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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. Contact Us Tom Rice Veterans Florida Rice@veteransflorida.org Veterans Florida Headquarters 930 Thomasville Rd. Suite 100 Tallahassee, FL 32303 (850) 898-1444 admin@veteransflorida.org VeteransFlorida.org Linkedin.com/company/v eterans-florida Facebook.com/veteransflorida Twitter.com/vetsfl