Councilors Decter Wright and Cue joined Mayor G.T. Bynum, Community Service Council (CSC), and CSC’s Oklahoma Veteran Alliance to recognize 26 companies for becoming Veteran Employer Champions.
The Veteran Employer Champions program was created after a statewide survey was launched at the Governor’s Veteran Symposium in October 2017 with the goal of building an employer network to create programming and peer-to-peer learning for organizations interested in recruiting, hiring, and developing veterans in the workplace.
This is the fifth year for the Veteran Employer Champion recognition. The survey encourages employers to continually take intentional steps to ensure they are creating a veteran-ready workplace and welcoming culture for Veterans to be recognized as a champion.
“I am honored to recognize employers in Tulsa that are committed to our veterans by welcoming them home with life-changing career opportunities,” Mayor Bynum said. “Tulsa is a city that honors its veterans, and I’m excited to see the list of our Veteran Employer Champions grow year after year.”
CSC and the Oklahoma Veteran Alliance Employment Committee developed a scoring rubric and survey process to carefully identify Veteran Employer Champions in Oklahoma and the Tulsa region. The Veteran Employer Network has experienced steady membership growth in 2022 with 188 members representing 94 organizations.
“We took a break from adding requirements to be recognized the past two years. We knew our area businesses were struggling with all the changes brought on by the pandemic, so the survey remained static out of respect for employer’s struggles,” said Denise Reid, Principal of DR Consulting. “We added an additional requirement for recognition in 2022 and we did not have a dip in [the] number of Veteran Employer Champions.”
“The Community Service Council and the Oklahoma Veteran Alliance are proud to [see] how this recognition program continues to grow and positively impact our Veterans. As we all know, employment is a key factor to a veteran and their family to transition home and to also help prevent veteran suicide,” said Pete Luitwieler, Program Manager for the Community Service Council’s Oklahoma Veteran Alliance. “Our efforts will continue and thanks to Denise and her OKVA Employment Group, our results will continue to improve going forward.” To become recognized as a Veteran Employer Champion, companies must meet seven benchmarks, including: veteran hiring and recruiting; veteran resource groups, onboarding, or buddy programs; veteran programs and community support; veteran employee resources and/or supports; veteran executive sponsor leading veteran strategies; guard and reserve employee supports; and intentionally provide opportunity for their employees to show their military pride. The 26 companies recognized today include:
AAON
Arvest Bank
Baker Hughes
Barracuda Staffing and Consulting
Berryhill Fire Protection District
BOK Financial
City of Tulsa
EAGLE OPS Foundation
Goodwill Industries of Tulsa, Inc.
Harrison Energy Partners
Lowe’s Home Improvement
Lumen
Matrix Service Company
Melton Truck Lines
Mill Creek Lumber
NextOp Inc.
Oklahoma Employment Security Commission-Veteran Services
Oklahoma State University
ONEGas
ONEOK
PACCAR WINCH Inc
Public Service Company of Oklahoma
Southern Nazarene University
Spirit AeroSystems Inc.
The Coffee Bunker
Volunteers of America
Honorable Mentions include:
GableGotwals
The Persimmon Group
TTCU Federal Credit Union
Partners of the Veteran Employer Champions are the City of Tulsa, Community Service Council, DR Consulting, Key Personnel, Oklahoma Department of Veteran Affairs and Oklahoma Veteran Alliance. If a company wants to join the Veteran Employer Champion Network, please contact Pete Luitwieler, Program Manager for CSC’s Oklahoma Veteran Connections and Oklahoma Veteran Alliance, pluitwieler@csctulsa.org. City of Tulsa Resource Center: www.cityoftulsa.org/veterans Community Service Council Veterans Resource: http://csctulsa.org/veterans-support/
