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Veterans and employers connect

The Oskaloosa Herald - 7/18/2017

July 14--OSKALOOSA -- Operation Southern Iowa, held on Thursday, July 13 at the Oskaloosa Iowa National Guard Readiness Center, was an opportunity for veterans, employers and civic leaders to interact.

Iowa Army National Guard, IowaWORKS Southern Iowa, and Employer Support of the Guard and Reserves hosted the event.

IowaWORKS Operations Manager Linda Rouse said Operation Southern Iowa was held to recognize the Oskaloosa armory specifically.

"It's referred to as the center of influence. Their mission and what they do," she said, "but in addition to that, all of these employers have taken time out of their busy day to meet with veterans, eligible spouses and transitioning service members that may be looking for employment opportunities."

Six veterans took part in rapid fire interviews with over a dozen employers from the area, including Mahaska, DFS, Northern Mahaska, Manpower, and UPS.

Following the interviews, an employer resource workshop was held, featuring the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), Employer Support of the Guard and Reserves (ESGR) and IowaWORKS Southern Iowa: Benefits of Hiring a Veteran.

The civic leader event was a highlight of the day, Rouse said. Leaders and employers got an overview and hands-on experience with military vehicles, communications equipment, logistics and supply missions, and more.

Retired Col. Scott Visser of Pella was the guest speaker. He shared some stories from his time in the U.S. Army and the National Guard.

"It is an honor to be here today. I'm really glad to see the number of employers that we have," he said. "I especially like to see that we have this many employers that are looking for people who need job, because that tells me that this country is hopefully getting going again and we can start to get people employed. It is an honor to be here today with veterans as well."

He spoke to the potential employers of veterans' dedication, professionalism, ingenuity and work ethic.

"Soldiers today are asked to do more, do it faster, do it better than any time in our history. They are asked to work in a more diverse environment than any time in our history," he said. "It is not uncommon in combat today for a soldier who could be in a fierce firefight in the morning against enemy combatants and in the afternoon handing out soccer balls to kids or meeting with a civic leader or a tribal leader on how a well project was going to go. That's the kind of diversity we expect from our soldiers and they do it. They do it well, they can do it all."

Soldiers are innovators, Visser said to the potential employers.

"You guys can train people on your policies, your procedures, your techniques, all that kind of stuff," he said. "You can pretty well train them on how to do it, but you'd like to have someone that kind of also looks at it and goes maybe we can do our process faster if we do it this way. Those are the kinds of people, I think, you're looking for. In fact, the employees I'm looking for. Ones that think outside the box, ones that will actually work to better your company, who are loyal to your company, improve your company."

-- Herald staff writer Angie Holland can be reached at aholland@oskyherald.com and followed on Twitter @OskyAngie.

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(c)2017 The Oskaloosa Herald (Oskaloosa, Iowa)

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