Fort Walton Network of Veteran Service Organizations Tom Rice, Veterans Florida Wednesday August 5, 2015

Our Mission ➔ Attract and retain Veterans and their families by connecting them to employment, training and educational opportunities ➔ Strengthen Florida businesses by educating them on the value and skillsets Veterans bring to the workforce and providing training resources for their Veteran hires ➔ Enhance the entrepreneurial skills of Veterans

Current Projects Business Research ➔ Focus groups conducted in Columbus, GA, Norfolk, VA, San Antonio, TX, Colorado Springs, CO, and San Diego, CA ➔ 1,500 internet surveys conducted throughout the nation ➔ General Findings: ◆ Open to considering Florida ◆ Want assistance with resume, interview prep ◆ Not sure how skills fit into civilian workforce ◆ Not sure where to go to get all the info/services they need ➔ Focus groups conducted with hiring managers throughout the State: Tampa, Jacksonville, Orlando, and Miami ➔ 550 internet/phone surveys conducted throughout different regions. ➔ General Findings: ◆ Open to seeking out veterans, but don’t necessarily do so now or know where to look ◆ Not sure how skills fit into their workforce ◆ Training and hiring incentives would help veterans enter their workforce Veterans Research

Our Grant Programs Business Training GrantsEntrepreneurship Program ●Businesses eligible for up to $8,000 per Veteran for 50% of training costs ●May use for new employees ●Florida targeted industries considered first ●Anticipated launch for September 2015 ●$1 Million appropriated by the State for entrepreneurial programs within the State university system ●Programs must include activities such as peer- to-peer learning sessions, mentoring, technical assistance, business roundtables, networking opportunities, support of student organizations, speaker series, or other tools within a virtual environment ●Anticipated launch for the end of August 2015

Current Projects Marketing Campaign ➔ New website launched: veteransflorida.org ◆ Connect Veterans to employers, career and entrepreneurial resources, and services ◆ Provide businesses the benefits of hiring veterans and grant information ➔ Nationwide Marketing Campaign to be launched in the Fall of 2015 with VISIT Florida

Contact Us Tom Rice Veterans Florida Veterans Florida Headquarters 930 Thomasville Rd. Suite 100 Tallahassee, FL (850) VeteransFlorida.org Linkedin.com/company/v eterans-florida Facebook.com/veteransflorida Twitter.com/vetsfl