you have planned for this 

coming week? 

Mr. Alcantar. I am really proud of the way our local boards have 

worked with our local partners. These veterans job fairs are free 

of charge. They are free of charge to the employer. The whole goal 

is to make sure that we help our veterans make a successful transition. 

Twenty-seven locations across the State on the same day last 

year, the week of Veterans Day, like we are doing again this year 

November 14th, we had over 1,400 employers that hired over 2,800 

veterans or their spouses. Because we are not only targeting veterans, we understand the commitment and sacrifice of the spouses. 

And in addition to making these fairs available, we also have for 

them opportunities for them to take advantage of our Skills for 

Veterans program and connect them with the other services that 

we have available through our One-Stops all across the State. 

Mr. Flores. Okay. Thank you. 

Mr. Deabay, tell us a little bit about the services that are provided by the veterans benefits representatives that provide the 

local veteran employment representative, or LVERs. What do they 

provide that LVERs don’t provide? Can you walk me through that? 

And you know, here is kind of where I am going. It seems like 

to some of us on the subcommittee that we need to change the— 

that DOL should change the mission of LVERs to match the more 

successful model that you use. Can you walk us through that? 

Mr. Deabay. Right. So our LVERs, they do provide services to 

veterans, and I only have—only, I know, 152. But Texas is a very 

large State. So they serve a lot of veterans. 

What the business representatives are able to do is solely focus 

their purpose on helping employers and then being able to leverage 

the LVERs and DVOPs in the field to help supply. What would not 

work is to have the veterans business representatives go to employers and then come back without those veterans to be able to refer 

to them and be able to source them. 

So the LVERs take care of the—they also outreach to employers, 

but not to the scale of a veterans business representative. So the 

LVERs will handle maybe the smaller, the more localized companies while the veterans business representatives are regionally 

placed so they can look at the larger companies and what their 

overall need is to hire veterans. 

Mr. Flores. Okay. Thank you. 

And then, Mr. Deabay, talk a little bit more about the Texas 

model and the benefits to having all the—all your services under 

one roof, all your services for veterans under one roof. 

Mr. Deabay. Yes, well, when veterans come into the workforce 

center, we partner with, obviously the workforce commission and 

the local boards. There is—employment is the end game, but there 

is a lot of obstacles before you get to being employment ready. 

To be able to have our claims counseling, to have our education, 

to know all of the grants that we provide to help veterans get 

through all of the tough times to get to employment. At the end 

of the day, we are there to help with employments. But to have everything within the veterans commission is so helpful to have all 


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those resources to help them overcome those obstacles to get them 

employment ready faster. 

Mr. Flores. Okay. And Chairman Alcantar, do you have the results of the Texas Soldier Employment Initiative, and how has that 

program reduced the reliance on UCX benefits? 

Mr. Alcantar. Well, the progress to date is very promising. The 

goal is to really connect our veterans, as they are returning home, 

a little bit faster. 

And through our partnership with TVC and with the four boards 

that we are working together that are participating in this grant, 

we have been able to reduce the amount of time that our veterans 

are receiving unemployment from around approximately 24 weeks 

to around 19 weeks. It is a very positive trend. 

We continue to find ways to take advantage of all of our other 

competencies related to translating working with the soldiers prior 

to their release, working with the veterans after they have released 

to really identify and connect them to the different services that we 

have available through our One-Stops. I think that is a very positive model. 

Yet the merging of our infrastructure in a way that benefits the 

core competencies that TVC brings into it really is at the heart of 

this integrated model that at its core basis has alignment with the 

employers in different industries in these different communities, 

really generating the results that we are looking for. 

The best part of this partnership is that we are engaging and 

doing these very thoughtful, aligned solutions in communities 

where Texas is creating jobs, and they are creating jobs across all 

of our major industries, and that is a positive trend. 

Mr. Flores. Thank you. 

Mr. Takano, you are recognized for 5 minutes for questions. 

Mr. Takano. Mr. Deabay, can you just elaborate a little more on 

your entrepreneur program? How many veterans have started businesses after attending the Veteran Entrepreneur Program? 

Mr. Deabay. Okay. I would like to yield to Mr. McGhee. 

Mr. McGhee. Thank you very much. 

Duncan McGhee, with the Texas Veterans Commission Veteran 

Entrepreneur Program. 

There is no way to know exactly how many because there are so 

many resources that are provided. I have helped over 1,300 veterans with regard to information, but the individuals that I have 

had direct contact with in terms of helping them with business 

plans, helping them start their businesses, helping them to find 

funding. I say I have started—that is being arrogant. 

I have assisted more than 22 businesses getting launched that I 

know for a fact that I have had a hand in helping. 

Mr. Takano. What type of businesses are those they have 

launched? 

Mr. McGhee. That is a great question. It is across the board. 

There is businesses that, quite frankly, I would never do in a lifetime. I have spent 30 years as a serial entrepreneur, and I helped 

one gentleman start a tour company, a bicycle tour company in 

downtown Houston. 

If you know the traffic in Houston and you make that connection, 

that is a bit of—that is something I just couldn’t see myself doing, 


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quite frankly. But on the other end of the spectrum, but I have 

helped him get started, helped him get capitalized with his business plan, and they are actually very successful. They broke even 

in 6 months, and they are doing phenomenal. So, yay. 

The flip side of that is I helped another business down in the 

what is called the Eagle Ford Shale to generate capital with a 

trucking business. They wanted to expand their business and add 

trucks, dump trucks. So I helped them to create a business plan, 

identify the market, make the market granular and pursue 

$200,000 in capital for that business. 

So there is really no one set business. It is really veterans who 

are coming out today have this amazing vision, if you will, for what 

it is they want to do and what they want to accomplish. What they 

don’t have is they don’t have the business acumen and experience 

to take those ideas and put them into a solid plan, and that is what 

we do. 

Mr. Takano. I see from the written testimony that you have the 

intention to develop a Business 101 course. 

Mr. McGhee. That is correct. 

Mr. Takano. And it looks like it is in conjunction with a number 

of different Texas institutions. 

Mr. McGhee. Well, we interfaced with a number of institutions 

to see if we could help them or have them help us create a curriculum. That didn’t turn out the way we had hoped it would in 

terms of that dialogue. So I am in the process of creating a curriculum myself. 

I worked with a number of CDFIs, community development financial institutions. They have agreed to capitalize any of the businesses that go through our program with a minimum of $20,000 at 

a 5 percent loan rate and up to as much as $100,000 depending on 

the value proposition. 

So what we are doing right now, what I am doing right now is 

taking—building a curriculum that over the course of 6 to 8 weeks, 

based on weekends, I can bring veterans in and do a very crash 

course, down and dirty, ‘‘this is what you do.’’ I mean, very granular, but very quick get them through this process. 

And then at the end of that process, it will be a shark tank sort 

of an event where they know they have $20,000. But if they want 

more, then they will have to go, you know, they will have to do the 

shark tank thing to make it happen. 

Mr. Takano. So I essentially see growing of the effort to provide 

some sort of training or education on the basics of running the 

business, and then trying to connect veterans with some sort of 

start-up capital? 

Mr. McGhee. That is correct. 

Mr. Takano. Do you see a need to organize this more coherently? 

Mr. McGhee. I do. There is a number of things. There is a number of things that we could do. You know, one is to do it coherently, 

absolutely. 

I have veterans from across the country, quite frankly, that are 

contacting me. I have veterans from California. I have veterans 

from Florida, from all around the country who are contacting me, 

going, ‘‘Can you help me with my business?’’ And the answer is, 

‘‘Yes, I can.’’ 


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I have developed a process. It is a very clean, very simple process. It is 10 steps for starting your business. There is resources 

that are localized to those veterans that can help them through 

that process. 

But if there are some sort of way to standardize that across the 

country, then there obviously would be somewhat better. And there 

is a number of things that we could do at the Federal level that 

are very, very simple modifications that would yield huge results. 

For example, if you look at the GI bill, if we made just a modest, 

modest change to the post 9/11 GI bill, we could make some mods 

there, too. 

Mr. Takano. Mr. McGhee, I am sorry. My time is up. 

Mr. McGhee. Thank you. 

Mr. Takano. And I hope that through written testimony or personal contact with our offices to find out more about this. 

Mr. McGhee. I will be happy to do so. 

Mr. Flores. You have 30 seconds remaining or so —— 

Mr. Takano. Yes, Mr. Chairman, if you would indulge me. If you 

would elaborate more on these simple Federal fixes? 

Mr. McGhee. Sure. Again, as I said, post 9/11. If you take a look 

at post 9/11, as an example, it has a provision for on-the-job training. For those individuals who don’t want to pursue a traditional 

education, there is on-the-job training. 

But that on-the-job training pretty much, by virtue of the way it 

is structured, precludes you from leveraging that for a franchise. So 

we have had lots of conversation today about franchises. But if I 

were a post 9/11 veteran and I were to come into a franchise organization and then use that training as part of my on-the-job training, at the end of that, I would basically have $17,000. That could 

go a long way towards this. 

The other thing that we could do from a pure entrepreneur perspective is if we look at some of the Federal contracts we do, a real 

good example of that would be if you were to look at the U.S. 

Army’s military installation and contracting command, they have 

an advance—they have a spreadsheet that shows you all the various contracts that are coming up for Federal contracts within the 

military posts. 

In Texas alone, we have Fort Sam, Fort Bliss, Fort Hood, and 

that is over—there is over $3 billion in contracts that are available, 

but less than 1 percent are for veteran businesses. And even that 

1 percent, that 1 percent is only 3 contracts that are very unique. 

There are things on those military posts like lawn maintenance 

that I could put my hand on two dozen veteran businesses tomorrow that could do that contract, yet that is not set aside for them 

or that is not for veteran businesses. It is for a small business, 

which is great. But there ought to be some allocation, in my opinion, for veterans, especially when you are looking at military installations. 

And then the third thing that we could take a look at is how we 

are spending dollars, or how the Federal Government is spending 

dollars today in those various—within the States. So, as an example, we look at we have what is called the Veteran Business Outreach Centers. They do a great job. 


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They are called VBOCs, and they are really good organizations 

and do a phenomenal job. But they have some limitations. 

And so, if you look at Texas, for example, our VBOC is located 

in Harlingen. That is the furthest southernmost tip of our State, 

and in terms of their ability to provide services to veterans or veterans to access that service, it is a challenge. And then on top of 

that, some of the dollars that are allocated for that are spent on 

overhead versus on actually going towards meeting the needs of 

veterans. 

So those are just three things that as I look at it from a very 

high level, just minor modifications to those three things could 

have a huge impact in terms of how we are able to help veterans 

start and grow their businesses. 

Mr. Takano. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for that 30 seconds. 

Mr. Flores. I am glad that you asked. That was good. 

Mr. Williams, you are recognized for 5 minutes. 

Mr. Williams. Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

And I want to thank all three of you for being here. You are 

doing a fantastic job. Chairman, appreciate it. 

But I want to follow through with, Duncan, you are doing a great 

job in explaining today. I had just a couple questions. You have 

done a pretty good job in answering. But I am a business guy. I 

come from the private sector, still own a business, been in business 

42 years. I am a job creator, everything you are doing. 

Just briefly, you touched on the curriculum design. What would 

be just a typical curriculum? What, from the beginning to end, the 

things that you cover? 

Mr. McGhee. Sure. Sure. So a typical curriculum would be Introduction to Accounting, and not Introduction to Accounting in terms 

of—so I have been through a number of the larger programs that 

are out there. I have been to the EBV program. It is a great program. But it is designed for organizations, for veterans who are already in business. 

Where the veterans that I am interfacing with really don’t understand a debit from a credit. So you have to get down to the granular level, but do it in such a way it is basic. It is basic training for 

that. So the introduction to that. 

And at the same time you are introducing that, we will have 

some software that they will be able to input and build, for example, a chart of accounts. This is chart of accounts. Build your chart 

of accounts. Build this. Then they will be able to take that, and 

that will be about a 2-hour segment, and it is just a very down and 

dirty introduction. 

Marketing, introduce them to marketing. How do you segment 

the market? What things do you look for, and are you a B2B? Are 

you B2C? Are you B2G? 

And in each of those segments, there is a different value proposition. There is a different message. How do we segment that market, and what are you targeting? So, again, about an hour to 2 

hours on that and transition into operations, transition to HR. But 

do it in such a way that it is very fundamental. 

Right now, we talk to these veterans with some relatively highlevel stuff. But the veterans that I come in contact with, they really 

need —— 


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Mr. Williams. How long do you spend with them? 

Mr. McGhee. Well, I haven’t started doing—I am building the 

curriculum right now. But in terms of the veterans that I work 

with, it ranges across the board in terms of how much time I spend 

with them. 

So, right now, I am working with 12 veterans on their business 

plans, and we are working in terms of wherever their business plan 

is. In terms of readiness, some of them are not bad. Others, you 

look at it, and you go, I mean, you are never going to fly with this. 

So it depends on the veteran, on where they are in the process, and 

where we want to get to relative to the end game. 

So I spend anywhere from 12 to 70 hours with veterans, it just 

depends, quite frankly. But on the curriculum that we are building, 

that is going to be, I am estimating, a 6-week, 12-hour—6 weekends, 12 hours a day on a Saturday, 12 hours on a Sunday. And 

over the course of 6 to 8 weeks of that. 

Mr. Williams. That is good. They are lucky to have you. 

Now so when they go out there, how do you, as an entrepreneur, 

as a businessman, how do you see the market out there right now? 

I mean, financing is still an issue. Angel investors are an issue. 

How do you see the market as far as starting a new business 

today? 

How do you see—do you think they have got great opportunity? 

Do you think there is regulations, though, from the Federal Government standpoint that we might be able to kind of whittle down 

a little bit and give you a little more breathing room, right? 

Mr. McGhee. Yes, I look at no matter what the environment, 

whether we are in a recess or whether we are boom times, there 

is opportunity. You just have to look for it. 

And the veterans that I come in contact with, for the most part, 

they have identified the opportunity. I don’t have to present them 

with the opportunity. They come to me with ideas, and like I said, 

some of those ideas, I will think there is just no way I would ever 

do this. But they are very much excited about what it is that they 

want to do. 

And so, I think there is lots of opportunity in the market. I think 

the market is ripe for veteran entrepreneurship. And if you look at 

entrepreneurship in the State of Texas, you know, veterans represent 7 percent of the overall population. But veteran-owned businesses represent 9 percent of the businesses in Texas. 

So, anecdotally, it suggests anyway that we are predisposed to 

business. But what we don’t have—and one thing was mentioned 

earlier with regard to introducing veterans or military personnel to 

their future earlier than 6 months. I would take that a step further. I would say that if it were me and I had an opportunity to 

say something, I would say that you would have a day at basic 

training, just like when I went in 2000, I took part in a very interesting project for generating venture capital. 

And within the first 4 minutes of our presentation, we had to 

have—we had to lay out our exit strategy. They didn’t really care 

about our business. They didn’t really care about how we wanted 

to serve veterans or what we wanted to do. They wanted to know 

how do I get money? What is your exit strategy? 


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And if it were me and I had an opportunity to do something different for the military personnel, part of basic training would have 

a day of what is your exit strategy? Here are the things that are 

going to be available to you. Here are the things that you can do. 

And make them start thinking about their exit strategy from day 

one because at some point, whether you make a career out of the 

military or you do like I did, do your 3 years and get out, some 

point military comes to an end, and civilian begins. 

Mr. Williams. Thanks for your involvement. Appreciate it. 

I yield back, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. Flores. Thank you, Mr. Williams. 

I would like to thank the panel for your testimony. Andres and 

Shawn and Duncan, it was very helpful to have you here, and you 

made this a diverse discussion today from private sector to education to government support, and I appreciate all the testimony. 

Thank you, Mr. Takano, for traveling all the way from California 

to Texas. 

And Mr. Williams, you didn’t have to travel very far, but thank 

you for joining us here in Waco. 

Mr. Williams. Glad to be here. 

Mr. Flores. I would like to thank all of the audience for their participation today. 

Before we adjourn, I would like to extend my thanks again to the 

students, the staff, and the administration of Baylor University for 

hosting us and for our witnesses that took time out of their busy 

schedules to be here. 

I also want to remind the audience that we have a resource table 

out in the Fentress Room, which is to the right out the hall, and 

I would ask our veterans and guests to be sure and to avail themselves of that. 

I would like to thank the representatives for Congressman 

Carter’s office for being here today as well. 

I would like to thank Baylor for giving us the great ‘‘Veterans of 

Baylor’’ T-shirts, and also I think it says ‘‘From salutes to sic ’em’’ 

on the back. Now be sure and wear your blackout shirts tomorrow 

when you all beat the heck out of OU. So probably have to wear 

a coat, too, based on what I saw about the weather. 

I would ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend the remarks and to include 

any extraneous materials on today’s hearing. Hearing no objection, 

so ordered. 

Mr. Flores. And this hearing is now adjourned. Thank you. 

[Whereupon, at 12:18 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.] 


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APPENDIX 

Aggie Vet Connect Program: 

Texas A&M University Veteran Resource & Support Center 

Program Description: Due to a lack of communication and programming, many of our 600+ student veterans are dis-connected 

from the available university and local resources. Aggie Vet Connect is one of our first major initiatives. It will become a full range 

of programs developed and organized by the VRSC in partnership 

with other offices and organizations. It is designed to proactively 

facilitate the engagement of student veterans to help identify those 

in need of additional academic or mental well-being assistance. 

Specific programs include: 

– New Student Conference and sponsorship programs that: 

o Connect current veteran students with new veteran students 

to facilitate transition to TAMU. 

o Enables early identification of wounded warriors and facilitates student veteran data collection. 

– Peer-to-peer veteran student mentoring program (which includes formal mentor training). 

– Faculty/Staff connections with student veterans to facilitate: 

o Faculty/Staff awareness of unique needs of student veterans/ 

wounded warriors, signs/symptoms of PTSD/TBI, and military-tostudent transition issues. 

o Faculty/Staff sensitivity to student veteran experiences. 

o Faculty/Staff ‘‘ATM Veteran Mentor’’ participation. 

o Student veteran awareness of, and interaction with, veteran 

faculty/staff members. 

– Increase overall campus awareness of student veteran/wounded warrior experiences. 

Program Goals: Our overall goal is to improve the TAMU student 

veteran/wounded warrior success rates. Measurement of this goal 

is elusive; there is very little existing data on previous/current success rates. Sub goals include: 

1. Develop TAMU’s first proactive student veteran transition 

support program that meets the critical needs of student veterans/ 

wounded warriors as they enter Texas A&M. 

2. Better identify the TAMU student veteran population (beyond 

benefit certification data) to facilitate on-going student needs and 

program assessments to improve student and program success 

rates. 

3. Facilitate early contact (prior to 1st class day) with student 

veterans better connect them with additional existing on-campus 

resources as needed. 


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4. In partnership with the TAMU Academic Success Center, develop TAMU’s first proactive student veteran peer-to-peer mentoring program to improve academic performance. 

5. Expand our (currently limited) faculty/staff programs to meet 

the critical needs of returning service members (i.e., early identification of student veteran transitional problems or PTSD/TBI). 

6. Develop a systematic program to improve faculty/staff (focused 

on academic advisors) engagement with student veterans/wounded 

warriors. 

7. Develop new programs and facilitate unique opportunities that 

connect student veterans with the greater student body. 

PROGRAM COMPONENTS 

The Aggie Vet Connect Program is comprised of seven sub-programs. 

1. New/Transfer Student Conference Student Veteran Program 

Participants: All new/transfer undergraduate TAMU student veterans and wounded warriors. Mandatory Student Veteran Information Session: All veterans must attend (military dependent attendance is highly encouraged) to receive information on benefits and 

VRSC military affiliated programs/opportunities. 

Vet Connect Event: At the end of Day 1 of the conference, new 

student veterans and dependents are invited to meet with current 

veteran students, dependents, and selected faculty/staff for a ‘‘1-on1 engagement’’ social event to facilitate transition into the university environment and learn more about student veteran/wounded 

warrior programs. 

2. Vet Camp - This is a 1-day orientation program conducted 

prior to the 1st day of class. It is designed to get student veterans 

ready for their classes and to facilitate their transition to Texas 

A&M. 

Participants: Vet Camp will be open to all new student veterans 

(it is mandatory for some specified veteran co-enrollment students 

when the new VETS Program is approved by TAMU). 

Vet Connect Event: As one part of this program participants will 

select and meet their student veteran peer mentor and their faculty/staff mentor. They will also connect with other campus veteran/wounded warrior support offices to include representatives 

from Student Counseling Services, Academic Success Center, and 

Academic Advisors. 

3. Vet Connect Breakfasts/Lunches - These events will be used 

to facilitate a recurring opportunity to improve and expand faculty/ 

staff/advisor engagement with student veterans. 

Participants: This event will be open to all TAMU student veterans. 

Vet Connect Event: At each breakfast/lunch, one or more university faculty, staff or advisors will be invited by student veterans as 

their ‘‘Guest(s) of Honor.’’ Although the agenda will be informal, 

the guest will be asked to provide a brief background on their role 

at TAMU, their military experience (if applicable), and their advice 

on student success. Student veteran participants will be asked to 

share their background/military experiences and ask questions of 

the guest. 

4. Recreational Sports Veteran/Wounded Warrior Engagement 

Activities – In partnership with TAMU Recreational Sports, the 


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Aggie Adaptive Sports Club and the Student Veterans Association, 

the VRSC will assist in coordinating participant sports events that 

draw student veterans/wounded warriors and other non-veteran 

students together. 

Participants: This event will be open to all TAMU student veterans/wounded warriors. The leadership of the Aggie Adaptive 

Sports Club and the Student Veteran Association will be asked to 

identify students from other TAMU student organizations to participate with the student veterans/wounded warriors. 

Sports Activities: The specific activity may include adaptive 

sports or other sport/event already programmed by TAMU Recreational Sports during the semester. 

Vet Connect Event: These events are designed to facilitate 

unique opportunities that connect student veterans/wounded warriors with the greater student body. 

5. Faculty/Staff Veteran Awareness/Training Sessions – These 

sessions are designed to expand faculty/staff programs to meet the 

critical needs of returning service members. Topics will vary but 

may include PTSD/TBI awareness, student veteran needs, veteran 

scholarship opportunities/financial aid, Wounded Warrior Higher 

Education Program, and veteran career counseling trends/information. 

Participants: Faculty, staff and advisors along with student veterans. 

Vet Connect Event: The student veteran panel will serve as the 

‘‘Capstone Event’’ to improve faculty, staff and advisor engagement 

with student veterans/wounded warriors. 

6. Student Veteran Peer-to-Peer Mentor Training Classes – 

These sessions will be a mandatory requirement for all student veterans that want to participate in the peer-to-peer mentoring program. 

Participants: Any student veteran who has been at TAMU for at 

least one semester and meets academic requirements. 

Vet Connect Event: At the conclusion of each semester, the 

VRSC will conduct a peer-to-peer mentoring program assessment 

event. All participants will be asked to meet and provide input and 

discuss the value of the program and ways to improve student veteran peer mentoring efforts. 

7. Special Events – These events will be identified as opportunities become available. They may include special veteran workshops, 

conferences, meetings or events and will be used to expand other 

programs to meet the critical needs of returning service members 

and to increase veteran awareness and connections across campus. 

Participants: To be determined by the nature of the event. 

Vet Connect Event: To be determined by the nature of the event. 

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