As a veteran or civilian, you may want to show your support for our troops, but don’t always know how. Sure you can volunteer with an organization that helps veterans or you can donate to a charity that supports military servicemembers and their families. But there’s also something you can do that won’t impact your day-to-day life.
By frequenting veteran-owned businesses, you’re not only getting the goods and services you need on a daily basis, but you’re showing your support for your country’s armed forces. Sometimes these are major companies you interact with daily. Other times they are small mom and pops. Either way, by choosing to support veteran-owned and veteran-run businesses, you’re making a difference.
Here are five companies you didn’t know where run by veterans:
- FedEx: Founded as Federal Express in 1971, the second largest package delivery company is operated by founder Frederick Smith, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Smith served for three years from 1966 – 1969 as a platoon leader and forward air controller and served two tours in Vietnam.
- Proctor & Gamble: The name behind many household brands, including Bounty paper towels, Crest toothpaste and Tide laundry detergent, Proctor & Gamble is led by A.G. Lafley, who served as a supply officer in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. He has been with P&G since he graduated from Harvard in 1977.
- 7-Eleven: This international chain of convenience stores is run by Joe DePinto, who served as an Army field artillery officer for five years. With more than 58,000 locations and counting, the company’s success has been unmatched under DePinto’s management. The company’s leading product is, of course, the Slurpee.
- Casey’s General Store: With more than $7.2 billion in revenue this Iowa-based chain of convenience stores was founded in 1968. Today, the company is run by Robert Myers, who retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel after 22 years of service. Casey’s has more than 1,900 stores operating throughout the Midwest.
- Verizon: Lowell McAdams is the CEO of Verizon Communication, a company he joined in 2000. McAdams served as a civil engineer in the U.S. Navy for six years and is a licensed professional engineer. Prior to being named to the top spot at Verizon, McAdams served as the company’s Chief Operating Officer.
There are also hundreds of thousands of small businesses owned and operated by military veterans. To find out if your favorite place of business is run by veterans, visit www.veteranownedbusiness.com.
To start your own business and become one of the many still serving our country, utilize our free business consulting services for our veterans. www.saveunited.org.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_W._Smith
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procter_%26_Gamble
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey%27s_General_Stores
